Using auto tires on any spyder

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Hi Mike here ….. there are dozens and dozens of New folks on this site now and may not be aware of this …. If you decide to use Auto tires on your Spyder ( and most here are doing this ) …. Tire sellers usually will not sell you a Car tire if you tell them it's for a Spyder …. They are afraid of legal liability issues, even tho Any Auto tire is at least three times as safe as a Kenda or Arachnid..... so if you Must speak to a salesman tell them it's for a used car you just bought and this is the Brand & Size that's on the car Now …. and you need to re-place one or two and you want them to match or say it's for a dune buggy and that's what are on there now ….. If you want accurate info about tires ASK HERE …. not a tire sales-person, they have NO knowledge about tires used on Spyders ….. Discount tire has pretty much RED FLAGGED the Kumho Ecsta in 225/50-15 for the aforementioned reasons.........good luck …. Mike :ohyea: .......PS - Dis-claimer, what you put on your Spyder is your decision not Mine ......

[asp125]

Or if it's the rear tire, tell 'em you need one as a spare tire.

I can't recall if TireRack sells non-complete sets (ie <4), anyone know?

[JayBros]

For the General Altimax 215/60R15 I've gotten them at Walmart for first one and Amazon for second, both free shipping.

[Chasinsparks]

I got my tires from tire rack, ordered the front two and a month later order the rear. On the site I put the size I wanted and then selected the option of not entering vehicle information.




Or if it's the rear tire, tell 'em you need one as a spare tire.

I can't recall if TireRack sells non-complete sets (ie <4), anyone know?

[WisconsinDavid]

I bought my Vredestein's from Tire Rack. I ordered the rear tire first. A second order for the two fronts. I just searched the site for tire size and picked. Shipped without any questions.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I bought my Vredestein's from Tire Rack. I ordered the rear tire first. A second order for the two fronts. I just searched the site for tire size and picked. Shipped without any questions.

:agree: … one of my points was … salespeople ask questions and will deny a sale if you tell the truth ….. on-line ordering works best ….if you can do it that way …. Mike :ohyea:

[SpyderAnn01]

www.tires-easy.com, Amazon.com, walmart.com do not ask what vehicle you are buying for.

[Hentch]

Once you get a non-stock tire can you bring it to a dealer to have it mounted? I imagine most wont so where do you go to get the tire mounted and balanced.

Also how about riding mileage are the equivalent to a car tire with mileage and is the ride pretty good?

[BoilerAnimal]

I bought my rear tire at a local tire shop but had to take it to a motorcycle shop to get it spin balanced. I took the wheel off and put it back on myself.

I ordered my Vredestein tires from TireRack.com and ordered by size and declined when asked IF I wanted to give any vehicle info. No problems and the tires were at my front door almost as soon as I got off the computer!:yikes::joke:

Again, took the wheels off and on myself, took the tires to a new local tire shop which had the small cones to spin balance them.

Our local Spyder dealer won't install anything other than the crappy Kendas.

[RapidSpyder]

Our local Spyder dealer won't install anything other than the crappy Kendas.


That seems to be all to common. I think I found an independent shop that will do it for me when the time comes.

[bikerbillone]

Interesting about the Kenda's, The Smoaks Vlog just did a You Tube with heavy emphasis on uing the Kenda's that were specially designed for the Spyder use, and yet I read that Kenda tires just don't get the job done.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Interesting about the Kenda's, The Smoaks Vlog just did a You Tube with heavy emphasis on uing the Kenda's that were specially designed for the Spyder use, and yet I read that Kenda tires just don't get the job done.

You should consider the source of that info..... When you watch TV do you really believe what all those PAID people have to say ???? ….regarding statements made about " Special tire design " ,.... On your car/trk have you kept the exact same tire brand & model that the veh. came with ??? if you believe what Shawn has to say then you have gone against His advice ….. just sayin …. Mike :ohyea:

[Dannoinmo]

Thanks for this conversation . . 2015 F3S, 50% tread left on both front OEM Kendas . .want to replace before road trip out west . . looking to go with Vredesteins from Tirerack, my local mechanic will mount and balance . .
Again, I appreciate all the info available here . .

[bikerbillone]

Didn't say I believed it Blue, just reporting what the man thought. When I was a two wheel rider I was a believer in the dark side and ran a CT on the rear, and a Bridgestone BT45 (rear tire) on the front, so I was a double dark sider. Definitely not promoting Kenda's here.....Ran a Kenda on my bicycle as it came with the bike, not doing that anymore.

[BoilerAnimal]

174707174708

As you can see from the load rating of the tires the Vredestein Quatrac 5 tires have about twice the load carrying capacity of the Kenda tires. That speaks volumes!

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

174707174708

As you can see from the load rating of the tires the Vredestein Quatrac 5 tires have about twice the load carrying capacity of the Kenda tires. That speaks volumes!

Thanks ...it's nice to know that the Vredesteins have about 25 to 30 % More flex than most auto tires that will fit …. this extra flex will make the tires more compliant and more comfortable to use as long as the PSI is in the 16 to 18 range …..Folks need to understand that tire flex has almost as much to do with comfort as do Shock Spring rates …. Mike :ohyea:

[DerSpyGuy]

Just mounted/balanced 2 Contiprocontact 175/55-15's and a General Altimax RT 43 215/60R-15 ordered from Discount Tire. No questions asked and no VA state sales tax. Had a local independent tire guy do the work. He balanced the fronts, but couldn't do the rear. Did that myself and added some Dyna Beads for good measure.

[Raprider]

Mike...and others...
After reading this and a recent earlier post, would it make sense to create a "sticky" (similar to Do's and Don'ts) that lists "available" front and rear rubber, based on Model/Year? Not necessarily "recommended", just Brands/Sizes?
I've personally been writing down specific options on a post-it inside my OM for when the day comes.
Just asking...apologies if previously asked/answered.

[SpyderAnn01]

Once you get a non-stock tire can you bring it to a dealer to have it mounted? I imagine most wont so where do you go to get the tire mounted and balanced.

Also how about riding mileage are the equivalent to a car tire with mileage and is the ride pretty good?
Hi, looks like you’re in Arizona do you should have a motorcycle tire store, that would be the first place I’d look for. If not, call other motorcycle dealers and see if their service department would mount and balance a tire for you. You could come to Las Vegas and we’d do the whole tire change for you.

Car tires on the rear will typically get you at least 20,000 miles and fronts 40,000 miles.

[Deanna777]

For the General Altimax 215/60R15 I've gotten them at Walmart for first one and Amazon for second, both free shipping.I have gotten the General Altimax thru TireRack.com on-line. I didn't get any phone calls from Tire Rack. I am on my 2nd General Altimax RT 43 for the rear tire on my spyder.

Deanna

[Deanna777]

I have also bought 2 front tires from TireRack.com 3 years ago. I did not call Tire Rack I ordered on -line. I have a 2014 RTS-SE6.


Deanna

[chris56]

here in Europe you send the deatils of your vehicle to the Tire-producers and get a "paper" that allowes you to use the tires .. I got it also from Toyo for my rear wheel of the Ryker (the same for my Spyders..) - I will ask them the next time, if I´m allowed to use them also on roads of America ?? :popcorn:

[cruisinTX]

I got my tires from tire rack, ordered the front two and a month later order the rear. On the site I put the size I wanted and then selected the option of not entering vehicle information.

Same options available at TiresEasy.com. I've purchased three tires that way from them; all online, no questions asked about type of vehicle if you click the right menu items.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

here in Europe you send the deatils of your vehicle to the Tire-producers and get a "paper" that allowes you to use the tires .. I got it also from Toyo for my rear wheel of the Ryker (the same for my Spyders..) - I will ask them the next time, if I´m allowed to use them also on roads of America ?? :popcorn:

So in Europe you can Legally use Auto tires on Motorcycles ?????? …………. Mike :ohyea:

[spyder01]

Or if it's the rear tire, tell 'em you need one as a spare tire.

I can't recall if TireRack sells non-complete sets (ie <4), anyone know?

-I just got 2 Vredsteins for the front of my 17 RTL.They dont ask any kind of questions,its a website and you click on tire,quanity and checkout.I dont recall ever seeing any website asking you what your usage was going to be,unless you didn't know what size or brand you needed.

[ChicagoSpyder]

Hi Mike here ….. there are dozens and dozens of New folks on this site now and may not be aware of this …. If you decide to use Auto tires on your Spyder ( and most here are doing this ) …. Tire sellers usually will not sell you a Car tire if you tell them it's for a Spyder …. They are afraid of legal liability issues, even tho Any Auto tire is at least three times as safe as a Kenda or Arachnid..... so if you Must speak to a salesman tell them it's for a used car you just bought and this is the Brand & Size that's on the car Now …. and you need to re-place one or two and you want them to match or say it's for a dune buggy and that's what are on there now ….. If you want accurate info about tires ASK HERE …. not a tire sales-person, they have NO knowledge about tires used on Spyders ….. Discount tire has pretty much RED FLAGGED the Kumho Ecsta in 225/50-15 for the aforementioned reasons.........good luck …. Mike :ohyea: .......PS - Dis-claimer, what you put on your Spyder is your decision not Mine ......

Discount Tire would not balance my front wheels, I took them in and all was good until they asked what the vehicle was, I buy a lot of tires from DT so they danced around and said they didn't have an adapter for the balancing machine......the good news is they turned me on to a local shop I didn't know existed that does bikes and custom off road machines :thumbup:

[Jblk9695]

Another thumbs up for Tire Rack. Also I use Honda Yamaha of Redlands to mount the rear tire, they even carry the new and old tire down to the service dept. Can't balance because the rear won't fit in the machine but I do it static so not a problem.

[Zoot]

Back in the wayback days I had a Fiat car, the shop machines wouldn't fit the small center hole on the Fiat rims so I had to mount my new tires by hand with tire irons. I don't remember it being that big a deal. Fortunately, the spin balancer fit no problem.

[Lulley]

Just did my General by hand with tire irons, about 12 minutes from bead break to air up with balance beads.

[pegasus1300]

Back in the wayback days I had a Fiat car, the shop machines wouldn't fit the small center hole on the Fiat rims so I had to mount my new tires by hand with tire irons. I don't remember it being that big a deal. Fortunately, the spin balancer fit no problem.

Back in the wayback days you were a lot younger and lots of things were no big deal.:roflblack::roflblack::roflblack: just say'en

[stevencovert]

I ordered all my tires off Amazon and took to the local shop (NTB in my area), no questions asked ever. If you take the rim and new tire they have never even asked me what they went to. However, I have never tried buying at the local shop - that may trigger questions. BTW I order Amazon Choice for front in correct size, very happy. For rear tire there are several excellent choices. The only thing I have seen and said something about to a fellow Ryder is when the tire is NOT symmetrical. Some tires have a changing pattern going across them. In pairs on a car, this works well. However on a single rear application it will not push water out evenly on both sides and can hydroplane far easier (they said bike did get wonky on wet roads). All the tires mentioned here - Khumo, General, Yoko have a nice symmetrical pattern. Just something to watch for, as ANY correct size tire will mount and prob work OK regardless of brand.