How does / did BRP get this info about the non-Kenda tire ?????? .... Did those Dealers call or fax BRP and tell them about this ????? ..... I think it's BOGUS info :gaah:............. Mike :thumbup:
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All I can report is that 3 dealers(within 1 hour's ride) around Indianapolis, IN REFUSE to mount Non-Motorcycle tires. A fellow Spyder rider(60 miles south of me) reports the same attitude from dealers in his area(Southern IN/Northern KY). The reality for us is that this is not BOGUS.
I asked at a dealership in Illinois if they would mount a tire other than an OEM Kenda. The answer was a resounding NO! I said fine, I'll take it off and have it changed at a tire dealership myself. Also said that there was no way that I would ever put another Kenda tire on my Spyder. His reply? "Smart man".
The only real hard part (actually very easy after giving it a little thought) was getting the belt back on the rear sprocket. It didn't work for me quite like the video by Finless Bob. I had to loosen the bolts that are used to align and tension the rear wheel. Since I had good alignment and belt tension before starting this I needed to loosen it in a way that allowed me to get it back the same as before. So, before loosening the alignment bolts I used a white paint marker to put a match mark on each bolt and the frame. Then I backed off each bolt four full turns, slipped my drive belt on, then tightened the bolts four full turns. I got the tire seated fully to the rear and torqued the axle bolts to 96 ft lbs. My belt tracks just as before and appears to be properly tensioned. And I love my new tire!
Im replacing the old worn out Kenda Rear tire on my 2010 RTS.
I think I'm going to go with the Yokohama S Drive.
I know it won't wear as well as some of the others but I'm in the mountains and when I'm riding without the wife I still like to pitch it around in the twisties so I want the grip.
For those who have made this choice, Is the speedo still correct after installing the 205/55/15 Yoko?
Jack,
I use peanut oil: it makes my fries taste better... :D
:hun: But Jack, not even BRP does that!! :dontknow:
So why should we all continue to use the poorly quality controlled sub-standard over-priced under-performing black round crap that they've dreamt up a quasi-label for & foisted upon Spyder owners who've now done literally millions of miles of (free to BRP) testing that pretty much PROVES that normal car tires work much better on our Spyders?!? :sour:
But you are right about mentioning the Dealership that fitted 'non-approved by BRP' tires! That's a surefire way to get their dealership yanked, or at least some negative interest from BRP! I thought that was why we had PM's on these Forums?! :lecturef_smilie:
That doesn't mean that the Kendas spec'd & supplied by BRP for our Spyders aren't on the far low end of the 'quality tire' scale Sarge, it just means that you are satisfied with the tire for the ryding you currently do, & that's fine by me, there are times when I too really don't want (or need) anything much more from a tire too! But in my case, that's usually when my Spyder is parked in the shed not running; at most other times, I & many others out there want something better in the way of tire performance, wear, handling, ride, cost, & all those other factors where the Kendas fall short.... :dontknow:
Clearly, from all these threads & posts about tires & alternatives, it's not just me - it seems there are MANY Spyder Ryders out there (including me at times) who ryde a little differently than you do (possibly more, differently, &/or arguably harder?) & as a result want the tires on their Spyders to handle & perform somewhat better than 'just good enough' for whatever it may be that they are doing at the time... or maybe they are just more demanding or tight fisted & want better or cheaper?.... Whatever, they obviously have different needs & wants from the tires on their Spyders than you! And many of those Spyder Ryders, if not most of them, have discovered that just about any reasonable quality car tire in a similar size with better load & speed ratings does pretty much everything waaayyy better than the BRP Spec Kendas!! :shocked:
Hey, I even know of one Spyder Ryder here in Aus who's modded his Spyder to run different sized rims & now runs different spec & sized KENDA tires that for his ryding behave in all respects waaaayyyyy better than the low end BRP Spec'd Kendas, so it's not that Kenda CAN'T make tires that are better quality & will work better across the board on our Spyders, it's more that BRP can't or won't accept that some (more likely many, if not even most!) Spyder Ryders actually want better tires than the low spec Kendas BRP is pushing; and the millions of miles of testing provided to them for free by the many Spyder Ryders out there riding in/across a vast range of conditions who HAVE changed to alternative tires almost invariably shows that pretty much any car tire WILL & DOES work even better than the low spec Kendas that they are trying to force everyone to use! :gaah:
So if you are happy with how they work for you, I'm glad for you - but for me & many (many!) other Spyder Ryders & for a vast array of reasons, needs, or wants, the BRP spec Kendas are barely good enough to serve as black round things to keep the metal of our relatively expensive Spyders off the ground while our Spyders are parked in the shed! :sour:
I've been riding various spyders since 2010 or 11 - and have been critical of BRP on more than one occasion
However
A franchised car dealer for brand X will only install head office approved bits - we can jump up and down all we like but, to protect their dealership standing, they won't fit non-approved stuff.
If this is the rule from head office, we can't blame the dealer for only fitting brp approved tyres. We would lose out too if the dealership disappeared.
The issue of whether other tyres are better is, to the dealer, irrelevant - their livelihood is at stake.
My view - choose for yourself. If you don't want to remove the rear wheel yourself due to belt drive complications, fine. It would be nice to be able to choose a better tyre fitted through our dealer, but as long as BRP head office have their exclusive deal with Kenda, we and the dealer are somewhat stuck. I cannot remove the rear wheel or, more problematically, get it all back together. I run Kenda, and happily and easily keep up with everyone on twisty runs. Maybe I have to work a bit harder to get the best, smoothest line thru the bends (and hence the fastest), but I don't know this, so am not worried at all. Oh and I definitely do not feel less of a rider cos I use kenda... It's worked on three spyders for over 60,000 kms...
PS if brp change their agreement with kenda to 'initial supply only' and allow dealers to fit better tyres for us, I'd change in an instant. Worth a try...
There MAY be a change in the wind. At homecoming I got the distinct impression that BRP managers are well aware of the discontent owners have with the OEM Kenda tires and that there is a change of some sort coming down the pike. What kind of change? I have absolutely no idea.
We have found the S-drive to have better traction than the Kenda at all temps down to about 16 deg. Thats as cold as I have ridden any significant distance on the Spyder. Yes, there is less traction at those temps but I would never attempt a drag race launch at below freezng temps. They do not turn into rocks however nor do they have the cracking issues that I have seen in some of the high performace summer only Michelins used on the vetts. No real concern for low temps with the S drive on the Spyder.