I probably should have taken a photo of this thing before installation to compare to the photo I saw online, but totally forgot to due to the excitement of things. In a room full of motorcycles and other scoots, my tire was dwarfed big time. These things are tiny! I could probably barely put the donut barely over my head if I had to.
The installation was estimated to take about 1 hr but ended up taking 1 hr and 36 minutes. I don't blame the shop. He still did it fairly quickly and turn to start the installation immediately upon my scheduled arrival when I got to SF Cycle 10 minutes early. Wei was very friendly - equally as friendly in person as over the phone.
As I pulled up, I asked him to check my rear brakes and he confirmed that they're still in good shape. Apparently you can tell from the brake adjustment and don't actually have to look at the pad itself. When asked the condition of my current tire to see if I really needed a replacement as suggested by the last shop I went to, Wei said simply,
"Bald. You came at a good time."
Although there's no tread in the center of this particular rear tire, the depth of the side treads are supposed to be as deep as they are on the side. Once I knew what to look at, it was clearly wearing out.
Wei called me as I was sitting at a cafe nearby down the street, Amsterdam Cafe to tell me that the front brakes will need replacement soon and it's up to me if I want to have him replace it while he's working on it or save it for later.
I opted for later so I could check out some pricing on the pads. It would have been $65 installed. Being that I recently read a forum post on how to perform the work myself, I figured I could save on some labor costs. The work didn't seem to complicated and the tutorial online from Spoolboy looked detailed enough for me to attempt on my own.
Although the service and decor at Amsterdam Cafe is nice, their internet connection is intermittent. It kicks me off every 7 minutes! Researching brake pad pricing was a pain especially since I had to chat or call shops to get their estimated shipping costs. Looks like it would have been $32 for the pads once it arrive to my doorstep.
Ring Ring
My bike is ready and when I showed up, I asked Wei how much it would cost to just buy the brakes from him w/o the labor. $30. Wow! Done. "I'll take 'em."
FIRST TEST RIDE WITH THE NEW MICHELIN S1 TIRE:
I didn't really anticipate that I could tell much of a difference with the new tire. I'm just not that sort of person who can really tell. Surprisingly enough though, I could tell immediately when I took my first turn at speed. I wasn't accelerating nor moving too fast since the break in period is 100 miles as suggested by Wei.
Midway through the turn, I could tell right away that something was different. I could turn so much tighter!!! In fact, it was almost dangerous b/c I turned so sharply the second time heading home that I ended up against traffic! Not good but of course my eyes are up and no cars were there.
This is a good thing! Now that I'm aware of how well the scooter now turns, I can make the turns more safely than I had just done or have done before. The reviews on the tire are right. They do give confidence in the turns. I can lean further down at an angle during the turn w/o feeling like it's unstable. It almost invites the rider to lean into the turns.
I should be completing the break in period in about a week provided the estimated number of miles I go through on a regular basis. I can't wait for that to finish so I can take this thing at full acceleration from a stop. I won't be doing it regularly but I'm just curious at the performance and limits of the tire.
By no means does this mean that I'll be riskier on the road. It just means that I can execute turns more safely with this improved equipment and/or get out of trouble more quickly than I otherwise would be able to with the old stuff.
Son, don't do this at home. By the time you read this more than a decade later, the scooter will be gone and I don't ever want to see you on one. Yes, I'm a hypocrite but that's what dads are. It's for your safety and wellbeing. And you can bet I'll drop in by surprise to make sure you don't have a blue Vino 125 hidden in the garage. And if you do, I'm taking it back.
More to report in a future post as I get more experience on this new tire. So far I'm loving it. If I wasn't unemployed at the moment and was already convinced of how good this tire is prior to testing it out, I would have gotten a matching front tire. My eyes are getting wide at just the thought of a better performing scoot.
The installation was estimated to take about 1 hr but ended up taking 1 hr and 36 minutes. I don't blame the shop. He still did it fairly quickly and turn to start the installation immediately upon my scheduled arrival when I got to SF Cycle 10 minutes early. Wei was very friendly - equally as friendly in person as over the phone.
As I pulled up, I asked him to check my rear brakes and he confirmed that they're still in good shape. Apparently you can tell from the brake adjustment and don't actually have to look at the pad itself. When asked the condition of my current tire to see if I really needed a replacement as suggested by the last shop I went to, Wei said simply,
"Bald. You came at a good time."
Although there's no tread in the center of this particular rear tire, the depth of the side treads are supposed to be as deep as they are on the side. Once I knew what to look at, it was clearly wearing out.
Wei called me as I was sitting at a cafe nearby down the street, Amsterdam Cafe to tell me that the front brakes will need replacement soon and it's up to me if I want to have him replace it while he's working on it or save it for later.
I opted for later so I could check out some pricing on the pads. It would have been $65 installed. Being that I recently read a forum post on how to perform the work myself, I figured I could save on some labor costs. The work didn't seem to complicated and the tutorial online from Spoolboy looked detailed enough for me to attempt on my own.
Although the service and decor at Amsterdam Cafe is nice, their internet connection is intermittent. It kicks me off every 7 minutes! Researching brake pad pricing was a pain especially since I had to chat or call shops to get their estimated shipping costs. Looks like it would have been $32 for the pads once it arrive to my doorstep.
Ring Ring
My bike is ready and when I showed up, I asked Wei how much it would cost to just buy the brakes from him w/o the labor. $30. Wow! Done. "I'll take 'em."
FIRST TEST RIDE WITH THE NEW MICHELIN S1 TIRE:
I didn't really anticipate that I could tell much of a difference with the new tire. I'm just not that sort of person who can really tell. Surprisingly enough though, I could tell immediately when I took my first turn at speed. I wasn't accelerating nor moving too fast since the break in period is 100 miles as suggested by Wei.
Midway through the turn, I could tell right away that something was different. I could turn so much tighter!!! In fact, it was almost dangerous b/c I turned so sharply the second time heading home that I ended up against traffic! Not good but of course my eyes are up and no cars were there.
This is a good thing! Now that I'm aware of how well the scooter now turns, I can make the turns more safely than I had just done or have done before. The reviews on the tire are right. They do give confidence in the turns. I can lean further down at an angle during the turn w/o feeling like it's unstable. It almost invites the rider to lean into the turns.
I should be completing the break in period in about a week provided the estimated number of miles I go through on a regular basis. I can't wait for that to finish so I can take this thing at full acceleration from a stop. I won't be doing it regularly but I'm just curious at the performance and limits of the tire.
By no means does this mean that I'll be riskier on the road. It just means that I can execute turns more safely with this improved equipment and/or get out of trouble more quickly than I otherwise would be able to with the old stuff.
Son, don't do this at home. By the time you read this more than a decade later, the scooter will be gone and I don't ever want to see you on one. Yes, I'm a hypocrite but that's what dads are. It's for your safety and wellbeing. And you can bet I'll drop in by surprise to make sure you don't have a blue Vino 125 hidden in the garage. And if you do, I'm taking it back.
More to report in a future post as I get more experience on this new tire. So far I'm loving it. If I wasn't unemployed at the moment and was already convinced of how good this tire is prior to testing it out, I would have gotten a matching front tire. My eyes are getting wide at just the thought of a better performing scoot.
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