Quote Originally Posted by Spyderlass View Post
Well I can tell you about a serious safety issue and it relates to the OP's question directly because I did change out my tyres at 350(ish) miles, the distance from my dealer to my home. I already knew about the issue because this is my second RT machine and my partner also is on RT number 2.

I've no idea where you ride or the type of roads you are riding but I can understand that if you primarily ride the slab you may never come across the issue.

The issue is related to the tyre structure and the way it deforms and is present to some extent in most tyres (possibly all tyres), but it's very marked in the front OEM tyres. It has caused the RT to veer completely into the adjoining carriageway more than once and fairly frequently pulls the RT over the road centre line.

I'm referring to the tendency for the tyre to ride up a longitudinal ridge as its shoulder makes contact with that ridge edge. It's exacerbated by flexibility in the steering tie rods but it's cause lies in the tyre. Here in the UK roads are often surfaced by applying tar to one side of the carriageway and covering the tar with stone chippings then the other side of the road is surfaced in the same manner. This leaves a raised section some inches wide, and occasionally more than a foot wide, in the centre of the carriageway because it receives two coatings there. On top of this there is usually the road centre line which adds to the thickness of the raised portion.

You might think that you'd be able to counter this but you can't do much about it since, 1) it's not particularly turning the steering, it's a tyre distortion issue and 2) it's very fast.
It sounds like in your particular situation, the condition of the roads demands a different setup than stock OEM equipment. I encourage anyone to adapt their bike as necessary for their particular riding conditions and style and level of comfort. Nothing you have said, though, negates my contention that a stock setup is safe and dependable.

We have two Spyder 2014RTLs, each with over 20k miles. We ride primarily in the Intermountain west and the desert Southwest in a wide range of conditions on a wide variety of roads, including interstates with heavy truck traffic. We have never felt unsafe on the Spyders due to the bike's handling. The original Kendas still are grippy in the twisties and track straight on all but the worst crowned and rutted roads and still have adequate tread on them.

For some people the original Kenda tires represent too much of a compromise in some tire characteristics, but they are not unsafe and the hard facts bear that out.