2010 RT, what is the going consensus for new front tires

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11-07-2019, 09:37 AM
Eviltwin

2010 RT, what is the going consensus for new front tires

I almost hate to ask this question since tire threads are so contentious, but I'm still running the OEM tires on my 2010 RT. Now to be very honest, it doesn't get that many miles on it these days since I have two other bikes I ride and we haven't even used it as a TOAD this year behind the camper. The original Kendas still have plenty of tread left and I don't see any sidewall cracking but I figure its about time.

It has 14" rims, and from what I see the original size is 165/65R14. It doesnt look like there are too many choices for that size these days, tirerack is showing about 4 and one or two are winter tires. Amazon has the Federal SS657 for about 44 which looks ok I guess, but the others it shows are about double (Bridgestone Potenza) or are off brands like Nexen and Nokian.

So any good suggestions for some decent rubber that will fit the 14" rims?

Thanks.
11-07-2019, 10:02 AM
BLUEKNIGHT911

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eviltwin

I almost hate to ask this question since tire threads are so contentious, but I'm still running the OEM tires on my 2010 RT. Now to be very honest, it doesn't get that many miles on it these days since I have two other bikes I ride and we haven't even used it as a TOAD this year behind the camper. The original Kendas still have plenty of tread left and I don't see any sidewall cracking but I figure its about time.

It has 14" rims, and from what I see the original size is 165/65R14. It doesnt look like there are too many choices for that size these days, tirerack is showing about 4 and one or two are winter tires. Amazon has the Federal SS657 for about 44 which looks ok I guess, but the others it shows are about double (Bridgestone Potenza) or are off brands like Nexen and Nokian.

So any good suggestions for some decent rubber that will fit the 14" rims?

Thanks.

I don't know if my advice would be worth anything to you,:dontknow: ……. But your tires are probably 10 years old, I don't think it's Legal for any tires over 5 years old to be sold by manufacture's …. Currently the best tire for any Spyder is the Vredestein Quatrac 5 ….. You need 14 inch size they have a very good size selection ( un-like most tire makers ) ….. Do an " advanced search above " and see what other owbers are saying ……. Mike :ohyea:
11-07-2019, 10:28 AM
Eviltwin

Quote:

Originally Posted by BLUEKNIGHT911

I don't know if my advice would be worth anything to you,:dontknow: ……. But your tires are probably 10 years old, I don't think it's Legal for any tires over 5 years old to be sold by manufacture's …. Currently the best tire for any Spyder is the Vredestein Quatrac 5 ….. You need 14 inch size they have a very good size selection ( un-like most tire makers ) ….. Do an " advanced search above " and see what other owbers are saying ……. Mike :ohyea:

Hi Mike. Not sure why you think I wouldnt value your advice. I am seeing the Vredstein tires listed at a few places, Tirerack has them for about 76 plus tax. That my be the default unless I get some other leads. Thanks.
11-07-2019, 10:47 PM
UtahPete

I think you will be pleased with the Vredestein solution.
11-07-2019, 11:50 PM
PW2013STL

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eviltwin

Hi Mike. Not sure why you think I wouldnt value your advice. I am seeing the Vredstein tires listed at a few places, Tirerack has them for about 76 plus tax. That my be the default unless I get some other leads. Thanks.

From my experience with different brands of tires the Vredsteins are now my first choice. If unavailable than I would have to default to a different tire. These Vredstein Quatrac 5's on the front of my F3 are unbelievably good!
11-08-2019, 12:33 AM
BLUEKNIGHT911

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eviltwin

Hi Mike. Not sure why you think I wouldnt value your advice. I am seeing the Vredstein tires listed at a few places, Tirerack has them for about 76 plus tax. That my be the default unless I get some other leads. Thanks.

try these two places …. Vulcan & Simple tire …..other members here have bought them there also ….. V or S may have the 215/60-15 size ….. Tire Rack used to, but don't anymore ….. any of the three sizes will be fine ….. Mike :ohyea:
11-08-2019, 03:27 AM
PW2013STL

Valcon Tire does show the Quatrac 5 in 165/65R14 size on there website for $67.00 each. Tire Rack also shows having that size as well for about the same price.
11-08-2019, 08:40 AM
Spydermike

For what it's worth, I jsut put the Vredesteins on my 2016 (fronts). Only have about 600 miles on them so far, but it made a HUGE difference in the ryde and the handling.
11-08-2019, 09:53 AM
ThreeWheels

I've got Kumho Solus on the front of my 2014, but they're a different size than your 2010.
I found the Kenda OEM tires weren't really bad in the front. I got about 25,000 miles on a set with my 2010, once the front end got lined up correctly.
It's the Kenda REAR tire that sucks eggs.
BIGTIME !!!!
Move Heaven and Earth to dump the Kenda rear tire.
If you can easily get better tires for the front, by all means do so, but if Kenda is all that's available to you, I wouldn't be too upset.
11-08-2019, 10:18 AM
BLUEKNIGHT911

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThreeWheels

I've got Kumho Solus on the front of my 2014, but they're a different size than your 2010.
I found the Kenda OEM tires weren't really bad in the front. I got about 25,000 miles on a set with my 2010, once the front end got lined up correctly.
It's the Kenda REAR tire that sucks eggs.
BIGTIME !!!!
Move Heaven and Earth to dump the Kenda rear tire.
If you can easily get better tires for the front, by all means do so, but if Kenda is all that's available to you, I wouldn't be too upset.

In truth, although the Kenda's are weakly made, and have the highest " Defect rate of any tire I've ever heard of " . If you have a pair that is balanced, and well aligned ( ie. Lazer ) ….. I would just wear them out ….. then switch to an Auto tire ……. good luck, … Mike :ohyea:
11-08-2019, 11:40 AM
TicketBait

How many miles are there on the 2010 RT? if those are the original tires I would replace even if you don't see sidewall cracking, just to be safe. I ride pretty aggressively and would not want to have a blowout. On the side of the tire it will say the year manufactured. Also a lot of negative reviews here about the Kendras, I for one have not had. With the 60K+ miles I have put on mt 2010 RT, all have been with OME. On my 4th set of rears and up front replaced I believe once, er maybe twice. Have works performance shocks, made a big difference in handling in twists and after having squared away alignment everything is good.
11-10-2019, 08:25 AM
Eviltwin

Thanks for the responses. I'll probably order a set of the Vredsteins this winter when I do my off season maintenance. 60 something bucks seems to be the best price online.
03-12-2020, 09:58 AM
Eviltwin

I finally got around to ordering a set of tires for the front. Ended up with two Federal SS657 tires to replace the original Kendas. Ordered on Amazon with prime, came to about 97 for the two with tax. Had them mounted yesterday at a local tire place. They charged me 50 for the two so all told about 150 out of pocket.

Hard to say the ride is that much improved. Took it into work today, all side roads with a short stretch of highway. I may take the longer highway route home just to see how it does. One thing I did notice is that the speedo is now closer to the gps readout now, before at around 60 it was about 3 MPH off, now its about 1.
03-12-2020, 10:21 AM
Little Blue

Tires

What tire do you have on the Rear? ......:thumbup:
03-12-2020, 10:21 AM
ARtraveler

Thank you for the update. Up until July 2019, I was locked into the OEM Kendas. My AK dealer would have nothing to do with "other" tire.

Five Spyders, 150,000 assorted miles...The Kendas always worked for me. Consistently got 15K to 20K out of the fronts, and 15K out of the rear tires. One exception...the 2014 soft compound. That got me 8.7K out of the rear tires.

Fast forward to July 2019...moved to AR. Changed out all the tires on the RT-s. Went to darkside tires. A year later, the jury is out...but they still look like new after 6K or so.

I did buy a new 2019 F3 in December...of course that has the OEM Kendas. At 3K, they still look like new.
03-12-2020, 10:49 AM
Lew L

Quote:

Originally Posted by UtahPete

I think you will be pleased with the Vredestein solution.

Couldn't be happier with the Vredestein tires I installed on mt '14 RTS.

Lew L
03-12-2020, 11:21 AM
Eviltwin

Quote:

Originally Posted by Little Blue

What tire do you have on the Rear? ......:thumbup:

Hmm, had to look back in some old photos. Its a yokohama S drive I think. That was replaced about 2 years ago when I got the bike, the original kenda was worn out in the middle which was common with those tires as they had weak sidewalls and tended to expand quite a bit as they heated up.
03-12-2020, 11:25 AM
Eviltwin

Quote:

Originally Posted by ARtraveler

Thank you for the update. Up until July 2019, I was locked into the OEM Kendas. My AK dealer would have nothing to do with "other" tire.

Five Spyders, 150,000 assorted miles...The Kendas always worked for me. Consistently got 15K to 20K out of the fronts, and 15K out of the rear tires. One exception...the 2014 soft compound. That got me 8.7K out of the rear tires.

Fast forward to July 2019...moved to AR. Changed out all the tires on the RT-s. Went to darkside tires. A year later, the jury is out...but they still look like new after 6K or so.

I did buy a new 2019 F3 in December...of course that has the OEM Kendas. At 3K, they still look like new.

The kendas still had some tread on them, not sure of the exact mileage because the previous owner changed out the cluster and the mileage got reset. My best guess is it has about 11-12K give or take. The tires were 10 years old so I figured the rubber had hardened up some. The bike has always been stored indoors so there wasnt any sidewall cracking to speak of.
03-12-2020, 11:40 AM
ARtraveler

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eviltwin

The kendas still had some tread on them, not sure of the exact mileage because the previous owner changed out the cluster and the mileage got reset. My best guess is it has about 11-12K give or take. The tires were 10 years old so I figured the rubber had hardened up some. The bike has always been stored indoors so there wasnt any sidewall cracking to speak of.

The recommendations to change out the old tires are very good. Anything older than five years can give you trouble when you least expect it. I would change them out for something to avoid a bad situation.
03-12-2020, 12:35 PM
BLUEKNIGHT911

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eviltwin

The kendas still had some tread on them, not sure of the exact mileage because the previous owner changed out the cluster and the mileage got reset. My best guess is it has about 11-12K give or take. The tires were 10 years old so I figured the rubber had hardened up some. The bike has always been stored indoors so there wasnt any sidewall cracking to speak of.

A 10 year old tire ( for a vehicle ) , is a tire about to Fail ….. and how it looks can be very deceiving …..good luck …. Mike
03-24-2020, 06:12 PM
redrazor

I just ordered (2) Kumho Solus tires from Tire Rack. They did not have a 165/55/15 ... so I ordered 175/55/15. I'm sure the extra 10mm width will still clear the front fenders.(?!?):pray:
Anxious to get a better grip and steady ride. I'll start out with 18-20 psi in each and see how they ride. I'll follow up next week when they are mounted and back on the trike.
03-24-2020, 10:43 PM
Peter Aawen

Quote:

Originally Posted by redrazor

I just ordered (2) Kumho Solus tires from Tire Rack. They did not have a 165/55/15 ... so I ordered 175/55/15. I'm sure the extra 10mm width will still clear the front fenders.(?!?):pray:
Anxious to get a better grip and steady ride. I'll start out with 18-20 psi in each and see how they ride. I'll follow up next week when they are mounted and back on the trike.

Did for me!! :thumbup: Altho I did hafta lift up the outside edge of the fender lip to slide the tire in, and because I had a bunch of hex head fixing screws for the fender with their heads sticking up & protruding about 10mm INTO the wheel well space that Juuust touched as the tire deformed during cornering, I took the wheel back off & replaced the hex head screws with Phillips head pan head screws that didn't project in at all. :2thumbs:

And I've been successfully running my 175's at 14-16 psi for many tens of thousands of miles now too, so you've got plenty of scope to go a little lower than 18-20 psi if you want to improve your ride & traction a little more, especially wet road traction! Besides, that 18-20 psi is pretty much the same pressure required to carry the Spyder load as the lightly made, softer sidewalled, lower load rated OE Spec Kendas, and you are now fitting a stronger made, stiffer sidewalled, higher load rated tire that usually only needs that sort of pressure to carry something a little heavier than your Spyder, but it's your choice on that! :thumbup:

Enjoy! :cheers:
03-25-2020, 01:19 PM
freebob

I replaced my 2010 RT Front tires with FEDERAL SS657 same size as originals... Well satisfied with them....
03-25-2020, 02:22 PM
redrazor

Peter; thanks loads for that information. Being an old hot rodder I'm used to "making things fit" too. I'll let you know how it comes out in a few days. Thanks again!!:cheers: Ain't my little grand daughter a cute little bugger!? An boy was she "Fierce" at that age. Emilia is 6 now and still pretty fierce!!:firstplace: