Lucky the Kenda's suck...

[AZCanAm]

A couple of weeks ago the dealer (which shall remain unnamed) installed new OEM Kenda's at 23PSI on my Spyder. First clue...

Do not like them. So I ordered (2) Vredestein's that came in today. I go to take the wheels off in my garage which has epoxy floors with a long wrench handle, and the wheel spins on the floor. Right then I knew they were over torqued. So then I park the Spyder on asphalt looking for more grip. Tire still spins.

I test one of the lugs with my torque wrench to see if it would budge at 125 pounds. Nope! I ended up having to use an impact wrench to get the lugs off.

Long story short--if the OEM's did not suck, I would have been driving around with severely over torqued lugs on my front wheels for who knows how many thousands of miles.

Does anybody know what damage that would have done (if not already)?

Needless to say, don't trust the dealer, always back check anything you can once you get home.

I called the dealer and they told me they would check their calibration. OMG!

[BajaRon]

Warped rotors
Warped Hub
Stretched Lug Threads
Broken lugs long term
Damaged contact area on the wheel

They most likely used an air or electric impact wrench to tighten them. It's not their ride. They get paid to push them out the door as fast as they can.

Sad.

[AZCanAm]

Wow! Thanks for the info BajaRon. Dodged a bullet there.

Discount tire is mounting them as we speak for $33 per wheel. At least its a lifetime balancing. And of course I will be installing them myself torqued at about 75 pounds.

[BajaRon]

Wow! Thanks for the info BajaRon. Dodged a bullet there.

Discount tire is mounting them as we speak for $33 per wheel. At least its a lifetime balancing. And of course I will be installing them myself torqued at about 75 pounds.

I am sure you know this. But torque in increments. Actually, I hand torque with a 1/2" drive ratchet and then take it the rest of the way (in increments) to the finished amount. I skip a lug every cycle on the Spyder since there are only 3 lugs.

I have found that an owner will almost always do a better job than a paid tech.

[AZCanAm]

I am sure you know this. But torque in increments. Actually, I hand torque with a 1/2" drive ratchet and then take it the rest of the way (in increments) to the finished amount. I skip a lug every cycle on the Spyder since there are only 3 lugs.

I have found that an owner will almost always do a better job than a paid tech.

Much appreciated. You'd be surprised at my ignorance because I did not think about the increments. I really, really doubt the dealer incrementing at all. My high torque impact wrench actually struggled a bit. They should be ashamed of themselves...

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Much appreciated. You'd be surprised at my ignorance because I did not think about the increments. I really, really doubt the dealer incrementing at all. My high torque impact wrench actually struggled a bit. They should be ashamed of themselves...

..... but they arn't ..... Mike

[canamjhb]

When dealers preform great and provide good value, it is always good to know who they are. Likewise, when a dealer is sloppy and incompetent, that's good to know also.

BTW, I will be very surprised if your dealer is NOT Ride Now. Your experience has their signature all over it..... Jim

[AZCanAm]

When dealers preform great and provide good value, it is always good to know who they are. Likewise, when a dealer is sloppy and incompetent, that's good to know also.

BTW, I will be very surprised if your dealer is NOT Ride Now. Your experience has their signature all over it..... Jim

You are a bright man. And I see you live near me. Here is the clue. In Gilbert, AZ. I hate to bad talk them before they do a free install on a new rear tire due to the aforementioned mess-ups.

Just got back from a 25 mile ride on the new Veredestein's. I feel a lot safer now. I no longer feel iffy at 75mph. Almost a whole new bike. Plus at very low speeds the turning is way easier. The crew at Discount tire told me the road force test yielded beautiful results and needed less than an ounce of balancing which they could not do. So it was only $22 out the door. Money well spent because safety is #1 (well most of the time).

[MONK]

The tire shop that installed my Q5s a few weeks ago actually had me check the owners manual for the right torque settings (80 lb ft, in my case). I watched him torque them to specs. I didn't look to see if he alternated lugnuts or not because I didn't know you were supposed to. All I know is that they're spot on @ 80 +/-.2 (he showed me the readings on his torque wrench).

[Snoking1127]

You are a bright man. And I see you live near me. Here is the clue. In Gilbert, AZ. I hate to bad talk them before they do a free install on a new rear tire due to the aforementioned mess-ups.

Just got back from a 25 mile ride on the new Veredestein's. I feel a lot safer now. I no longer feel iffy at 75mph. Almost a whole new bike. Plus at very low speeds the turning is way easier. The crew at Discount tire told me the road force test yielded beautiful results and needed less than an ounce of balancing which they could not do. So it was only $22 out the door. Money well spent because safety is #1 (well most of the time).

I thought that was the Chandler store? Which is a step above the others in the valley. Sierra Vista Store gets good reviews, however it is 179 miles away for me. Nash in Mesa has been good to me in regards to software updates.

[AZCanAm]

Well the jury is in. After slapping on another 130 miles this evening I can safely say the combination of the BajaRon sway bar kit, and these Veredesteins, take the bike from kinda scary to extremely fun. Night and day as far as I am concerned.

I can 100% "feel" the bike now. It is absolutely incredible. I am so grateful to you guys for convincing me to take the plunge. Thank you.

[Snoking1127]

Well the jury is in. After slapping on another 130 miles this evening I can safely say the combination of the BajaRon sway bar kit, and these Veredesteins, take the bike from kinda scary to extremely fun. Night and day as far as I am concerned.

I can 100% "feel" the bike now. It is absolutely incredible. I am so grateful to you guys for convincing me to take the plunge. Thank you.

_/\_


Maybe Can Am does not endorse better tires and sway bars, as they know we become happy with our existing rigs and do not trade up!

I did a quick round trip this morning to Tortilla Flats to play in the twisties.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

You are a bright man. And I see you live near me. Here is the clue. In Gilbert, AZ. I hate to bad talk them before they do a free install on a new rear tire due to the aforementioned mess-ups.

Just got back from a 25 mile ride on the new Veredestein's. I feel a lot safer now. I no longer feel iffy at 75mph. Almost a whole new bike. Plus at very low speeds the turning is way easier. The crew at Discount tire told me the road force test yielded beautiful results and needed less than an ounce of balancing which they could not do. So it was only $22 out the door. Money well spent because safety is #1 (well most of the time).

" they Road Force balanced it " , but couldn't put the one ounce weight on it ...... If they have the machine - why don't they have the weights ????? .... this makes no sense to me .... Mike

[PMK]

" they Road Force balanced it " , but couldn't put the one ounce weight on it ...... If they have the machine - why don't they have the weights ????? .... this makes no sense to me .... Mike

Agree. An imbalance should be corrected. The original post says the imbalance is less than one ounce. When I balance my tires, my weights come in 1/4 oz increments, but I can trim them to 1/8 oz. I balance my tires to 0.0 error on the setting that is 1/10 ounce range on my balancer.

Very odd, but the original post he is happy. Then again rubber bands from Office Depot are better riding than Kenda tires.

[BertRemington]

AZ -- a week earlier I had Vredestein's installed on the front by a dealer and your post got me to check lug nut torque. After putting most of my weight on an 18" breaker bar I was able to remove them. Retightened to 80 lbft using digital torque wrench. If you hadn't posted your experience I probably won't have checked and ended up with the problem's BR described. Thanks.

PS epoxy floors on your garage floor? I'm envious!

[AZCanAm]

" they Road Force balanced it " , but couldn't put the one ounce weight on it ...... If they have the machine - why don't they have the weights ????? .... this makes no sense to me .... Mike

I hear ya but that's what DT told me. Took the wheels/tires down to "Big O tires". No problem. They balanced the two for $15 (took the wheels off and brought the wheels/tires to them).