My OEM tire, after less than 9000 miles. Is this really how they wear? The outer tread is almost like new! That bald band through the center is 2-3 inches wide. (Sort of like my hair!) Should I risk another few hundred miles, or is this toast?
No it is not safe to ride. You may see cord in as little as 10 miles. The reason the Kendas wear in the center so badly is that the carcass is so weak that when it gets up to speed it bulges in the center like a bologna skin! If you can't get your dealer to put on a tire for you, look for a independent bike/atv store to mount it. You may need to remove it and take it to them which is easier than you think.
My OEM tire, after less than 9000 miles. Is this really how they wear? The outer tread is almost like new! That bald band through the center is 2-3 inches wide. (Sort of like my hair!) Should I risk another few hundred miles, or is this toast?
That Crapenda was " toast "about 1000 + miles ago. If your Dealer won't mount an Auto tire ( that you supply ) learn how to re-move your rear wheel. Almost all tire re-pair /re-place shops can mount an Auto tire on a Spyder wheel. I only balanced my first rear tire ( an Auto tire ) the next six I didn't bother to balance .... IMHO only the front tires really need balancing. Lots of good choices for rear Auto tire swap .... good luck .... Mike
This is standard wear pattern for the factory original tire. Do as others suggest and replace it with a regular car tire. The Spyder rim is a regular car "J" type rim. Don't let your dealer or anybody else try to tell you that you "have "to use the original type tire. There are many threads on this site that discuss tire selections. Just do a thread search. Happy Spydering.
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My OEM tire, after less than 9000 miles. Is this really how they wear? The outer tread is almost like new! That bald band through the center is 2-3 inches wide. (Sort of like my hair!) Should I risk another few hundred miles, or is this toast?
That's how mine wore and the dealer told me it was because I had the tire pressure at 29 PSI it was over inflated and caused the premature wear in the middle. He told me if I had the tire at 26 PSI I would have gotten more milage out of it. I don't believe my issue was pressure related, the tires do not seem to wear well.
Absolutely 100% normal for the OEM tires. It would be a miracle if you got any other wear pattern. When you are at speed, the tire balloons out and you've got only 2-3 inches of tread contact with the road surface. The 225/50/15 tire is nearly 9" wide. So, you're getting maybe 30% of the tread in contact with the road at freeway speeds. Think about this when someone tells you that 'The engineers know best'.
On the other hand. This is how my Toyo Proxes wore. A big difference between a real tire, and a wana-be tire. Not only do you get full tread width contact with the road surface at all times. But the tire lasts longer because the load is distributed evenly across the entire 8+ inches of tread width. Not just isolated to the center 2-3 inches.
Add to this that a good car tire is usually about the same price or even less than the OEM Kenda's. It it really is a 'No-Brainer', in my opinion.
I wouldn't push a vehicle with Kenda tires on it. I upgraded to car tires at 600 miles when I did my first oil/filter change. Single best upgrade so far and I've done several.
That is the usual pattern for the OEM Kendas. The reason has been mentioned a couple times. I go against the pack here and do put 26# of pressure in my rear tires. I usually got 15K out of the rear OEM Kendas. One exception, the 2014 "soft" rubber tires. Only got 8,500 miles out of that one.
Since moving to Arkansas, I have two places that will install "darkside" tires. No more Kendas for me unless I buy a new bike...which comes with them. 2019, 10K miles and the rear tire still looks good.
Currently Owned: 2019 F3 Limited, 2020 F3 Limited: SOLD BOTH LIMITEDS in October of 2023.
That's how mine wore and the dealer told me it was because I had the tire pressure at 29 PSI it was over inflated and caused the premature wear in the middle. He told me if I had the tire at 26 PSI I would have gotten more milage out of it. I don't believe my issue was pressure related, the tires do not seem to wear well.
" overinflated " ......... pure un-adulterated HOOEY ..... maybe your dealer should read the manual ..... Mike
Respectfully, I disagree. I think most of the time the engineers DO know best. Unfortunately, it's the bean counters who override the engineers and install cheaper (both cost and quality) parts.
Here's a picture of my OEM tire with 8,000 miles. Look familiar......? When I took the tire off I found that it was not much more rigid than a bicycle tire. Think about that next time you're cruising at 80 MPH on Kendas..... Jim
2005 Windveil Blue Premium Mustang Convertible
2008 Honda GL1800/California Sidecar Trike, SOLD
2014 Platinum Silver Satin Spyder RTL, SOLD
Semper Fi
That Crapenda was " toast "about 1000 + miles ago. If your Dealer won't mount an Auto tire ( that you supply ) learn how to re-move your rear wheel. Almost all tire re-pair /re-place shops can mount an Auto tire on a Spyder wheel. I only balanced my first rear tire ( an Auto tire ) the next six I didn't bother to balance .... IMHO only the front tires really need balancing. Lots of good choices for rear Auto tire swap .... good luck .... Mike
Why Mike I am surprised in you, not giving the tire of the month shout out!!!
I must be doing something wrong lol. This is my rear tire at the current mileage of 16,000. I have run the recommended pressure since new and check it before most of my trips. I travel a lot for my job, and I ride my Spyder most of the time (read lots of interstate riding). I am aware that it needs to be changed, and will be doing so this winter.
I must be doing something wrong lol. This is my rear tire at the current mileage of 16,000. I have run the recommended pressure since new and check it before most of my trips. I travel a lot for my job, and I ride my Spyder most of the time (read lots of interstate riding). I am aware that it needs to be changed, and will be doing so this winter.
If that Kenda tire has 16,000 mi , ( with lots of interstate ) .... then you are the luckiest person in the World .....Mike
Respectfully, I disagree. I think most of the time the engineers DO know best. Unfortunately, it's the bean counters who override the engineers and install cheaper (both cost and quality) parts.
If that Kenda tire has 16,000 mi , ( with lots of interstate ) .... then you are the luckiest person in the World .....Mike
In all seriousness, that is the stock tire that came on my Spyder. I purchased it new 2 years ago this month and all I have done is make sure the pressure was correct before my trips. And it does have 16,000 miles on it.
In all seriousness, that is the stock tire that came on my Spyder. I purchased it new 2 years ago this month and all I have done is make sure the pressure was correct before my trips. And it does have 16,000 miles on it.
What air pressure did you go by??? 28 psi?
I ran mine at 24 psi for quite a while. Just upped it to 28 recently.
In all seriousness, that is the stock tire that came on my Spyder. I purchased it new 2 years ago this month and all I have done is make sure the pressure was correct before my trips. And it does have 16,000 miles on it.
I was serious, I have been on this Forum since 2012..... and your tire is very unusual from all the other Kenda REAR tires I have seen. ..... Mike
Look at my rear tire! Crazy!
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Originally Posted by carsong
.... pure un-adulterated HOOEY ..... maybe your dealer should read the manual ..... Mike 
....I think I did ... I said it was a " CRAPENDA " 
