Replacing a tire on your sypder, Consider "Kumho"

[Buffalosoldier007]

Hello fellow Spyder rider's, after months of study i replaced my original Kenda tire on my 2014 Can-am rt. #1 , I got 12,000 on the original but for a dealer cost of $189. I felt with the research done by my fellow spyder rider owners i wanted to try something else called a Kumho 225-50-R15,
however the best price came from Discount Tire.com at $81.00. Well get ready for what follows,..Called them and customer service said i needed a model vehicle so i said okay "2010 Cobalt, He said no it can't fit so he can't sell it..I hung up defeated..
Next I used the internet for Discount tire and it called for a vehicle. I entered a Cobalt again and it got accepted., However the next day Customer service called and they rejected that order so I called them back and I said that I am a race car fabricator and I know what tire I need and thanks for great customer service,.. but just send me the tire..
It arrived two days later by UPS..I called my local Sypder dealer and for $99.00 they installed the tire with no questions..
Final statement,..the tire rides fantastic..A much steadier feeling, it feels better on the highway and it feels better to the passenger...Any questions..okay, I feel great and the tire looks and feel great..any questions not for me I won, not the dealer, or another kenda tire...Happy riding.....I am.

[Bob Denman]

:congrats: on working your way around Discount Tire's roadblocks to success! :clap:

[Chupaca]

but not easy and only that tire has such issues...:dontknow: be interesting to know what happened for this tire to get this rep....

[kbwitt]

Dealers here will only install factory tires. Your lucky.

[PMK]

but not easy and only that tire has such issues...:dontknow: be interesting to know what happened for this tire to get this rep....

Honesty and Liability...

When asked, Spyder owners told the truth and offered too much info.

Discount Tire does not want the documented liability of selling a car tire for a moto application.

Whether BRP got involved and cautioned them or not has been discussed before, and I believe one of the members here is friends with the owner of Discount Tire.

Discount Tire has done the correct thing to cover the liability. Installing the tire on a vehicle other than what you specify makes it the Spyder owners problem if something happens.

[Chupaca]

Honesty and Liability...

When asked, Spyder owners told the truth and offered too much info.

Discount Tire does not want the documented liability of selling a car tire for a moto application.

Whether BRP got involved and cautioned them or not has been discussed before, and I believe one of the members here is friends with the owner of Discount Tire.

Discount Tire has done the correct thing to cover the liability. Installing the tire on a vehicle other than what you specify makes it the Spyder owners problem if something happens.
But they will sell you other brands no questions asked...now if they sell you the tire but don't install it what's the liability? Just curious I use kendas and they work well for me...

[blacklightning]

I am not sure why everyone is having such a hard time. I called my local discount tire and ordered 2 (one for me, and one for a friend). I told them what I was ordering for, and they had no problem (it probably helped that I had just purchased a set for my wife's maxima and my mustang). Once the tire came in, I took it to my dealer and they installed it with no problem. My friend took his to another dealer on the same day and they told him that it would "void his warrenty". They gave him a minimal discount and he installed a kenda. After emaling BRP, they finally got back with him and told him that it did not void the warrenty.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

:yikes:.....I am totally baffled by all the difficulty people are having with this Company and getting Kumho tires...I have ordered them ON-LINE ....and never talked to anyone, and never received a call from them......DO I HAVE A MAGIC PHONE ??????...........use DISCOUNTIRESDIRECT.COM --- see if this works........Mike :thumbup:

[PMK]

But they will sell you other brands no questions asked...now if they sell you the tire but don't install it what's the liability? Just curious I use kendas and they work well for me...

As a guess I would say a lot of people called for that tire and it threw up red flags. The lawyers or someone decided keep us out of it.

Similar to a car or plane crash, could be entirely operator error, but the lawyers will go after any company that made a part installed on the machine.

Consider a small plane crash...the engine fails, but the airframe manufacturer becomes involved and liable. Or the wing fails, the engine manufacturer becomes liable.

I do not have an answer. Could be simply how nice the people talk on the phone to the sales people...I really don't know.

PK

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

I had a customer in last week with a 22" cadillac escalade wheel that was bent & cracked & had a previous weld poorly done on it. i told him he
needed to have us fix it all but when i quoted him he asked for us just to do the crack since that is where he leak was coming from. after a little
back & forth i told him we would fix the crack and mount the tire but we would not install on the truck. When i wrote up his invoice:
"CUSTOMER DOES NOT WANT DENTS REPAIRED WELD HAS NO WARRANTY SHOULD NOT BE INSTALLED ON CAR".

This is the world we live in today, it is run by lawyers. this is why i always say kill a million lawyers & it may lower your insurance rates, if not what
do you really lose.

[Bob Denman]

As a guess I would say a lot of people called for that tire and it threw up red flags. The lawyers or someone decided keep us out of it.PK

Probably; when you have lots of folks looking for just one tire for their "Mustang"... :sour:

[Don in E Texas]

:yikes:.....I am totally baffled by all the difficulty people are having with this Company and getting Kumho tires...I have ordered them ON-LINE ....and never talked to anyone, and never received a call from them......DO I HAVE A MAGIC PHONE ??????...........use DISCOUNTIRESDIRECT.COM --- see if this works........Mike :thumbup:

No problem here obtaining the tire on line. Dealer installed for me (as he has done on two past Spyders).


Don

[SpyderAnn01]

:yikes:.....I am totally baffled by all the difficulty people are having with this Company and getting Kumho tires...I have ordered them ON-LINE ....and never talked to anyone, and never received a call from them......DO I HAVE A MAGIC PHONE ??????...........use DISCOUNTIRESDIRECT.COM --- see if this works........Mike :thumbup:

That had always been my experience until the last time I ordered I got the phone call the next day, and I was ordering two. They saw that I had ordered many of them in the past and they put the order through.

[PMK]

Sometimes people skills or confidence in how you talk with people can go a long way also.

PK

[Bob Denman]

Sometimes people skills or confidence in how you talk with people can go a long way also.
:agree: There's a saying:
"If you can sell a plate-full of barbecued ribs, to a woman wearing while gloves; you can talk anybody into anything!" :thumbup:

[PMK]

:agree: There's a saying:
"If you can sell a plate-full of barbecued ribs, to a woman wearing while gloves; you can talk anybody into anything!" :thumbup:

Should I be frightened...coming from the mouth of an insurance salesman.:shocked:

My saying, eat the ribs before the fat lady wearing the white gloves decides she wants some, go for the BBQ beans also.

[Bob Denman]

Should I be frightened...coming from the mouth of an insurance salesman.:shocked:

It is a skill that is useful in my professional life as well... :D

[PMK]

It is a skill that is useful in my professional life as well... :D

Boy did I get that wrong, I was expecting you to tell me about the hungry white glove wearing women.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8GMh4OuH10

[Bob Denman]

:shocked: Wow... :shocked:

[PMK]

:shocked: Wow... :shocked:

No white gloves, but me personally, I would grab the food and run. That woman could gnaw my arm off the shoulder.

Just goes to show, make sure the tire you buy is properly rated for the load...

PK

[Bob Denman]

:agree: I did notice the wise use of two chairs under her... nojoke

[PMK]

:agree: I did notice the wise use of two chairs under her... nojoke

She needed 8 legs. Pretty certain the accent is from Mass., hopefully not someone I grew up with or a relative.

[Brentc]

I found the Kuhmo on eBay, through discounttiredirect, for $81 with free shipping. I placed my order and will let you know if I have any issue with delivery or being questioned about the application. Next hurdle will be getting it installed. I had a question around that as well. Assuming I can't find a dealer to install locally, would that be something I could have installed during spyderfest and also have a laser alignment done by squared away if I were to bring tire with me?

[Fat Baxter]

I had no problem ordering my General Altimax for the rear. I forget who I ordered it from, but they had an opt-out option. Instead of listing the vehicle I was ordering for, there was a box for "owner assumes liability."

Now, getting it installed was another matter. My local dealer wouldn't touch it, claiming "BRP won't let us do that." I found a Spyder-knowledgeable third party.

[Deanna777]

I had no problem ordering my General Altimax for the rear. I forget who I ordered it from, but they had an opt-out option. Instead of listing the vehicle I was ordering for, there was a box for "owner assumes liability."

Now, getting it installed was another matter. My local dealer wouldn't touch it, claiming "BRP won't let us do that." I found a Spyder-knowledgeable third party.I am also running the General Altimax on the rear of my spyder, I took the tire to a can-am dealership, and they installed it, but I had to sign on the invoice that the tire was not bought from them. Deanna

[PMK]

Our 14 RTs now has a Yokohama S.Drive on it. The original Kenda with some life left was installed onto another local Spyder. All the work to remove and install the tires was done the old school way with tire irons. Since the wheel assembly with the hub installed would not fit on my balancer, I used one bottle of moto RideOn.

In the end, both Spyders had tires replaced, and we reset the belt tension to the lower spec, adjusted the belt alignment, and saved a bunch of $.

Not for the novice, but not really difficult either.

PK

[cptjam]

I found the Kuhmo on eBay, through discounttiredirect, for $81 with free shipping. I placed my order and will let you know if I have any issue with delivery or being questioned about the application. Next hurdle will be getting it installed. I had a question around that as well. Assuming I can't find a dealer to install locally, would that be something I could have installed during spyderfest and also have a laser alignment done by squared away if I were to bring tire with me?
You bet! If you can't get it done, I will do it for you at Spyderfest! We can get you squared away! Joe

[petevid]

I wasnt happy with the kenda tyres. Only got 12k kilometres out of the rear.
decided to experiment and put the following on.
i did a 2500k trip after installation and the bike handles really well on them.
safe riding exeryone.

Front
Bridgestone Potenza
175/55R15. 77V
22-24psi


Rear
TOYO Proxus 4
205/55R15. 88V
28-30psi

[007james]

I got my Kuhmo dilevered to my door from Discount Tire via ebay yesterday for $81 also. I thought I had a lot of thread left on my old one, but putting the new one alongside my old one makes it look tired. ( it has 10,000 miles on it now) If it passes inspection in Jan., I will try to get more miles on it, before mounting the new one. I'd like to mount new front Bridgestones as well, the same time, but I surely have 2-3,000 miles left on my front Kendas. ( they have 15,000 miles on them now) Won't be riding much this Winter, and will be gone all Dec. to Australia and New Zealand. I will get Quote on Laser Alignment and to decide if it seems worth it. Changing out 3 tires plus mounting, balance and allignment is not pocket change!! 007james



I found the Kuhmo on eBay, through discounttiredirect, for $81 with free shipping. I placed my order and will let you know if I have any issue with delivery or being questioned about the application. Next hurdle will be getting it installed. I had a question around that as well. Assuming I can't find a dealer to install locally, would that be something I could have installed during spyderfest and also have a laser alignment done by squared away if I were to bring tire with me?

[spydernatic]

I just ordered one for my 2012 RT that has 14500 miles on and the Kendra has worn out in the center of the tire so I went for the Kumho I called discount tires to order and they asked me what car so I told them its for a Nissan Sentra they were fine with that BUT they did mention that the Kumho Ecsta AST 225/50 R15 has now being discontinued but that they have some at another dealership, I requested them to get me one which they did. When I picked up the tire the saleperson wanted to know where the rim was so they could mount it I told him that I recently sold the Sentra and the new owner was not happy with the one of the tires so I am buying this one to give it to him....he can get it mounted. This explanation was perfect and he was OK with it ....so sometimes BS is the best option.
Just remember if asked its for a Nissan Sentra.:yes:

[007james]

Surely, Discount Tire people read this site and know all about our comments and the games we play to trick them in to selling us the tire we love for our Spyders. Its kind of like FOX amd CNN
Talking Head Experts broadcasting our Navy Seal's next moves to ISIL. Haha. Let's hope some one finds another tire size 225/50R/15 that outlasts Kuhmo by so much, that we won't give a Rat if Kumho quits selling it. By that time, considering I have a new Kumho ready to mount in the Spring, I most likely will be ready to change out my entire 2012 RT Limited for the newest hype by then! :-)


I just ordered one for my 2012 RT that has 14500 miles on and the Kendra has worn out in the center of the tire so I went for the Kumho I called discount tires to order and they asked me what car so I told them its for a Nissan Sentra they were fine with that BUT they did mention that the Kumho Ecsta AST 225/50 R15 has now being discontinued but that they have some at another dealership, I requested them to get me one which they did. When I picked up the tire the saleperson wanted to know where the rim was so they could mount it I told him that I recently sold the Sentra and the new owner was not happy with the one of the tires so I am buying this one to give it to him....he can get it mounted. This explanation was perfect and he was OK with it ....so sometimes BS is the best option.
Just remember if asked its for a Nissan Sentra.:yes:

[Bob Denman]

I just ordered one for my 2012 RT that has 14500 miles on and the Kendra has worn out in the center of the tire so I went for the Kumho I called discount tires to order and they asked me what car so I told them its for a Nissan Sentra they were fine with that BUT they did mention that the Kumho Ecsta AST 225/50 R15 has now being discontinued but that they have some at another dealership, I requested them to get me one which they did. When I picked up the tire the saleperson wanted to know where the rim was so they could mount it I told him that I recently sold the Sentra and the new owner was not happy with the one of the tires so I am buying this one to give it to him....he can get it mounted. This explanation was perfect and he was OK with it ....so sometimes BS is the best option.
Just remember if asked its for a Nissan Sentra.:yes:

:D Remind me to NEVER get caught in a poker game with you... :clap: :2thumbs:

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

[QUOTE=007james;1070960]Surely, Discount Tire people read this site and know all about our comments and the games we play to trick them in to selling us the tire we love for our Spyders. Its kind of like FOX amd CNN
Talking Head Experts broadcasting our Navy Seal's next moves to ISIL. Haha. Let's hope some one finds another tire size 225/50R/15 that outlasts Kuhmo by so much, that we won't give a Rat if Kumho quits selling it. By that time, considering I have a new Kumho ready to mount in the Spring, I most likely will be ready to change out my entire 2012 RT Limited for the newest hype by then! :-)[/QUO.................................215/60-15...works perfectly.......Mike :thumbup:

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

Lamont, what's your opinion about car tires on a spyder?

[Highwayman2013]

[QUOTE=007james;1070960]Surely, Discount Tire people read this site and know all about our comments and the games we play to trick them in to selling us the tire we love for our Spyders. Its kind of like FOX amd CNN
Talking Head Experts broadcasting our Navy Seal's next moves to ISIL. Haha. Let's hope some one finds another tire size 225/50R/15 that outlasts Kuhmo by so much, that we won't give a Rat if Kumho quits selling it. By that time, considering I have a new Kumho ready to mount in the Spring, I most likely will be ready to change out my entire 2012 RT Limited for the newest hype by then! :-)[/QUO.................................215/60-15...works perfectly.......Mike :thumbup:

Sure does! going on 16,000 miles on a 215/60/15 rear tire. But no one believes us.