One inch = 25.4 mm ….. so actually less than 1/2 inch …………...just for info purposes …. not a DISS …. Mike :ohyea:
How about coming back and posting when you have some real time on those tires. 90 miles is not enough to know.
Jimboregon......Is that a tire and size the Les Schwab normally stocks?
Thanks for the Info Threewheels. I too appreciate the information as it's handy to hear what others are trying, what fits, what works and their followups. Different people have different riding styles - mine is more agressive than some, so I like the grip to be there.
Here Downunder we have less of a selection of aftermarket tyres that fit the Spyder (mine an 2017 RT Ltd). Where I live summer temps get to 45 Deg C (113F) and down to -4 Deg C (25 Deg f) and I cant wait to get rid of the Kenda's. The two biggest issues for my riding are Wet Weather grip and aquaplaning all the time.
Similar driving conditions here in South Aust Askitee, and I've been running Kumho KH17's front & rear, with some pretty good results once I got the pressures down to 14-16psi up front & 16-18 on the rear. I got better than 35,000 km outta the 1st Kumho on the rear, while the first set of fronts are still going strong with a fair bit more kms under them than that. One significant thing about the Kumho KH17's (at least here in Aus anyway) is that they are sold here as a 'sport/touring' tyre and the make-up of their tread compound reflects that - they have a reasonably grippy tread pattern & compound to start out with that hardens up as the kms rise. I believe that's because as they go thru repeated heat up & cool down cycles when you ride, which means the aromatics etc that keep the tread soft are cooked out, so they tend to 'go off' a tad and get a little hard as the kms get up there (so their wet weather handling suffers a bit!) This happens even more so & likely quicker (but I haven't tested that yet) if you don't drop your pressure down a tad as the tire wears further into the harder tread compound. Once the first rear hit about 20,000km or so, it became obvious that I needed to run it at the lower 16psi end of the suggested range in the wet to let the harder tread compound heat up properly, and by doing that, they continue to handle well in the dry AND the wet, which means you can wear them easily into the 35K plus realm without significant issues. I did swap the rear for a new one before our last long trip, cos I was looking at over 10K of fairly warm high speed travelling with the Missus & our Mini-Max aboard, so I didn't want to risk it! Anyhow, the second rear is well into it's wear cycle now, and I'm looking at getting better than 38K out of it too.
Other alternatives- there's actually quite a few tire brands that make sizes that are close enough to be worthwhile on our Spyders - anything between 205 thru 225 & 50 profile thru 65 profile should work. So pretty much any of those sizes in tire brands like Toyo, Bridgestone (Turanza or Potenza's), Yokohama, Hankook, Kumho, Cooper, Federal, General (no, those tires that are so popular in the US aren't readily available here?!) & others should be fine - just check your preferred size option & search for a brand with the grip, handling, & weather capabilities you want most... I generally go for Sport/Touring because I do want high traction tires but I also want something that'll stand up well to lotsa relatively high speed & hot kms, with a bunch of flooding rains & a bit of hail, sleet, & snow thrown in! We are in the right spot here to get any or all of those whichever direction we ryde away from home! And we frequently do the Adelaide to Bega (NSW Far South Coast) blat across the Hay Plains then thru the Snowy Mountains & down the Escarpment into Bega a few times a year, which neatly bundles all the extremes into one or two solid days of ryding, so we need tires that handle everything from 'wide open plains, thru endless miles of sunburnt country, into the twists, turns & climbs of snow clad mountains, then down the corkscrew precipitous excuses for roads shadowed by temperate rain forests, & out into the undulating hills of the Eastern Seaboard'.... Do this 1400 or so km on Friday, enjoy spending the weekend with the rellies, then repeat the trip only in reverse on Monday or Tuesday - what better ryding can you get! And the Kumho's lapped it up and went back for more! :2thumbs:
Only now, altho I haven't yet worn out the first pair of Kumho fronts or the Kumho second rear, I've been asked to do some performance & durability testing on the smaller Bridgestone Turanzas, so I'm hoping to wrangle a set of them for the Spyder too. Just gimme some time to get them sorted & then rack up some miles on them & I'll report back! :thumbup:
I've got 21 psi in the front tires.
You'd think that the 215 would be fine for the rear tire.
I've found that when riding 2 up, and going over bumps, I get a little bit of rubbing. I think the sides of the tire balloon out a little over the bumps.
The rear tire is inflated to 22 psi. I think I'll try 28 psi and see how it goes.
We're going to the New Holland Spyder Clutter this weekend.
I think it is very generous of BRP to put Kendas on their bikes. What they are doing is improving tire sales for other companies. Think of it as a public service.
Another quick update:
Getting ready to leave for Spyder Clutter in New Holland PA.
The rear tire pressure was 19 psi. This might account for the ballooning over the bumps that caused a little rubbing.
More info when I get back.
Just returned from the Spyder Clutter.
On the way down we got caught in some on and off again rain
The increased tire pressure eliminated all the rubbing noise, not that there was much to begin with.
After another 650 miles, I'm still loving the new tires.
The moderators can close the thread now.
OK, I run non-standard tyres and I'm at about 7k miles with them, is that ok for you? ;) Firstly my issues with the standard tyres, poor wear at the rear one and seriously poor (read can be dangerous) tracking of the front ones over longitudinal tar overlaps, road marking lines, tar snakes etc.
OEM rear lasts about 7500 miles and the fronts about 17k miles.
Replacement tyres are Maxxis AP2 All Weather on both front and rear. Same tread pattern and same traction rating front and rear which I consider a plus. Spyder is an 2017RT. Tyres are proving to be excellent and they will also be my replacements when that time arrives. Sizes are 155/60/15 and 205/55/15 so give virtually standard rolling circumference as the original fitment tyres.
Rear is at 7k and is about 2/3rds worn. Fronts still looking good at less than half worn. Tread pattern is V-shaped therefore directional for grip so fronts are mounted reversed to get best grip during braking.
Just thought some might like to know... :p
Curios .... which tires is used for the speedometer? When the size is changed
how do you calibrate the speedometer?
It's the rear tire that does that …. Tires avg. around 900 revolutions per mile going from a 225/50-15 to say a 205/60-15 isn't going to change the 900 revs per mile very much …. All Spyder are limited in how much of a size change will even fit in the space allowed …. Mike :ohyea:
Unlike some others, I enjoy reading tire and oil threads, there always a nugget of good information there somewhere.
Here's another wee nugget for you.... https://tiresize.com/comparison/