Venting about Tire wear and alignment...

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

This kind of my experience with my 2021 RT LTD.

The OEM Kendas I have on mine have seemed just fine. They are not the best I'm sure, like any OEM tire supplied on a new machine they are partly chosen by the vendor due to cost, but they seem to do the job OK.

I actually like the way they feel, they seem to have a very predictable feel up to their adhesion limit. They stay nice and neutral through even tight corners in the canyons without suddenly switching to oversteer or understeer or kicking in the nanny because of sudden front or rear giving way. They are also reasonably good in the wet or dry and roll nice and quietly on the freeway.

I guess by my experience they are fitting better versions to later machines as I have no real complaints.

I did a rough alignment check on my machine when new using bore sight lasers from my rifles with markings on the garage wall. From what I can tell my bike came set up with a touch of toe in, which it is probably what it is designed for. Obviously this was a really rough test and not the most accurate but I'm sure it would have shown up a large degree of toe. I did also check the tie rod ends and rear axle assembly for tightness just in case, but it was fine from the factory.

I don't know how people do a proper professional laser alignment but I suspect it must comprise of getting the front wheels set correctly and the rear wheel squared to the fronts, a three wheel alignment in other words. I can easily imagine aligning the fronts and if not aligned with the rear it would still be off. Plus centering the steering using BUDS2 afterwards.

I wouldn't say a laser alignment is the essential way to do things, I'm sure somebody who really, really knows what they are doing can do it with tape measures and string. I can remember in my younger days walking through the pits at Brands Hatch for a Grand Prix and seeing a front running Formula 1 team aligning things with a metal jig and strings and rulers. I'm sure even the slightest error even back then would have had a major effect on driver feel and lap times. I rather suspect doing it with lasers has the potential to do it more accurately and quicker for sure and i suspect Formula 1 teams have long given up using jigs and string. Of course the Spyder's adjustments are much more unidirectional than a race car's camber and other adjustments as well.

I think when this set of tires is done for, I'll replace them with a set of the Kanine KR20s. I'll do all three at the same time to ensure the alignment holds for as long as possible - it's bound to change a bit as the fronts wear, I'm sure.

So I'm sorry if this was not everyones' experience with their Spyder but I just wanted to say that I have no complaints with mine in this area.

Nice write-up ......

[mecsw500]

I suspect my more modern Kendas are' better than 2008 versions. I tried a Spyder RT on car tires and and honestly liked my Kendas enough

[RayBJ]

We all ride differently and the stresses we put on the piece-parts vary widely. If a rider is happy with the equipment and doesn't push the limits, there's little reason to spend money for upgrades that have no noticeable benefits.

Run what you like and respect the choices of others. There's a reason we have chocolate & vanilla - to offer options!

[K80Shooter]

There's a reason we have chocolate & vanilla - to offer options!

I like Strawberry.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

The front Kendas on my 2013 RT still had a couple thousand miles left on them I sold it at about 23,000 miles. But the front OEM Kendas on my 2014 RTS were defective and constantly pulled to the right. An alignment didn't correct the problem. I replaced them at 13,000 miles with Continental Conti Pro Contacts and they're still looking good at over 30,000 miles of use.

[ARtraveler]

RE: 2014 RTS. BRP was experimenting with Kenda tires that year. The early 2014 (1330-3 cylinders) had rear tires with a "softer" rubber compound. That was the ONLY Kenda rear tire that I found was ready for a replacement at about 8,500 miles. Many on site at that time said they were lucky to get 6,000 miles on the rear tires. Other Kenda rear tires have always given me about 15,000 miles of use. I did get my usual 20K out of the front tires.