Kenda tire question

[BoilerAnimal]

Yesterday, I got to talk to a guy driving a Slingshot. I was looking at his back tire, which looks to be basically Kenda's wider version of the tire that we have on the back of our Spyders. The tires all looked to be fairly new, so I asked him how many miles he had on it. He said just over 16,000 miles. I then asked if these were the original tires and he said "yes, why?".

I told him how bad the Kendas were on our Spyders and that they wouldn't look that good after 3000 miles. He insisted they were the original tires and that he hadn't had any problems with them. I have no reason to doubt his veracity.

If his account was true, why didn't his rear tire show more wear in the middle like ours do (his was flat across)? The rear tire on a Slingshot is quite a bit wider, is subject to more power and I would suspect heavier loads. So what is the difference?

[Peter Aawen]

Kenda DO make some 'other sized' & 'other application' tires that seem to be a whole lot better than the crap we get foisted on us for our Spyders So it seems that the 'difference' is just that BRP actively decided to specify these crappy tires??

Why?? No effin' idea, unless it's just to rip off or severely p*** off any Spyder Ryders who want something that lasts better or performs better than the crappy OE Spec Kendas they've specified ie, the OE Spec Kenda tires that just hafta be the single greatest detraction from our Spyders innovation, performance, & capability.....

Which basically means their decision to do this has surely gotta be nothing short of Nuckin' Futz!

[Chupaca]

Kenda makes a lot of tires. Wheel barrel to full on racing tires and industrial as well. The ones on the slingshot are suited for the size and weight of the vehicle and work well for the normal ryder. For all the moaning going on here about the tires used by BRP most have been satisfied with the fronts and only change the rear. I may stand alone here but I have had good experience with the Kenda brand or I am the only one will to admit it. Many have changed the tires prematuely do to not having measured correctly some just because of what has been said. The miscalculation on the compound used when the first 1330 RT's came out did compound the ill feelings about the tires. They did correct this error but way to late. I wonder if BRP started using another motorcycle specific tire if this site would give it a chance...

[SpyderAnn01]

And to add to the above comments the Slingshot tires are also branded "for motorcycle use" like the Spyder tires. I'm sure this is some government requirement for a vehicle that is classified as a motorcycle and from what I've heard Kenda was the only manufacturer willing to bid on the Spyder. Maybe Polaris just did a better job on their specifications than BRP.

[Sarge707]

Kenda makes a lot of tires. Wheel barrel to full on racing tires and industrial as well. The ones on the slingshot are suited for the size and weight of the vehicle and work well for the normal ryder. For all the moaning going on here about the tires used by BRP most have been satisfied with the fronts and only change the rear. I may stand alone here but I have had good experience with the Kenda brand or I am the only one will to admit it. Many have changed the tires prematuely do to not having measured correctly some just because of what has been said. The miscalculation on the compound used when the first 1330 RT's came out did compound the ill feelings about the tires. They did correct this error but way to late. I wonder if BRP started using another motorcycle specific tire if this site would give it a chance...

I have No Problem with Kenda tires. I got 17,000 Miles on my GS and Over 16,000 on my current RT. I ONLY changed to the Kumho on the RT because it was $100 cheaper and I do the install myself. My F3 is Not showing any real wear at 8,000 and I will Most likely use another Kenda on it because I can afford it Now? I think Bad wear Must be due to Bad roads in lots of the country or extremely hot conditions that increase wear? I don't know you tell me?

[Peter Aawen]

..... Maybe Polaris just did a better job on their specifications than BRP.

I suspect this may well be the case.... or at least Polaris demanded a significantly higher level of quality control than BRP is prepared to accept!

[Bob Denman]

also!

[Navydad]

I got 6800 miles from the rear Kenda on my 2015 RT, but to be fair most of my riding is two up and pretty aggressive in the twisties. We came from years of sport touring bikes and rode them pretty hard which takes a toll on tires. Took a six week trip and racked up 7000 miles a couple of years ago and less than 300 miles were on the freeways. It took two sets of tires on my Triumph Trophy to complete this trip. I guess my point is that 6800 miles on a rear tire was very good considering how fast I have blown through tires in the past. I just installed the Altimax on the rear and Federals on the front and will not go back to the Kendas. I am amazed at the difference in handling and ride especially in a heavy rain.
I retired from a quality control and testing job at a vehicle manufacturing company and I know that EVERYTHING is a compromise and things are built to a price point. There are certain areas such as safety and air quality where criteria must be met, but things such as suspension components, TIRES, and most everything else will be purchased on a bid system. Companies will save a penny anywhere they can. If our Spyders came equipped with the best possible suspension, tires, audio systems, etc. how many people would be willing to buy one? You think they are expensive now, just try to buy one with all the premium parts we think they should come with. Just think about the price difference between an Impala and a Corvette. You want the best top shelf components, you are gonna pay for them. The Kenda's are built to a price point plain and simple. If you like them that's great, keep running them. If you don't like them, we are fortunate to have several options available, go with one of those. It ain't rocket science, it's all about $$$.

[ARtraveler]

Kenda makes a lot of tires. Wheel barrel to full on racing tires and industrial as well. The ones on the slingshot are suited for the size and weight of the vehicle and work well for the normal ryder. For all the moaning going on here about the tires used by BRP most have been satisfied with the fronts and only change the rear. I may stand alone here but I have had good experience with the Kenda brand or I am the only one will to admit it. Many have changed the tires prematuely do to not having measured correctly some just because of what has been said. The miscalculation on the compound used when the first 1330 RT's came out did compound the ill feelings about the tires. They did correct this error but way to late. I wonder if BRP started using another motorcycle specific tire if this site would give it a chance...

also. Dealer here will only install KENDA tires. That being said, I am okay with them. I consistently get over 20K on the fronts, and around 15K on the rears. The only exception was the 2014 which came with a softer compound. That rear tire got me 9K. The mileages I quote are over five different 's. Each one has had at least one set of replacements.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I suspect this may well be the case.... or at least Polaris demanded a significantly higher level of quality control than BRP is prepared to accept!

with Peter .... #1. the slingshot weighs about 1000lbs more than the RT and the weight is further to front than the Spyder.... #2.. the front of the SS is wider than a new corvette which makes it more stable... #3. the SS has a lot more HP than the Spyder ..... The Kenda that is on the SS is really a decent CAR tire stamped with the Motorcyle BS to get around the law...... Any tire maker could sell their car tires for Motorcyles by label the tire as a Motorcycle tire ...... They don't want to bother because of the expense to put this on the sidewall ............... Mike

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I suspect this may well be the case.... or at least Polaris demanded a significantly higher level of quality control than BRP is prepared to accept!

You need to realize too, that there were several years of experience with the Kendas on Spyders before tires for the SS were needed. Don't think for a minute that the guys at Polaris weren't aware of the Spyder wear experiences when they approached Kenda to make the SS tires. They undoubtedly wanted to avoid the same problems.

[BoilerAnimal]

I went to Kenda's website (http://www.kendatire.com/en-us/) and couldn't find any info for tires for a CanAm Spyder. Not under car, motorcycle or specialty tires. Did a search for them and, again, no info.

Went to a couple of sites for motorcycle tires and..........no info for tires for a CanAm Spyder!

The closest I could find on Kenda's site was this. http://automotive.kendatire.com/en-u...r/komet-spt-2/ Close but not quite the same. What gives?

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I went to Kenda's website (http://www.kendatire.com/en-us/) and couldn't find any info for tires for a CanAm Spyder. Not under car, motorcycle or specialty tires. Did a search for them and, again, no info.

Went to a couple of sites for motorcycle tires and..........no info for tires for a CanAm Spyder!

The closest I could find on Kenda's site was this. http://automotive.kendatire.com/en-u...r/komet-spt-2/ Close but not quite the same. What gives?

... this is fact .... Even KENDA tire " DISTRIBUTORS " don't have access to the Kenda Spyder tires..... only BRP Spyder Dealers can get them.... if you happen to find New Kenda's for sale on say E-bay ,,, they were bought from a dealer who went out of business and sold his INVENTORY , possibly at auction.... In the business world Kenda has what's known as a " Sweet Heart deal " with BRP.....they make a cheap tire that can only be gotten by a Dealer who mark them up 500% and sell them to you ........ Mike

[JMOATL]

16K+ is not the norm for the stock Slingshot rear tire. I have 32K miles on my Slingshot and will be putting the 4th rear tire on within the next 1K miles. Of those SS owners I have spoken with, 10K is about what everybody is getting out of a rear tire. The wear on my first 3 was generally even across the tire.

Front tires are a different story, still have the original tires and I would guess still have around 5K to go before needing replacement.

[BoilerAnimal]

... this is fact .... Even KENDA tire " DISTRIBUTORS " don't have access to the Kenda Spyder tires..... only BRP Spyder Dealers can get them.... if you happen to find New Kenda's for sale on say E-bay ,,, they were bought from a dealer who went out of business and sold his INVENTORY , possibly at auction.... In the business world Kenda has what's known as a " Sweet Heart deal " with BRP.....they make a cheap tire that can only be gotten by a Dealer who mark them up 500% and sell them to you ........ Mike

Makes a lot of sense to me!

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I'll add here my thoughts from conversations at BRP during Homecoming. There is no question that BRP Spyder product managers are aware of owners' issues with the Kendas on the rear. I got the distinct impression that there is something in the works about a new tire for the Spyder, but as with all else about the future of the Spyder, nothing was disclosed or leaked out. I asked Lamont about the rumors that there was a new tire coming for the Spyder. "If there is, or if there is not, I'm not going to tell you!" was his response.

[BoilerAnimal]

I just got off of the Polaris SlingShot Forum reading about tires. Seems most have a relatively short life span on the rear Kenda. Also, didn't seem to be a big problem with the center wearing first. There were more than a few comments on burnouts!!!

[MurrayBrown]

Yesterday, I got to talk to a guy driving a Slingshot. I was looking at his back tire, which looks to be basically Kenda's wider version of the tire that we have on the back of our Spyders. The tires all looked to be fairly new, so I asked him how many miles he had on it. He said just over 16,000 miles. I then asked if these were the original tires and he said "yes, why?". I told him how bad the Kendas were on our Spyders and that they wouldn't look that good after 3000 miles. He insisted they were the original tires and that he hadn't had any problems with them. I have no reason to doubt his veracity. If his account was true, why didn't his rear tire show more wear in the middle like ours do (his was flat across)? The rear tire on a Slingshot is quite a bit wider, is subject to more power and I would suspect heavier loads. So what is the difference?

I have had no issues with the Kenda tires. I just replaced my original fronts with a new set. Changed out at 33,362 kms (20,730 miles).

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

16K+ is not the norm for the stock Slingshot rear tire. I have 32K miles on my Slingshot and will be putting the 4th rear tire on within the next 1K miles. Of those SS owners I have spoken with, 10K is about what everybody is getting out of a rear tire. The wear on my first 3 was generally even across the tire.

Front tires are a different story, still have the original tires and I would guess still have around 5K to go before needing replacement.

A friend of mine has one ...... He got digusted with the line of BS about the sloppy construction specs for the steering .... So He had a machinist re-do the part in the steering to much tighter specs..... it improved the handling 100% ...... Mike

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I have had no issues with the Kenda tires. I just replaced my original fronts with a new set. Changed out at 33,362 kms (20,730 miles).

Except for " defective " tires there haven't been many complaints concerning the Kenda's that are used on the front ..... You got almost 21,000 miles and your happy ....... I have General Altimax RT 43 ( on the front ) and if I don't get 35,000 miles I'm going to very un-happy & dis-appointed..... I guess it depends on your perspective ..... jmho .... Mike

[Fat Baxter]

I got about 6500 on my original rear Kenda. I changed out the front tires around 12k miles because I was unhappy with them (bouncing and jittery), and found that the Kumho's I put on dramatically changed the feel of the ride for the better.

I was recently reading a discussion on a car thread about the generally crappy stock tires that come on most cars. The discussion conceded that the OEM tires are selected for pricing, not performance, and even the average cage driver will notice a substantial up-tick in handling if they replace the originals with almost anything from the higher end of a tire maker's roster of rubber (well, maybe Firestone excepted). But if one selects cheap-o tires, you'll get what you pay for.

Maybe something like that is playing out with Spyders. The OEM tires are "good enough," but from what I've read here, most everyone replaces their Kendas with higher-end tires. Thus we are noticing far better handling.

Also -- and I'm speculating here -- it may be that the Slingshot's tires are a more standard size, and thus Kenda has more experience with them as they might have wider applications. Spyders, not so much.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I was recently reading a discussion on a car thread about the generally crappy stock tires that come on most cars. The discussion conceded that the OEM tires are selected for pricing, not performance, and even the average cage driver will notice a substantial up-tick in handling if they replace the originals with almost anything from the higher end of a tire maker's roster of rubber (well, maybe Firestone excepted).

That's been the case forever. Forty-five years ago I bought a 1972 Datsun 1200 4-door sedan. It had some Japanese brand bias ply tires on it. When they wore out I mail ordered a set of Michelins and took the car to a garage for inspection and have the tires changed out. The guy at the garage asked if I was sure I wanted to do that. "The car will ride hard and rough with those stiff tires on it." I said put them on anyway. Man, the 30 mile ride home afterwards was sure smooooooth. There was no question the car was made to run radials but cheapo tires were put on it to sell it.