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  1. #1
    Active Member deer30084's Avatar
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    Default My stock rear tire at 10300 miles

    IMG_0777.jpg

    This is what my stock rear Kenda tire looks like at 10300 miles. I've had my 2015 F3 since July 2016. You can see the tire worn down to the wear bars in the middle. The sides are still good. I think the tire has some more life in it, but I'm not sure about how much.
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    If you got 10,300 miles out of a stock tire consider yourself lucky. I'd say most people don't get more than 8,000. My current rear tire looks about like yours and it only has about 5,000 miles on it. If it were me I'd keep running that tire for a while. I bet you could squeeze another couple thousand miles out of it.

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    Very Active Member blacklightning's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob Rodriguez View Post
    If you got 10,300 miles out of a stock tire consider yourself lucky. I'd say most people don't get more than 8,000. My current rear tire looks about like yours and it only has about 5,000 miles on it. If it were me I'd keep running that tire for a while. I bet you could squeeze another couple thousand miles out of it.
    100% I was able to get about 11k on my F3T, but only managed 8k on my RT. They were both way beyond where your wear level is. I think you are good for another 2-3k.
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    Very Active Member JayBros's Avatar
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    Are you checking the tire in the proper place? There is a small triangle at the edge of the tire wall that indicates where the actual tread wear indicators are. Look at page 94 of your operator's guide. You do have more life left in that tire.
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  5. #5
    Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie Peter Aawen's Avatar
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    Deer, those bars you can see in the centre two grooves that the tread has worn down to in your picture aren't the wear bars!! They are 'breaker bars' intended to stabilise the tread & break any ice or water caught in those channels up so that it'll clear the grooves for the water/ice the grooves will pick up on the next rotation. But don't feel bad, LOTS of people get caught by looking at the wrong bars like that!

    If you look closely at the sidewalls of the tire, right in the edges of the tread moulding, you'll see a little triangle embossed in the rubber with the top pointing at the bars you can just see in those same grooves at the bottom of your pic just above the shadow line - THEY ARE the wear bars!! If you can't see the triangles or some other clear 'tread wear' indicator OR if the bars start out with parallel lines embossed across their tops (but you've gotta check for that before the wear gets that far down) then the bars you've found aren't the Tread Wear indicators, and as mentioned above, I'm pretty certain those you are looking at ARE NOT the tread wear bars; cos the tread wear bars are clearly visible in the lower part of y our pic! However, once the surrounding tread has worn down to the top of ANY of the real tread wear bars, even tho it might look like there might be some life left or the other tread wear bars haven't been reached yet, there really isn't any safe or legal life left in that tire and if you value your life & your Spyder, you should swap the tire out immediately or a bit sooner!!

    So going by your pic, it really does look like there's at least a couple of thousand miles left in your rear tire!! But it will tend to wear that last bit fairly quickly tho! However, you are doing wellin the wear stakes, I didn't get anywhere near even half your milage from the Origjjnal Kenda rear on my RT; but then I guess the F3 is somewhat lighter on the rear tire than a 'usually loaded' & pillion carrying RT, plus your part of the world doesn't usually experience the higher ambient temps & therefore road surface temps that we get here Down Under. Still, you have done well, but I reckon that regardless, you'd still be very pleased with the better ride & handling you'd get from a good Passenger tire running at the right pressure for the load placed upon it! And it'd almost certainly last longer & likely cost you less than a replacement OE Kenda tire too!

    Something to bear in mind.....
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    Looks like your Kenda tire is doing great.
    I average 13,000 before I replace them.
    Remember...a softer better gripping tire will wear faster.

    Quote Originally Posted by deer30084 View Post
    IMG_0777.jpg

    This is what my stock rear Kenda tire looks like at 10300 miles. I've had my 2015 F3 since July 2016. You can see the tire worn down to the wear bars in the middle. The sides are still good. I think the tire has some more life in it, but I'm not sure about how much.

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    Very Active Member jaherbst's Avatar
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    New compound since 2015 is getting much better wear. A lot of wear depends on the Driver, the road conditions and when the tire was manufactured. Most people do not recognize the true wear bars and trash their tires way to early.


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    Very Active Member Ex-Rocket's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Aawen View Post
    Deer, those bars you can see in the centre two grooves that the tread has worn down to in your picture aren't the wear bars!! They are 'breaker bars' intended to stabilise the tread & break any ice or water caught in those channels up so that it'll clear the grooves for the water/ice the grooves will pick up on the next rotation. But don't feel bad, LOTS of people get caught by looking at the wrong bars like that!

    If you look closely at the sidewalls of the tire, right in the edges of the tread moulding, you'll see a little triangle embossed in the rubber with the top pointing at the bars you can just see in those same grooves at the bottom of your pic just above the shadow line - THEY ARE the wear bars!! If you can't see the triangles or some other clear 'tread wear' indicator OR if the bars start out with parallel lines embossed across their tops (but you've gotta check for that before the wear gets that far down) then the bars you've found aren't the Tread Wear indicators, and as mentioned above, I'm pretty certain those you are looking at ARE NOT the tread wear bars; cos the tread wear bars are clearly visible in the lower part of y our pic! However, once the surrounding tread has worn down to the top of ANY of the real tread wear bars, even tho it might look like there might be some life left or the other tread wear bars haven't been reached yet, there really isn't any safe or legal life left in that tire and if you value your life & your Spyder, you should swap the tire out immediately or a bit sooner!!

    So going by your pic, it really does look like there's at least a couple of thousand miles left in your rear tire!! But it will tend to wear that last bit fairly quickly tho! However, you are doing wellin the wear stakes, I didn't get anywhere near even half your milage from the Origjjnal Kenda rear on my RT; but then I guess the F3 is somewhat lighter on the rear tire than a 'usually loaded' & pillion carrying RT, plus your part of the world doesn't usually experience the higher ambient temps & therefore road surface temps that we get here Down Under. Still, you have done well, but I reckon that regardless, you'd still be very pleased with the better ride & handling you'd get from a good Passenger tire running at the right pressure for the load placed upon it! And it'd almost certainly last longer & likely cost you less than a replacement OE Kenda tire too!

    Something to bear in mind.....
    What you are showing in your picture is not wear bars.



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    Very Active Member Chupaca's Avatar
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    Default Great....

    That is great and you have another 8 to 10 more left. You have not even worn the center line out. I have used Kenda since 2012 and consistantly get 16 to 19,000 miles on them and ryde aggressively. Those bars your looking at are rain deflectors and the real wear bars are the others that are much lower. There is a little triangle on the side of the tire that is an indicator of where the wear bars are....

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  10. #10
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    This is what my OEM Kenda looked like with 8,000 miles. This is more typical. You are doing very well.
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    Active Member deer30084's Avatar
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    Default My stock rear tire at 10300 miles

    InkedIMG_0777_LI.jpg
    You guys are right! I took another look and found the little triangle on the side of the tire indicated by the arrow on the right. The actual wear bar indicator is at the arrow on the left. There is only about 1/16th of an inch left. There's also a wear bar indicator a little lower in the shade of the picture on the right side of the center strip. Same condition.
    Last edited by deer30084; 11-30-2018 at 03:17 PM.
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  12. #12
    Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie Peter Aawen's Avatar
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    That's the right marks & bars! And if you look closely at those other bars out in the grooves closer to the edge of the tread, you can still see the parallel ridges in the top of them, ridges that identify them as tread stability & rain/ice breaker bars.

    While you're looking at it, the way all the tread around the centre bars is worn certainly highlights how the middle of the tire wears out massively quicker than the edges; which means that for most of your ryding, THAT's ALL the tread that's making positive & tractive contact with the road!! And try not to get caught out by how quickly the little bit of tread left higher than those actual wear bars does wear!! The difference between your tire & canamjhb's tire is probably only a few thousand miles at best...
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  13. #13
    Very Active Member canamjhb's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Aawen View Post

    The difference between your tire & canamjhb's tire is probably only a few thousand miles at best...
    FYI My rear tire looked OK and similar to the OPs. After riding two 500 mile days, I took the picture posted and had it replaced while on a road trip. Went from OK to waisted in very short order.....
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    Quote Originally Posted by canamjhb View Post
    FYI My rear tire looked OK and similar to the OPs. After riding two 500 mile days, I took the picture posted and had it replaced while on a road trip. Went from OK to waisted in very short order.....
    I had this same thing happen to my rear tire last year. Looked at it one day and it was fine, 1000 miles later it was bald in the center. I replaced mine with a Yokohama S. Way better tire and hope it lasts a long time!
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    Very Active Member ARtraveler's Avatar
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    I have consistently got over 15K on OEM Kendas. One exception, the 2014 pooped out at 8,900. I have well over 15K on my 2014 with the newest tire. Was planning on changing it out in the spring.

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    Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie Peter Aawen's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by canamjhb View Post
    FYI My rear tire looked OK and similar to the OPs. After riding two 500 mile days, I took the picture posted and had it replaced while on a road trip. Went from OK to waisted in very short order.....
    Yeah canamjhb, as you, me, & others like Morturf have already discovered, that last bit of tread wear on any tire, and especially on the OE Spyder spec Kendas can disappear bloody fast!!

    Quote Originally Posted by akspyderman View Post
    I have consistently got over 15K on OEM Kendas. One exception, the 2014 pooped out at 8,900. I have well over 15K on my 2014 with the newest tire......
    Ak, I reckon that your 'better wear than most' has a LOT to do with the ambient road surface temps - which I suspect are often a fair bit colder'n most experience!?! Talking about tires in general, colder road surface temps often mean measurably less & slower tread wear, even when the tire is running at its optimal temp; and of course, the opposite usually applies too - hotter road surface temps generally means more & faster tread wear, even when the tire is running at its optimal temp! The OE Spyder spec Kendas tend to have an even greater tendency for this to apply due to their lightweight construction & the 'ballooning' properties of the spinning tire, as well as their tread compound layering profile, so it's not all that surprising that you do fairly well with the Kendas on Alaskan roads. But let's leave it at that, I really don't want to get too heavily into discussing the complexities of tread wear science & how the various tread compounds used can wear differently with different road surface temps and tire operating temps & pressures... that's a headache inducing thing at the best of times!
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Aawen View Post
    Ak, I reckon that your 'better wear than most' has a LOT to do with the ambient road surface temps - which I suspect are often a fair bit colder'n most experience!?!
    You kind of touched in it briefly but I think that the "ambient speed" of the rider probably has more to do with it.

    Spirited riders who spend time on long trips and/or on the freeways will wear out the center of the back tire quicker.

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    Very Active Member Chupaca's Avatar
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    As a reference for those watching the wear bars on their tires....this is what going all the way to the wear bars looks like on a Kenda....

    20160324_085157.jpg
    Because of the weather and road construction around here I will go all the way down to the wear bars but don't recommend it....
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    Very Active Member JayBros's Avatar
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    I never went all the way to the wear bars on my Kendas because I just didn't want to risk getting caught in a sudden shower with a sneaker that could possibly hydroplane on a big gob of spit.
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  20. #20
    Very Active Member ARtraveler's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Aawen View Post
    Yeah canamjhb, as you, me, & others like Morturf have already discovered, that last bit of tread wear on any tire, and especially on the OE Spyder spec Kendas can disappear bloody fast!!



    Ak, I reckon that your 'better wear than most' has a LOT to do with the ambient road surface temps - which I suspect are often a fair bit colder'n most experience!?! Talking about tires in general, colder road surface temps often mean measurably less & slower tread wear, even when the tire is running at its optimal temp; and of course, the opposite usually applies too - hotter road surface temps generally means more & faster tread wear, even when the tire is running at its optimal temp! The OE Spyder spec Kendas tend to have an even greater tendency for this to apply due to their lightweight construction & the 'ballooning' properties of the spinning tire, as well as their tread compound layering profile, so it's not all that surprising that you do fairly well with the Kendas on Alaskan roads. But let's leave it at that, I really don't want to get too heavily into discussing the complexities of tread wear science & how the various tread compounds used can wear differently with different road surface temps and tire operating temps & pressures... that's a headache inducing thing at the best of times!
    I do think you are on to something when it comes to ambient temperature of road surfaces. I have also gone to 26# of air for the rear tires. It seems to slow the "balooning" down a bit. I do notice that I seem to have higher mileage on Kenda rear than most report.
    Last edited by ARtraveler; 12-02-2018 at 02:50 PM.

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