Honda Forza 350

[Stephen]

Is that a hint Steve

If you and the rest of the Saturday Breakfast crew were at a loss of what to buy me,i have seen a pair i like

Steve

[Andym]

What tyres are giving either joy or disappointment please?

My OE fit Michelin rear is down to 3mm and I'm planning a Euro trip at the end of the summer, so ideally looking for good grip as first priority, longevity second, not so price conscious. I ride all weather but not in winter (I have the SuperCub for that).

I suspect the OE fit is some bulk buy, made-in-Brazil thing despite the branding, Honda typically fit awful tyres OE.

My past favourite (motorcycles) was the Road Pilot, but not sure that translates well to scooters, this is my first one.

Cheers

Andy

[John A]

In my experience, avoid the Dunlop Scootsmart. Front always vibrated badly and the rear lasted about 3000 miles to it being a slick, and they weren't that cheap either!

[scootabout]

After the Michelin Citygrips got worn, I've changed to ContiScoot tyres. There has been an immediate improvement in ride quality. I found the Citygrips felt 'hard' over rough surfaces. Handling is also good in the dry. No idea about how long they'll last.

[roadster]

After the Michelin Citygrips got worn, I've changed to ContiScoot tyres. There has been an immediate improvement in ride quality. I found the Citygrips felt 'hard' over rough surfaces. Handling is also good in the dry. No idea about how long they'll last.

Its about ten years since I tried these and like you I found their behaviour when new very good. But because they have a generous tread depth they did tend to square off and this affected handling over road repairs quite badly. I went back to a Michelin dual compound tyre ( not the Citygrip ) which was worth the extra money in the long run.

Having said that maxi scooters do tend to eat rear tyres far more quickly than motorcycles with proper rear suspension and better weight distribution. It was only when I got Piaggios with traction control that I realized that my use of wide throttle openings on imperfect surfaces was giving the tyres a very hard time.

[scootabout]

Which Michelin's did you change to, please?

[Andym]

Beat me to it.

I can't find any current 140/70 R14 in the Michelin offering except the City Grip.

Currently looking at Metzler Karoo as they do describe it as a touring rather than scooter tyre and sell the same for motorcycles, so hopefully dual compound.

You can't believe much you read though. We'll see what the codes are when I get the old ones off. Typically Honda fit an OE tyre with the same branding as you can buy online, so Michelin City Grip. When you compare codes the OE turns out to be made in Brazil and have a different approval to the made in Czechia one the delivery bloke brings. Performance then improves. Same branding, different construction.

Andy

[MrGrumpy]

I think that Metzeler Karoo's are OE on the ADV350, so very slightly knobbly. However, they get extremely good reviews on the ADV350 (as a road tyre)

[mottza]

Karoos are expensive around twice the price of the city grips. They have a strange pattern in the middle that wears out halfway through it's lifetime.

[MrGrumpy]

The voice of experience! There again, I really dislike CityGrips, so I'd probably pay for the Karoos!