Are you happy with your aftermarket CAR tires?

[greer]

I'll choose a different tire this time, for sure. But the bike could run right hand curves like a demon while wearing the Hankook, so it's something about the VSS. Hopefully BRP is working on it, and I'll live with it in the meantime.

Sarah

[GS1]

good day had a Vredsteins put on in the rear(install was a lot) a couple of weeks ago and from the start i noticed the difference and that was with it over inflated, once down to proper PSI at the moment 18 still liking it

[seger]

I have a Ryker 900 and was wondering what size you change to when changing to other than Kenda tires? 16" I have, but height/width of the front and rear tires?

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I have a Ryker 900 and was wondering what size you change to when changing to other than Kenda tires? 16" I have, but height/width of the front and rear tires?

As " GS1 " stated above Vredestein " QUATRAC " would be an excellent choice many others here use that tire on their RT's and F-3's ( in 15 inch size of course ) ..... Mike

[greer]

I have a Ryker 900 and was wondering what size you change to when changing to other than Kenda tires? 16" I have, but height/width of the front and rear tires?

I believe we're stuck with factory tires or Kenda Kanines on the front, 145/60R16 is an odd size. On the rear you'll need a 205/45R16. I've just started looking myself, so far I have read good things about the Toyo Extensa HP II and the Kumho Ecsta PS 31, but I have no experience with either one.

Sarah

Edit: I've continued to look here and on the FB groups for recommendations on the 205/45R16, the Yokohama Advan Fleva V701 and the Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 seem to get good reviews.

[mikthebik]

My first Spyder, a 2015 F3S, was purchased with original Kendas. There was a moderate to severe balance issue at certain higway speeds, that made riding it home from Phoenix to San Diego, a bit of an adventure. That was in late 2022, when tire availabity was challenging. I was able to source some Yoko Avids from Tire Rack and had them balanced locally. They've been wonderfully stable and are wearing well. Rear Kenda lasted anther few thousand miles and was replaced with an Altimax. Both brands have been easy to live with.

My newest Spyder, a 2018 RTL, was purchased locally from a relative with about 11K miles. When it was new, the front tires could not be balanced and were replaced under warranty. When I purchased the bike, the rear, which had worn well, was replaced with another Altimax, which I am, again, very happy with. The fronts still are the warranty replaced Kenda, which will be replaced by some 175/55 car tires that are recommended by the forum, when the time comes.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

My first Spyder, a 2015 F3S, was purchased with original Kendas. There was a moderate to severe balance issue at certain higway speeds, that made riding it home from Phoenix to San Diego, a bit of an adventure. That was in late 2022, when tire availabity was challenging. I was able to source some Yoko Avids from Tire Rack and had them balanced locally. They've been wonderfully stable and are wearing well. Rear Kenda lasted anther few thousand miles and was replaced with an Altimax. Both brands have been easy to live with.

My newest Spyder, a 2018 RTL, was purchased locally from a relative with about 11K miles. When it was new, the front tires could not be balanced and were replaced under warranty. When I purchased the bike, the rear, which had worn well, was replaced with another Altimax, which I am, again, very happy with. The fronts still are the warranty replaced Kenda, which will be replaced by some 175/55 car tires that are recommended by the forum, when the time comes.

Happy to hear you were able to go to Auto tires .... But I don't recommend that SIZE for your Spyder/s .... there are some very nice 165/60-15 size tires that are a better choice .... I love the Vredestein Quatrac in 165/60-15 ( and so do many, many others on this Forum .....Mike

[Snoking1127]

My Vredestein's are 175/55R15. I have not had any issues running that size.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

My Vredestein's are 175/55R15. I have not had any issues running that size.

And I'm glad for you ..... most folks don't have any issues with 175/55-15 , however some folks have ..... but you paid more for your tires than I did .... The NANNY is calibrated to allow only a certain amount of lateral traction ie. " G " forces. .... even if you had say a 225 width tire the Nanny would prevent you from improving your lateral traction. JMHO ....MIke

[mikthebik]

Happy to hear you were able to go to Auto tires .... But I don't recommend that SIZE for your Spyder/s .... there are some very nice 165/60-15 size tires that are a better choice .... I love the Vredestein Quatrac in 165/60-15 ( and so do many, many others on this Forum .....Mike

I do like the 175/5s, but am certainly open to any reasons they might be problematic. When they were purchased, brands and sizes were VERY limited and the Yokos were the best choice of those recomended by the forum wisdom. Only issue I have is only at rest, where the power steering isn't as effective on the F3S with the Yokos as the RTL with the stock Kendas. Don't know if it's related to the wider footprint of the Yokos, or maybe just a difference in the two units by design, or by chance.

[troop]

A couple seasons ago, I bought a set of Achilles ATR-K Economist 165/55R15 tires to try on my F3S. They were a nice improvement over the OEM Kenda's. I then bit on Vredestein reviews and bought a set of 165/60R15 to try on my 2019 F3S. The also worked much better than OEM, and I kept them on. Now I have a 2022 RT STS. I put the Vredestein's on it and they rubbed. I put the Achilles on it and they did not rub. Over the winter, I did shim the RT front fenders but did not refit the Vredestein's. I'll keep the Achilles on the RT and the Vredestein's on the F3S for sale. We'll see what the future brings for 165/55R15 car tires as they're now impossible to find stateside.
Tire Diameter 15 in
Highway Terrain
Radial
Tire Size 165/55R15
Vehicle Type Car
Tire Width 165mm
Tire Aspect Ratio 55
Wheel Diameter 15
Warranty Distance 35000 miles
Tire Season All Season
Tire Speed Rating H
Tire Type Passenger car tire
Tire Load Index 75
Uniform Tire Quality Grade (UTQG) 400-AA-A
Tread Depth 10/32
Assembled Product Weight 16.67 LB

[BajaRon]

A couple seasons ago, I bought a set of Achilles ATR-K Economist 165/55R15 tires to try on my F3S. They were a nice improvement over the OEM Kenda's. I then bit on Vredestein reviews and bought a set of 165/60R15 to try on my 2019 F3S. The also worked much better than OEM, and I kept them on. Now I have a 2022 RT STS. I put the Vredestein's on it and they rubbed. I put the Achilles on it and they did not rub. Over the winter, I did shim the RT front fenders but did not refit the Vredestein's. I'll keep the Achilles on the RT and the Vredestein's on the F3S for sale. We'll see what the future brings for 165/55R15 car tires as they're now impossible to find stateside.
Tire Diameter 15 in
Highway Terrain
Radial
Tire Size 165/55R15
Vehicle Type Car
Tire Width 165mm
Tire Aspect Ratio 55
Wheel Diameter 15
Warranty Distance 35000 miles
Tire Season All Season
Tire Speed Rating H
Tire Type Passenger car tire
Tire Load Index 75
Uniform Tire Quality Grade (UTQG) 400-AA-A
Tread Depth 10/32
Assembled Product Weight 16.67 LB

You might have said where the Vredestein's rubbed on the fender. But I was to lazy to look. This is odd as we've installed quite a number of these on customer's Spyders of all years without issue. The 2020+ seem to have a bit less fender room than the earlier models. But this makes it even more strange to have clearance issues on a 2019.

[troop]

You might have said where the Vredestein's rubbed on the fender. But I was to lazy to look. This is odd as we've installed quite a number of these on customer's Spyders of all years without issue. The 2020+ seem to have a bit less fender room than the earlier models. But this makes it even more strange to have clearance issues on a 2019.

No clearance issues on my 2019 F3S. I have not tried the Vredestein's (currently on my F3S wheels) on my 2022 RT since I shimmed the fenders. I was happy enough with the tire improvement of the Achilles 165/55R15's to use them on the RT. Shimming was done for future possibilities

[pauly1]

All of BRP's responses are to protect the company. Yes, the electronic systems, aka "nanny", are calibrated to the OEM tires and stock wheels. Other combinations may work but BRP has not validated them, nor will they spend the money on doing so. Their disclaimers are based on legal positions, not technology. Another way to state is, "You can run any tire you want. We, BRP, are not responsible for any outcome from you doing so."

As far as motorcycle inspections go, TX checks only vehicle lighting, the horn, and stopping/brake functions. They have never looked at my tires or commented on auxiliary lighting.

Also, there is likely some heavy-handed language between BRP and their dealers about installing after-market tires as any negative result could feed back into a lawsuit against BRP. It's all about protecting the company.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

All of BRP's responses are to protect the company. Yes, the electronic systems, aka "nanny", are calibrated to the OEM tires and stock wheels. Other combinations may work but BRP has not validated them, nor will they spend the money on doing so. Their disclaimers are based on legal positions, not technology. Another way to state is, "You can run any tire you want. We, BRP, are not responsible for any outcome from you doing so."

As far as motorcycle inspections go, TX checks only vehicle lighting, the horn, and stopping/brake functions. They have never looked at my tires or commented on auxiliary lighting.

Also, there is likely some heavy-handed language between BRP and their dealers about installing after-market tires as any negative result could feed back into a lawsuit against BRP. It's all about protecting the company.

with everything Except - They are calibrated to the OEM tires "....They are calibrated to a SMALL range of tire CIRCUMFERENCES ( ie. rolling distance ) .... they will not recognize, Tread pattern, Tread composition, or Tread width ..... These are CLAIMS made by BRP, but they arn't actual facts Mike

[davev1pa]

I have General Altimax on rears and Achilles(sp) on the front. I didn't put them on the rear because I was worried about "heel" damage.

[BajaRon]

I'll choose a different tire this time, for sure. But the bike could run right hand curves like a demon while wearing the Hankook, so it's something about the VSS. Hopefully BRP is working on it, and I'll live with it in the meantime.

Sarah

Hello Sarah,

I left you a Private Message. Sometimes we don't notice them and I didn't want you to miss it.

Ron (bajaron)

[BajaRon]

No clearance issues on my 2019 F3S. I have not tried the Vredestein's (currently on my F3S wheels) on my 2022 RT since I shimmed the fenders. I was happy enough with the tire improvement of the Achilles 165/55R15's to use them on the RT. Shimming was done for future possibilities

OK, I see it was my bad for not reading your clear statements more carefully. The 2020+ RT's do have less room under the fender. We've had issues with the 175's on those. We now try to talk these customers out of mounting the 175's on the 2020+ RT's because of this. But we've not had any issues with the 165's so far. Probably a combination of manufacturing variance in the tire and fender configuration.

Thank you for setting me straight! I need that from time to time. All the time according to my wife!

[greer]

I wanted to be sure and say thanks to Ron for posting up this thread. Sifting through the various tire options can be overwhelming, so it's nice to have good information all in one place.

Sarah

[wd8ajj]

Anything's better than the crap tires put on as OEM. Been running car tires for 10 years and only had to replace the fronts 1 time and the rear 2. Getting 30K on a set of rear tires.

[Chebber]

Hi Ron. We're looking at tires right now and cannot find the Altimax rt45 and the Quatracs in 205 60 r15. The closest size is 195 55 r15. What's your opinion on fitment? My husband and I both have 2013's; mine is an RT and he has the ST model.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Hi Ron. We're looking at tires right now and cannot find the Altimax rt45 and the Quatracs in 205 60 r15. The closest size is 195 55 r15. What's your opinion on fitment? My husband and I both have 2013's; mine is an RT and he has the ST model.

Tire Rack.com now has 225/60-15 & 215/60-15 @ $122 & $118 per tire they ship for free ( don't answer any questions about what veh they are going on ....JUST DECLINE ) ..... Or the Riken Raptor 231/60-15 @ $ 82.00 ( I switched the the Raptor 8000mi.ago and love it ......Good luck .... Mike

[Peter Aawen]

Hi Ron. We're looking at tires right now and cannot find the Altimax rt45 and the Quatracs in 205 60 r15. The closest size is 195 55 r15. What's your opinion on fitment? My husband and I both have 2013's; mine is an RT and he has the ST model.

While some 195/55R15 tires will physically 'fit' on the rear of your Spyder, they really are too narrow for the rim &/or for comfortable, safe riding!

I have fitted & ridden on a couple of tires in those nominal sizes just to see if they'd actually 'work' back there, and they did physically go on (with a little stretching & effort! ) and the Spyder wasn't completely impossible &/or dangerous to ride as a result; but seriously, I really STRONGLY wouldn't recommend fitting a rear tire in that size on a Spyder as anything but an 'Emergency just to get me home' sorta thing!!

Generally, for any Spyder model, I'd suggest that you don't want to go any smaller than a 205/50R15 or any larger than a 225/60R15, but pretty much any of the 50 thru to 65 profiles in sizes between those two extremes will work fairly well. The OEM tires are a bit on the 'small' side of their nominal size, so with one of them fitted, your speedo might read anything up to about 5-7ish mph faster than you're actually going (and your trip/odometer might be similarly optimistic too! ) so a slightly taller profile tire is likely to make your speedo (& trip/odo) closer to 'accurate'; while the VSS is designed & cailbrated to function well with any tires sized within that range; and there's physically room to fit most tires with those nominal sizes both onto the rim and into the wheel well, altho wider/taller tires will have less tolerance/room for suspension compression under load or thru use, so they might touch the inner fender/seat under-tray if you hit any sudden bumps/carry a heavy load...

So on the rear of your Spyder, you can readily go for either a 205, a 215, or a 225 wide tire in a 50, 55, or 60 profile without any concerns, maybe even a 65 profile in either of the 2 narrower widths; but pretty much whatever way you look at it, a tire that's only 195 mm wide in any profile is not a going to be a good width for running on the rear of your Spyder!

Just Sayin'

Ps: IIRC, I'm currently running a 205/65R15 M&S tire on the rear of my 2013 RT, but then, it's just not easy for us to get Altimax or Quatracs here in Oz.

[BajaRon]

Hi Ron. We're looking at tires right now and cannot find the Altimax rt45 and the Quatracs in 205 60 r15. The closest size is 195 55 r15. What's your opinion on fitment? My husband and I both have 2013's; mine is an RT and he has the ST model.

Do you want the 205/60R 15? We can get you either one. Tire Rack should have them too. But don't tell them you're putting it on the back of a Spyder. They probably won't sell it to you if you do.

But if you're going to go with the Altimax RT45, that one comes in a 215/60R 15, which I would recommend. I wish the Vredestein would come in that size. But you have to go down to a 205 for that one.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Do you want the 205/60R 15? We can get you either one. Tire Rack should have them too. But don't tell them you're putting it on the back of a Spyder. They probably won't sell it to you if you do.

But if you're going to go with the Altimax RT45, that one comes in a 215/60R 15, which I would recommend. I wish the Vredestein would come in that size. But you have to go down to a 205 for that one.

Or read post #47 .....Mike