Kenda rear tire

[Baron14y]

Not that anyone in their right mind would want them, but Walmart is selling the 225/50R15 Kenda for $227.99. The Kuhmo Ecsta in that size can be had for $76.00. :shocked:

[deer30084]

My dealer only installs his tires he sells to the customer. Since I don't have the know how or the equipment to mount and balance a tire, I must go to the dealer.

[Baron14y]

My dealer only installs his tires he sells to the customer. Since I don't have the know how or the equipment to mount and balance a tire, I must go to the dealer.

Almost any motorcycle shop will install and balance any tire you want. At least, that is my experience.:clap:

[bayoubill]

My dealer only installs his tires he sells to the customer. Since I don't have the know how or the equipment to mount and balance a tire, I must go to the dealer.

check with all the powersports places in your area, my local dealer wanted right at 400 top install a kenda, i found a local powersports that installed a kuhmo i bought for 86.00 for 85.00, 171.00 total. that was a complete install with belt adjustment and all.

[Flamewinger]

Dealers have the Kenda for our Spyder for $180 so Walmart's price is too much! I can get one installed for just under $300. Thats the tire AND labor.

[JayBros]

Dealers have the Kenda for our Spyder for $180 so Walmart's price is too much! I can get one installed for just under $300. That's the tire AND labor.

Yes, but you still have a Crapenda tire. Ask for the price if you will provide one of the many better alternative automobile tires.

[Bfromla]

Found a Kenda that MIGHT get good miles175648:lecturef_smilie: again “might”:roflblack::roflblack::roflblack::2thumbs:

[Baron14y]

Yes, but you still have a Crapenda tire. Ask for the price if you will provide one of the many better alternative automobile tires.

Yes, and as JayBros said above, you still have a Crapenda. Down here, I can get a Kuhmo Ecsta installed for about $146.00 total.

[JayBros]

No thread high jack attempt, but I opted for the General Altimax 215/60R15 over the Kuhmo Ecsta upon reading Ann Meyer's problems with hydroplaning. I can verify though that the Altimax will hydroplane if the water is deep enough and one's speed is high enough. Got 19,692 on first Altimax that included a good bit of aggressive riding.

[AeroPilot]

I have always liked the Kumho Ecsta here in the arid west for its wear and roll, I got 23,500 mi on the last one. I have tried a couple of the General on my 15 RT and wifes 16 F3T and got 20,800 mi on her F-3. Both ride good and I believe both will hydroplane as JayBros said if water and speed are excessive. Beyond that I like them both and just shopped for two more to put on this winter. I got 2 Generals at Walmart for $193 including tax and mounting, so I went that way again... just getting the rest of the wear out of the last set. 175651 - Walmart quoted me 96 a piece for the Kumhos here:hun: 175652

[Flamewinger]

I tried a Khumo but didn't like the feel so went back to Kenda. They are made for the Spyders and can't understand why many think they are crap when I've yet to hear of any failure other than wearing out which is what motorcycle tires do better than car tires.

[JayBros]

It depends upon how you define "failure." If you mean a catastrophic collapse on the road of a tire for no apparent reason I guess I have not read on SL of any such happenings. OTOH, if you hear of owners who have Spyders come from the assembly line with front tires one of which has a few weights on one wheel and the other with a large handful on it, also an occurrence in successive rear tires, that is an indication of that poor manufacturing quality, as are grossly out of round tires and tires that have had belt delamination occur, of that I have read. Blueknight911 has tracked the Kenda quality problem since long before I joined SL and can go on for pages about their dismal showing.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I tried a Khumo but didn't like the feel so went back to Kenda. They are made for the Spyders and can't understand why many thing they are crap when I've yet to hear of any failure other than wearing out which is what motorcycle tires so better than car tires.

KUMHO tires ….. the reason this tire became popular was that it was available in the EXACT - OEM size ….. this started over 8 years ago ….. well in the past 8 years tires ,( for Spyders ) have about doubled in improved traction , especially on wet roads ( where you need it most ) …( see Vredestein Quatrac 5 tires ) …. folks have learned and reported here that the Kumho tire begins losing it's WET traction very early in it's total usable life.... ask SpyderAnn01, ( a very high mileage rider ) what She thinks about the Kumho ….. good luck …. Mike

[Revalden]

I had my local Spyder dealer change my Kenda out for a Kumho Ecsta AST KU25 All-Season Tire - 225/50R15 91H (very similar tread pattern)$123.00, Remove trailer hitch, spin balance, adjust belt tension(was a little low) install Kumho, reattach trailer hitch all for $123.00. Kenda only 3400 miles on it and half worn already. Bought the Kumho on Amazon for $86.33. I really like the cornering of the Kumho already. Can't wait to get back to the Arkansas Twisties.

[Peter Aawen]

I tried a Khumo but didn't like the feel so went back to Kenda. They are made for the Spyders and can't understand why many thing they are crap when I've yet to hear of any failure other than wearing out which is what motorcycle tires so better than car tires.


Well there is this one that came up fairly recently....

https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?124777-Catastrophic-failure&highlight=catastrophic

And I'm thinking there was at least one other incident very much like the linked example that occurred this year too, but it didn't come up when I looked for 'catastrophic', so.... :dontknow: Still, the thing is, these types of reports ARE out there, & I personally firmly believe that this is occurring with the OE Spec Kendas far more so than it will for just about any 'good quality' tire brand! But even if you ignore the purely catastrophic failures, there's also the number of cases reported here on the boards where a Spyder Ryder chases a vibration &/or handling issue for a long time, sometimes over years & repeated visits to dealers & cases raised with BRP to no avail, UNTIL they finally change the brand of tire they are using and Hallelujah, those supposedly 'un-resolvable problems' that've been plaguing them all this time are suddenly (miraculously??) resolved!! :shocked: There's more than just a few examples on the boards here & on other sites where Spyder Owners discover that changing to another tire brand can resolve their concerns with issues apart from the ride, wear, & handling benefits that most report on making such a change! :ohyea:

Still, I could be mistaken, but I reckon that your post above might just be the very first one I've seen where some-one has willingly decided to go back to running a Kenda after trying an alternative 'real' tire (& not just a clone); at least for a reason other than their Dealer's unwillingness to fit anything else or due to time, fitting pressures, &/or simple 'availability within the given time frame'..... so I guess we're even, & I'd better stop saying that I don't know of anyone who's been less than happy with making the change away from Kendas! I am quite surprised tho - I really didn't think that'd ever happen! :shocked: But it is your ryde & your choice! :thumbup:

[canamjhb]

:agree::agree: I think Peter is right on. I also have not seen anyone going back to a Kenda. But, here is a first. And, I was one of those who chased poor handling and vibration until I changed tire brands. My Spyder was scary-dangerous until I got rid of the Kendas. My learning curve was steep and I finally realized dealers were/are charging premium prices for substandard tires ..... Jim

[Fat Baxter]

.... I also have not seen anyone going back to a Kenda.

I was recently forced back into a Kenda on the rear. Years ago, when the original Kenda wore out at 6800 miles, I found a Spyder-savvy third party shop who could mount any tire I wanted, and do a laser alignment. So I got a General Altimax installed. About a year later, they also replaced the fronts with Kumhos. Glorious difference!

Fast forward to this year when the General wore out at 24,000 miles. So I called that third party shop. "Nope, we don't do any of that any more" (I think their sole Spyder-savvy guy moved on). After checking around, no shop in the region would mount non-OEM tires, and I couldn't find another third party to do it for me. So, by default, I got a Kenda on the rear now. The regional dealers have the riders over a barrel.

To make things worse, the front end started feeling out of alignment this past Spring and the tires are wearing on the inside, but the dealer (who is just starting to do laser alignments) says the front end is on spec. I'm re-engaging with him this week for a re-look. If he swears it's still in spec and the poor handling continues, I may have to go out of state to a specialist (like Spyderpops or Squared Away). It sucks that we have to do things like that.

[PW2013STL]

I tried a Khumo but didn't like the feel so went back to Kenda. They are made for the Spyders and can't understand why many thing they are crap when I've yet to hear of any failure other than wearing out which is what motorcycle tires so better than car tires.

Interesting as I had the exact opposite on our 2014 RT. We were in Durango,CO at a BRP powers event and I had my OEM replaced at the CanAm dealer there with a Khumo and the differance in ride and handling was night and day better. Even my wife noticed how much better to the point she asked me what I did to the suspension.
If your ride was harsh there may have been too much pressure in the tire. 18# is about right for a strong car tire on the rear of our light Spyders.