Another tire thread!!! For RS not RT

[Sempyder]

So I have been paying attention to the tire threads as like most not impressed with the Kenda. But what I have noticed is most everyone that replies owns drives operates an RT. So if you are testing tires on a RT their is a special section of SL for you to communicate your findings. No offense but not interested in RT input. This is the GS/RS section for a reason.

Who out their is testing any tires for a RS and what are you seeing / feeling. what size are you running? What brand? Pros / Cons ?

I made it a little over 5k with Kenda and it has zero tread left outside of the the outer 2 inches of each side. ImageUploadedByTapatalk1432859482.044209.jpgthanks for any info.


Sempert out,

[Chupaca]

What air pressure are you running in it. Don't know the year of your RS but my 2012 got 22,000 miles on the first kenda and have almost 5,500 on the second and it looks great. Ryde mostly double up at 28#'s in the rear and ryde mostly high speed. The fronts have almost 27,500 and are showing wear..I will keep using them...but what the RT's are using are the same most have gone to.

[coz]

I just had the Kuhmo ecsta mounted three weeks ago. It's pretty popular around here for all Spyders. Good bang for the buck. I paid 88 dollars shipped. I expect it to last 20-25 k. Original stock tire lasted 16,500 and it looked way better than yours when I replaced it. Your tire has to be paper thin in the middle.

[Rob Rodriguez]

Just for reference, my 2012 RS has 8500 miles on it and the rear tire is at the first wear bar. I'm figuring it should be good for 12-14 thousand.

[Sempyder]

What air pressure are you running in it. Don't know the year of your RS but my 2012 got 22,000 miles on the first kenda and have almost 5,500 on the second and it looks great. Ryde mostly double up at 28#'s in the rear and ryde mostly high speed. The fronts have almost 27,500 and are showing wear..I will keep using them...but what the RT's are using are the same most have gone to.

I have 09 Se5 ride solo 99% of the time 2up on date night with my wife if I'm lucky. Turn and Burn just about every opportunity I have. I'm a younger rider compared to most of SL. I got 15k out of original rear just hit 21K last week. 29 psi on the money check it regularly which is about 1x a week.
I understand that the RT's side but different weight and type of driving. I just don't see RS drivers saying anything and I want to here if any info is available. I'm glad for the rt info cause I'm really interested in the toyo s drive and SpyderAnn I think has some good accurate info and many others. But hoping some RS drivers pop in with info.

Coz it is paper thin I'm worried yikes!!!


Sempert out,

[3 wheeler]

Judging by your rear tire wear, you're riding your RS like it was designed to be ridden . I like to accelerate rapidly with mine too. I have a little over 10K on my 2011 RS and I'm going to need a 3rd rear tire in the near future. My fronts still look decent.

[Chupaca]

Might be a bit much for solo hence the center wear. Mine was that or worse but not down to the wear bars. Looks bad but worked well. Once I learned which ones were the wear bar I was fine. Have my second kenda and doing great...your right..too many RT'S. ..lol

[DrewNJ]

I have about 13k on my original. I'm getting well into the first group of those water shed bars but not at the lower wear bars. Probably be around the 15-16k mile mark. I'd say I ride in the middle...sometimes aggressive, sometimes cruising easily 2 up with the wife.

I'm either going to do another Kenda (yes, I'm happy with it) or may try a Toyo RA1 just to see how sticky it is and how long it lasts.

[Highwayman2013]

Well I have an RT, and even I know you need a tire! Any tire!

[Web Runner]

Hi, I can certainly sympathize with you. I spent months trying to learn as much as I could about rear tire choices from this site. I did learn that the Michelin Hydroedge was the tire to get, however, that model has been discontinued. So, I was back to square one. I looked at installing another Kenda, but that did not sit well with me. I read about Toyo, Yokohama, Nitto, Michelin, Kuhmo, BF Goodrich, General, Pirelli, and Falken. I decided to go with the BF Goodrich Advantage T/A 215 60 15 and despite having ridden with the new tire less than one thousand miles, I am quite happy with it, especially on wet roads. The tire has great traction that I immediately noticed the first time I opened the throttle. I wanted to get more mileage on the tire before posting my thoughts, but I felt it important to share what I know with you. Hope this helps.

Oh, by the way, my original tire lasted about 12,500 miles, just past the second wear bar. Lots of fishtailing with that tire.

[Sempyder]

Well I have an RT, and even I know you need a tire! Any tire!

That's really the reason I didn't want RT's on this thread, cause I'm embarrassed about my tire and want to limit it to the RS crowd.

Needless to say so far the best advice for me, any tire is definitely better than the one I have on it.

How is your 215/60:r15 car tire holding up?

Thanks for the I would have expected that one from Bob D...

Sempert out,

[Sempyder]

I was happy with my first Kenda as well but the second was a disappointment. Toyo RA1 and BF advantage I'm going to check this out against toyo s drive.

On the BF advantage why did you chose that size I have heard a lot of 205/55/r15 is the size to eliminate "ballooning" which I think is my obvious issue with the wear of my center tread being gone.


Sempert out,

[mudcruiserman]

I have a 2014 RS with the softer compound tire and got 3500 miles and it's shot.
I have narrowed my search/research to the Nitto NT450 or the Yokohama S Drive.
Size 205/55/15
The other size that corrects speedo error is 215/60/15 (more brand choices)
It is nearly a full inch taller and seems like too radical a change for me.
I will have my new tire on by 4000 miles.
Dealer quoted me 114 to install it. (more than either tire)

[Sempyder]

I have about 13k on my original. I'm getting well into the first group of those water shed bars but not at the lower wear bars. Probably be around the 15-16k mile mark. I'd say I ride in the middle...sometimes aggressive, sometimes cruising easily 2 up with the wife.

I'm either going to do another Kenda (yes, I'm happy with it) or may try a Toyo RA1 just to see how sticky it is and how long it lasts.

Let me know when you burn through the toyo ra1 that tire is bad in a great way.


Sempert out,

[BlueLghtning]

I'm borrowing a 2013 RS that has just under 24k on it. I had knee surgery about 8 weeks ago (torn ACL replaced) and although I normally ride 2 wheelers, in order to keep my wife and Dr happy, I agreed to stay off the 2 wheelers for a bit to let my knee heal and not re-injure it. (I tore my ACL on my dual sport motorcycle on March 1st). I'm a very avid rider though so staying off a bike was killing me. A friend that owns the RS just had back surgery so I knew she'd be off her Spyder for awhile and I made a deal with her to do some maintenance, put on a new rear tire, and a few other things her Spyder needs, in exchange for borrowing it for a bit while she heals up. She'll get a Spyder back in tip top shape ready to ride and I'll have gotten to enjoy riding without the risk of re-injuring my knee for awhile.

So anyway, I knew the rear tire needed to be replaced before I picked it up last week, but it was worse than I expected. I rode it the hour home from her house, but that was going to be it until I ordered a new tire. Through posts on this forum, I found that the Kumho Ecsta (225/50-15) was a popular choice and for $81 shipped to my door, it sure sounded better than the stock Kenda tire at more than double the price. However, that Kumho tire still wasn't due in until the next week and Memorial Day Weekend was coming up with beautiful weather and I wanted to ride.

So last Saturday, I stopped by a couple local tire stores that sell used tires to see what they might have. The 1st one said used 15 tires in general were hard to come by, but the 2nd store I lucked out and found a 215/60-15 tire in really good shape. I had seen others had had great luck with this size tire and for $30 I decided to give it a shot. The used tire was actually in pretty good shape so it would last a bit and even better, it would get me on the Spyder that weekend so I could enjoy some riding over the long holiday weekend.

So this was the stock Kenda tire that was pretty much shot when I brought it home. I think she said it had about 10k miles on it, but it was pretty much gone long before this and it looks like she was running too much air pressure since the middle is gone and the edge still looked pretty good.




This was the used tire I put on. I don't even remember what brand it was, but I guess it's more of a luxury car type tire. I didn't expect this tire to be that great, but it's actually working pretty good. It's not that aggressive of a tire, but I had a chance to take the Spyder to some twisty roads and it did great. I've also found myself in rain a couple times already and it's doing real well there too. As others have said, the nice thing about the 215/60 size is it makes the speedo almost dead on. If this was my Spyder, I probably would have just ordered a 215/60 tire instead of the Kumho, but at the time I ordered it, I was a bit nervous about trying a non stock size tire on a Spyder that wasn't mine and being stuck with a tire that didn't work. The used tire was a cheap way to experiment and I'm so glad it works.



BTW, the Kumho came in today and it looks great. I can't wait to put that on. The good thing is though I can pretty much wear out this used tire without feeling guilty and return the Spyder with a brand new Kumho tire on it when my friend is ready to ride again. At 24k her front tires are still looking pretty good too.

Here's the Kumho




Oh yeah, this was my first time changing a Spyder tire. It actually wasn't as bad as I expected getting the wheel off and changing the Car Tire on my No Mar Tire change was actually a piece of cake. The hardest part of the actual tire change was breaking the bead on the old tire just due to the fact the tire was a lot wider than a MC tire and the angle of the breaker was kind of off. I also was able to see that the belt alignment was off originally and get that to line up straight. I ordered a belt tensioner thing so I could verify i had the correct tension too. Overall, the experience was pretty similar to adjusting and setting up a chain on my street bikes.

I'm tall 6'4", so the more aggressive riding position of the RS isn't all that comfortable for my long legs if I ride for a good bit, but I'm not complaining. I've had a chance to ride the new F3's, which I love, but I have a pretty full garage already. haha. We have a older couple that comes to our bike night each week that ride a Spyder RT. They first had a 2012 RT and now own a 2014 RT, so I've been around Spyders for a bit. I really do like that new 1330 engine, but the RS is keeping me happy and I actually enjoy that it's the SM5 model.

[Web Runner]

I was happy with my first Kenda as well but the second was a disappointment. Toyo RA1 and BF advantage I'm going to check this out against toyo s drive.

On the BF advantage why did you chose that size I have heard a lot of 205/55/r15 is the size to eliminate "ballooning" which I think is my obvious issue with the wear of my center tread being gone.


Sempert out,

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the VSS, TCS, and brakes were designed for a 225mm wide tire. I wanted to stay as close to that size as possible for handling/safety reasons and the widest Advantage T/A that was offered for a 15-inch rim was 215mm with a 60mm profile. As for the taller size, I wanted my speedometer to match what my GPS indicated. Since installing the new tire, the speeds match. Which also begs the question of real miles traveled vs miles traveled as indicated on the speedometer. I would also venture to say that a taller tire means a few less rpm's to maintain the same speed, which I would hope would translate into a slighty improved mpg. Regarding the ballooning effect, I have heard some people report that it is a result of too much air pressure and others that having a two-ply tire (the stock Kenda tires are two ply) at highway speeds causes this to happen. Mine did the same thing, although not as dramatically as yours.

[BlueLghtning]

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the VSS, TCS, and brakes were designed for a 225mm wide tire. I wanted to stay as close to that size as possible for handling/safety reasons and the widest Advantage T/A that was offered for a 15-inch rim was 215mm with a 60mm profile. As for the taller size, I wanted my speedometer to match what my GPS indicated. Since installing the new tire, the speeds match. Which also begs the question of real miles traveled vs miles traveled as indicated on the speedometer. I would also venture to say that a taller tire means a few less rpm's to maintain the same speed, which I would hope would translate into a slighty improved mpg. Regarding the ballooning effect, I have heard some people report that it is a result of too much air pressure and others that having a two-ply tire (the stock Kenda tires are two ply) at highway speeds causes this to happen. Mine did the same thing, although not as dramatically as yours.

I doubt the width of the tire will play much into the VSS, TCS, etc. The actual height or diameter of the tire would play more into that. The 205 the OP chose could be a bit narrow for the rim, but usually there is probably a variance of a certain set of tire widths that fit certain rim widths and we are only talking 10mm between a 225 & 205. The 205 is probably close enough to the variance in rim sizes that it wouldn't be an issue. The 215 of course is a bit closer to what it is stock. However, a 205/55 tire has a closer overall side wall height to the 225/50 than the 215/60 does. Check out these numbers below. Remember the 2nd number in the tire size is the side wall height of the tire expressed in a percentage of the width of the tire. Also keep in mind that that not all 205 or 215 or 225 size tires are created equal even if they are the same size. You'll have plenty of variances between manufactures.

225mm * .50 = 112.5mm tall
205mm * .55 = 112.75mm tall
215mm * .60 = 129.0mm tall

So you can see the 215/60 is actually a bit larger than the stock in sidewall height while the 205/55 tires are almost dead on with stock. Apparently there is some leeway though in the Nanny since all these tire sizes appear to work just fine.

As for the mileage difference, I do bet that once you go to the 215/60 which makes the speedo more accurate, the odometer is probably reading low. Normally the speedo's are off more on the high side compared to the odometers. So in actuality, if you hand calculate your MPG via miles traveled vs gallons used, it probably will look a tad worse with the taller tire since you are probably accumulating a few less miles per tank.

[Web Runner]

I doubt the width of the tire will play much into the VSS, TCS, etc. The actual height or diameter of the tire would play more into that. The 205 the OP chose could be a bit narrow for the rim, but usually there is probably a variance of a certain set of tire widths that fit certain rim widths and we are only talking 10mm between a 225 & 205. The 215 of course is a bit closer to what it should have. However, a 205/55 tire has a closer overall side wall height to the 225/50 than the 215/60 does.

225mm * .50 = 112.5mm
205mm * .55 = 112.75mm
215mm * .60 = 129.0mm

So you can see the 215/60 is actually a bit larger than the stock or the 205/55 tires. Apparently there is some leeway though in the Nanny since all these tire sizes appear to work just fine.

As for the mileage difference, I do bet that once you go to the 215/60 which makes the speedo more accurate, the odometer is probably reading low. Normally the speedo's are off more on the high side compared to the odometers. So in actuality, if you hand calculate your MPG via miles traveled vs gallons used, it probably will look a tad worse with the taller tire.

Ok, thanks!

[PistonBlown]

I went though Kenda's in about 9000km (5500 miles) , they didn't get as bad as yours but definitely wore quickly yet seemed to offer poor traction.

Went to to a local tyre guy who did other Spyders and he suggested 3 options Toyo, Kumho and another make I can't remember. He certainly didn't have a good word to say about the Kenda's. After discussing my riding preferences we ended up going for a Toyo Proxes T1R. Had that on for about 5000km (3000 miles) so far. Very little wear and the tyre sticks so much better than the Kenda. The Kenda was always stepping out when pulling out of turns etc on cold days which would then worry nanny but no such problem with the Toyo.

You do get the odd person saying they got really good mileage out of their Kenda's but speaking with someone else on this forum a while back we came to the conclusion that local road surfaces play a large part. Kenda's don't like a rougher road surface and wear quickly on that.

There was also one batch of Kenda tyres that had a different compound and wore ridiculously quickly.

Having said that I'd probably go for the Kenda's on the front again as they seem to last forever.

Oh and yes I have a RS:-)

[jcthorne]

You need to look at the manufactururs specified ACTUAL tread width, not the nominal size number.

The 205/55-15 Yokohama S-drive is actually WIDER than the Kuhmo 225. The OEM Kenda is wider than the two at about 3/16 inch wider than the Yoko.

The Yokohama is a great tire on the Spyder with great wet and dry traction the Kuhmo does not. Its diameter is exactly the same as the OEM tire.

[jtpollock]

I am on my 3 rear tire on my 2012 RS-s got around 12000 on the Kenda did not like it. I ride about 75% of the time single but on long rides it 2 up
My first Kuhmo 205 55 15, I got around 29000 miles and have just over 9000 on my 3rd Kuhmo. I like the way handle I ride hard accelerate hard and
love the twisty. Oh ya I also pull a trailer on the long rides, it's getting harder to get the Kuhmo I have had to special order both of them at the local Discount Tire.
One more thing I guess if I want my tires to last I have to leave it in the garage but I just can't do that got to ride... jtpollock

[Bob Denman]

Thanks for the I would have expected that one from Bob D...

I was staying out of it, and letting the RS pilots talk...
But since you poked me...

[Michael211_2000]

IDK... I'm almost at 12K miles on my 2012 RS and the OEM rear tire tread is barely at 50%, with the wear fairly even all the way across. I've been running it at 28psi and check it about once a month.

I don't see much to complain about it really. I've been caught out in a cold rain while riding, and other than my face shield fogging up I felt the Spyder held the road just fine.... no handling issues in wet weather. I haven't had any alignments done on this Spyder and it seems to handle just fine and all 3 tires are wearing evenly... the next time they're doing Laser Alignments in my neck of the woods I may go ahead and spring for one just out of curiosity.

Why your tire worse down so very fast, I have no idea! What are your front tires like?

- Michael

[Michael211_2000]

ps. There are some of those Michelin Hydroedge R15 tires on Ebay as of right now if anybody is looking for them. They look like a nice tire too.

- Michael

[Michael211_2000]

"Turn and Burn just about every opportunity I have."

Ok that probably explains most of your problem with the OEM rear tire then... lol! I don't think too many tires are going to do much better than the OEM tire if you keep that style of riding up.

It is good to hear that your SE tranny and the clutch is holding together under those conditions though!

Regards and be safe out there... as much as possible anyhows!

- Michael