Tire Choices

[2013REDRTS]

Looking at getting a new rear tire. I've seen the 2 sizes people are running, stock 225/50r15 or 215/60r15. I ride mostly 2 up and don't want the tire rubbing if using the 215. I'm about 270lbs plus the wife. I would like to know your opinions. If I go stock size I know it's either stock Kenda, Vee Rubber or Kuhmo Ecsta AST. I have a bunch of choices if I go to the 215. Thanks

[Dmetcalf]

I just very recently replaced my rear tire with The Kumho tire you have listed. I’ve probably only put 100 mi. On it maybe so far and I too am pushing 250 lbs. and ride 2 up almost 100% of the time. So far, so good.

[canamjhb]

I have the 215/60R15. Weigh about the same as you. I ride almost always 1 up but occasionally my wife gets off her GoldWing and joins me. She is about 175 and we have no rubbing issues. I like the fact that the larger aspect ratio causes my speedometer to match the GPS speed.

[BajaRon]

I have the 215/60R15. Weigh about the same as you. I ride almost 1 up but occasionally my wife gets off her GoldWing and joins me. She is about 175 and we have no rubbing issues. I like the fact that the larger aspect ratio causes my speedometer to match the GPS speed.

I like this too! It drives me nuts to have such a disparity between indicated speed and actual speed. BRP does this on purpose and I wish they'd quit.

[SPYD3R]

regardless of the tire size, my advise is to install a 2UP SHOCK....
i'm 250lbs, and never ride 2 up, but i've bottomed out so many times, and hurt my back, that i went to the 2UP SHOCK and it's now a thing of the past when it comes to bottoming out.....
as for the tire.... i mounted a KUMHO AST way back in 2009 on my RS.... great tire... actually had 5 of them between the RS & the F3.... i now have the 215/60R15 Michelin HYDRO-EDGE on my F3 and i have found this tire to be far superior to the KUMHO....
also, keep in mind that these tires are 4 ply, not 2 ply like the KENDA... i run a few more PSI in the Mich, and also in the HANKOOK up front....
your call on tires...
enjoy & ride safely....
Dan P
SPYD3R

[Chupaca]

The Kumho was the go to tire when folks started going to the automobile tires and therefore is more visable. There were and are issues with outlets not selling the tire to spyder ryders if they mention it's use. Since then there are a lot of other tires being mentioned here and in use. I use the OEM so can't comment on the others but worked with the brands mentioned and they are quality tires...Lots to read if you search the topic....

[Docster]

Lots of opinions and choices discussed. I bookmarked several from previous threads

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

kumho ast is my choice

[SpyderAnn01]

The Kumho was the go to tire when folks started going to the automobile tires and therefore is more visable. There were and are issues with outlets not selling the tire to spyder ryders if they mention it's use. Since then there are a lot of other tires being mentioned here and in use. I use the OEM so can't comment on the others but worked with the brands mentioned and they are quality tires...Lots to read if you search the topic....

The reason it was the go to tire was that it is the only tire available in the OEM size.

[Fat Baxter]

I'm also curious as to what the current thinking is for a new rear tire.

I have a 2104 RT-S. I installed a General Altimax RT43 in Sep 2015; size 215/60R15. The tire now has 21,500 miles on it and the tire wear indicator is hinting I should replace it soon:
General tire wear.jpg

Wear is even across the tire. I run it with 24 psi. (Yes, I'm aware some folks run even lower pressures.) I could probably get another thousand miles out of it, but should avoid riding in heavy rain.

Is 21,500 a reasonable life for this particular tire? I'm not an aggressive rider (at least I don't think so). What's the consensus for the current longest-wearing tire?

I've kept my eyes on tire threads. Back when I bought this, the General was (sticky high-performance tires aside) a consensus choice. I think the best current contenders are: Michelin Hydroedge/Defender, Kumho Ecsta AST, and of course another General Altimax. FWIW, the Kumho would match, brand-wise, the Kumho Solus KH16s I have on the front; at about 16,000 miles they still look new.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I'm also curious as to what the current thinking is for a new rear tire.

I have a 2104 RT-S. I installed a General Altimax RT43 in Sep 2015; size 215/60R15. The tire now has 21,500 miles on it and the tire wear indicator is hinting I should replace it soon:
General tire wear.jpg

Wear is even across the tire. I run it with 24 psi. (Yes, I'm aware some folks run even lower pressures.) I could probably get another thousand miles out of it, but should avoid riding in heavy rain.

Is 21,500 a reasonable life for this particular tire? I'm not an aggressive rider (at least I don't think so). What's the consensus for the current longest-wearing tire?

I've kept my eyes on tire threads. Back when I bought this, the General was (sticky high-performance tires aside) a consensus choice. I think the best current contenders are: Michelin Hydroedge/Defender, Kumho Ecsta AST, and of course another General Altimax. FWIW, the Kumho would match, brand-wise, the Kumho Solus KH16s I have on the front; at about 16,000 miles they still look new.

ANSWERS / OPINIONS in order ..... rear CAR tire 17 to 18 psi ... this will give the best performance in wet and dry - period .............. mileage for tires is all over the board, there are so many factors that will determine your mileage it's really useless to consider ................. Michelin Hydro ( right now ) would be very OLD stock if you found one ..Michelin Defender ( the latest version T&H ) should be a great choice .,...... tire matching front to rear is a myth unless you are RACING at very high speeds, same goes for DIRECTIONAL tread .... Kumho's are good when NEW but after about 12,000 to 14,000 miles lose they traction, especially in the wet .......... FOR the FRONT if you have good alignment any Car tire that fits should give satisfactory performance .....On Spyders the rear tire is much more important ......you asked -I answered ..... mike

[Denno]

I am about to put my 3rd tire on the rear. The last one I installed (Yokohama S Drive) I had our local Big O Tire dealer un-mount the factory Kenda and mount the new Yokohama, They could not balance it however since the spyder rim would not fit on their balancing machine, so I had to make a special trip to my Spyder dealer and they actually agreed to balance it for me ($20). I was surprised they did it with the non-Kenda tire on it, but they did and that worked out.

I have since moved and now just ordered my new tire from Discount Tire (Cooper CS5) and I know they will mount it for me but they are also guessing that they will not be able to balance it.
I don't like the idea of using tire balancing beads (but open to it) and I tried balancing the Yokohama myself by putting the tire on its axle between 2 jackstands and just spinning/re-spinning to find the heavy point, but that did not work well either.
Is everyone mounting their own tire also balancing it (or not) - and if balancing, curious on how you are doing it.

Many thanks

[Highwayman2013]

I am about to put my 3rd tire on the rear. The last one I installed (Yokohama S Drive) I had our local Big O Tire dealer un-mount the factory Kenda and mount the new Yokohama, They could not balance it however since the spyder rim would not fit on their balancing machine, so I had to make a special trip to my Spyder dealer and they actually agreed to balance it for me ($20). I was surprised they did it with the non-Kenda tire on it, but they did and that worked out.

I have since moved and now just ordered my new tire from Discount Tire (Cooper CS5) and I know they will mount it for me but they are also guessing that they will not be able to balance it.
I don't like the idea of using tire balancing beads (but open to it) and I tried balancing the Yokohama myself by putting the tire on its axle between 2 jackstands and just spinning/re-spinning to find the heavy point, but that did not work well either.
Is everyone mounting their own tire also balancing it (or not) - and if balancing, curious on how you are doing it.

Many thanks

Get some stick on weights 2 jack stands and use the axle to balance the tire.

[canamjhb]

Centramatic balancer installed and never need to balance a tire again..... ever.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I am about to put my 3rd tire on the rear. The last one I installed (Yokohama S Drive) I had our local Big O Tire dealer un-mount the factory Kenda and mount the new Yokohama, They could not balance it however since the spyder rim would not fit on their balancing machine, so I had to make a special trip to my Spyder dealer and they actually agreed to balance it for me ($20). I was surprised they did it with the non-Kenda tire on it, but they did and that worked out.

I have since moved and now just ordered my new tire from Discount Tire (Cooper CS5) and I know they will mount it for me but they are also guessing that they will not be able to balance it.
I don't like the idea of using tire balancing beads (but open to it) and I tried balancing the Yokohama myself by putting the tire on its axle between 2 jackstands and just spinning/re-spinning to find the heavy point, but that did not work well either.
Is everyone mounting their own tire also balancing it (or not) - and if balancing, curious on how you are doing it.

Many thanks

I haven't balanced my last FIVE Rear tires ..... bike runs very smooth ......... to each His-Her It's own ..... Mike

[canamjhb]

I haven't balanced my last FIVE tires ..... bike runs very smooth ......... to each His-Her It's own ..... Mike

I'm inclined to agree. I put the centramatics on some time ago. After that I had new front tires installed on the rims at Costco and they automatically "balanced" them. I noticed just one stick on weight on one wheel and none on the other. Not enough to feel on the road.....

[Fat Baxter]

Poking around the tire sites, I see that the Michelin Defender isn't available in 215/60R15 (the same size as my current General), nor in the stock size of 225/50R15. Best match to the Spyder seems to be 205/60R15.

The 215 has the happy result of making the speedometer match GPS indicated speed (i.e., more accurate). How does a 205 size tire affect the speedometer?

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I have since moved and now just ordered my new tire from Discount Tire (Cooper CS5) and I know they will mount it for me but they are also guessing that they will not be able to balance it.
I don't like the idea of using tire balancing beads (but open to it) and I tried balancing the Yokohama myself by putting the tire on its axle between 2 jackstands and just spinning/re-spinning to find the heavy point, but that did not work well either.
Is everyone mounting their own tire also balancing it (or not) - and if balancing, curious on how you are doing it.

Many thanks

My local tire shop uses a commercial liquid balance intended for large tires like on trucks. Three of the brands are Esco, AME, and KTB. How Ride-on compares to them chemically I don't know. I figure if a real tire shop uses one of the three on real tires in a real tire eating world where short cuts aren't welcome, it's good enough for my Spyder! The only time I feel rear tire vibration is when the pavement isn't smooth!

I'm now running the Cooper CS5. So far it's working great. I've only got about 500 miles on it.

[Deanna777]

I am running General Altimax RT 43 on the rear( Size: 215/60 R15) I have 16,576 miles on the tire. Also, I have roughly 22,400 miles on spyder.

I have not had any problems with the above tire. The General Altimax Tire was installed in 2015. The spyder handles well.

Deanna

[Docster]

I am running General Altimax RT 43 on the rear( Size: 215/60 R15) I have 16,576 miles on the tire. Also, I have roughly 22,400 miles on spyder.

I have not had any problems with the above tire. The General Altimax Tire was installed in 2015. The spyder handles well.

Deanna

Based on my research of all the many tire threads here and comments from individuals on the forum who've I come to regard as very experienced or experts, i put the same tire on mine.

[PW2013STL]

Poking around the tire sites, I see that the Michelin Defender isn't available in 215/60R15 (the same size as my current General), nor in the stock size of 225/50R15. Best match to the Spyder seems to be 205/60R15.

The 215 has the happy result of making the speedometer match GPS indicated speed (i.e., more accurate). How does a 205 size tire affect the speedometer?

It's the second number that affects the speedometer. So the 215/60 and the 205/60 would be the same to the speedometer. The first number is how wide the tire is. The difference from 225 to 205 is 20mm (less than 1") I run the Michelin Premier A/S in the 205/60R15 and it been the best tire I have tried on the RT. 24,000 miles on the first one, but I was running to much pressure (24#} in it and it wore out the center . Now running 18# and current tire wearing more even - I expect I will get no less then 30,000 miles on this one.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

It's the second number that affects the speedometer. So the 215/60 and the 205/60 would be the same to the speedometer. The first number is how wide the tire is. The difference from 225 to 205 is 20mm (less than 1") I run the Michelin Premier A/S in the 205/60R15 and it been the best tire I have tried on the RT. 24,000 miles on the first one, but I was running to much pressure (24#} in it and it wore out the center . Now running 18# and current tire wearing more even - I expect I will get no less then 30,000 miles on this one.

Not exactly .... all the above numbers off the sidewall have a mathematical relationship to how far it will travel per rotation based on that number ..... The " 60 " you refer to is the aspect ratio ... which is combination of the width and the sidewall height .... a 275 /60 is going to be different than a 205/60 as far as rolling distance per rotation .... the difference between a 205 vs a 215 is going to be very, very small .....but it is different ...... Mike

[PW2013STL]

Not exactly .... all the above numbers off the sidewall have a mathematical relationship to how far it will travel per rotation based on that number ..... The " 60 " you refer to is the aspect ratio ... which is combination of the width and the sidewall height .... a 275 /60 is going to be different than a 205/60 as far as rolling distance per rotation .... the difference between a 205 vs a 215 is going to be very, very small .....but it is different ...... Mike

Mike,

I sit corrected!

Les

[KX5062]

I am about to put my 3rd tire on the rear. The last one I installed (Yokohama S Drive) I had our local Big O Tire dealer un-mount the factory Kenda and mount the new Yokohama, They could not balance it however since the spyder rim would not fit on their balancing machine, so I had to make a special trip to my Spyder dealer and they actually agreed to balance it for me ($20). I was surprised they did it with the non-Kenda tire on it, but they did and that worked out.

I have since moved and now just ordered my new tire from Discount Tire (Cooper CS5) and I know they will mount it for me but they are also guessing that they will not be able to balance it.
I don't like the idea of using tire balancing beads (but open to it) and I tried balancing the Yokohama myself by putting the tire on its axle between 2 jackstands and just spinning/re-spinning to find the heavy point, but that did not work well either.
Is everyone mounting their own tire also balancing it (or not) - and if balancing, curious on how you are doing it.

Many thanks

I may have started the Cooper tire thing, but I really like it and this will be my tire of choice in the future. Anyway, as to balancing, you can try an independent motorcycle repair shop or a dreaded Harley dealer, because some of the newer models of bikes have super fat rear tires and the Spyder rear wheel is essentially the same design. So if they have the right jigs, their balancing machines will work.

[Deanna777]

[QUOTE=Docster;1367912]Based on my research of all the many tire threads here and comments from individuals on the forum who've I come to regard as very experienced or experts, i put the same tire on mine.[/QUOT The OEM (Kenda )was replaced at 5,284 miles. I went with the General Altimax RT43 because of the Spec's. It also has the "tire replacement "indicator built into the tire itself.

This is a great tire.

Go to" My albums" for pictures of the General Altimax RT43 tire.

Deanna