Do we owe Kenda an apology?

[Cobwebs]

I'm entertaining a new theory (hey I'm a contrarian) that the wearing in the centre of the rear tyre is a design feature inserted by Kenda engineers. It's there to prevent aquaplaning on a worn tyre. The fact that the fronts have a totally different wear pattern yet are the same build quality are the proof.
Prove me wrong.

[Bfromla]

Confused lil bit as thought the kenda complaints We’re mostly bout poor side wall support & low mileages -not tread wear patterns (& tread wear patterns averted for those that rotated tires)

[bikerchris1270]

I'm entertaining a new theory (hey I'm a contrarian) that the wearing in the centre of the rear tyre is a design feature inserted by Kenda engineers. It's there to prevent aquaplaning on a worn tyre. The fact that the fronts have a totally different wear pattern yet are the same build quality are the proof.
Prove me wrong.

Prove you are right…….

[Snoking1127]

Prove you are right…….

His sig line says "Registered crackpot"! In 2005 Kenda give me $110 x 5 to take off and have destroyed the Klever LT tires that came OEM on a 5th wheel trailer we bought. That is about the only good thing I have to say about them.

[Cobwebs]

Confused lil bit as thought the kenda complaints We’re mostly bout poor side wall support & low mileages -not tread wear patterns (& tread wear patterns averted for those that rotated tires)

Probably second to the rear complaints but if you were a built for purpose front with about a 95% chance from factory of being forced into misalignment you'd have some strange wear patterns too I would suggest.
Mileage wise I think they have it spot on if you care about any sort of dry cornering grip but if all you want is not to have to pay for that grip and don't need it then by all means select something with a harder compound.
How much sidewall do you need, are they built for load carrying,comfort, sport riding, two up, solo,fast, slow,hot, cold,on road, gravel.How anyone can point blank say the sidewalls aren't correct and the best alternative is something overengineered for the job doesn't make a lot of sense.
Why don't the fronts wear a bald patch in the centre if the sidewalls are inadequate same as the rear?

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I'm entertaining a new theory (hey I'm a contrarian) that the wearing in the centre of the rear tyre is a design feature inserted by Kenda engineers. It's there to prevent aquaplaning on a worn tyre. The fact that the fronts have a totally different wear pattern yet are the same build quality are the proof.
Prove me wrong.

IMHO this is ridiculous ...... both the front and the rear tires have the same construction ..... the difference in the wear issues are because the REAR tires are 225 width and the fronts are 160 (?) width. .... the weak construction allows the Wider rear tire to balloon at about 40+. The front will also balloon but at a much, much higher speed, like 100 + mph ..... Mike

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Probably second to the rear complaints but if you were a built for purpose front with about a 95% chance from factory of being forced into misalignment you'd have some strange wear patterns too I would suggest.
Mileage wise I think they have it spot on if you care about any sort of dry cornering grip but if all you want is not to have to pay for that grip and don't need it then by all means select something with a harder compound.
How much sidewall do you need, are they built for load carrying,comfort, sport riding, two up, solo,fast, slow,hot, cold,on road, gravel.How anyone can point blank say the sidewalls aren't correct and the best alternative is something overengineered for the job doesn't make a lot of sense.
Why don't the fronts wear a bald patch in the centre if the sidewalls are inadequate same as the rear?

Read my post # 6 ...... Mike

[Cobwebs]

IMHO this is ridiculous ...... both the front and the rear tires have the same construction ..... the difference in the wear issues are because the REAR tires are 225 width and the fronts are 160 (?) width. .... the weak construction allows the Wider rear tire to balloon at about 40+. The front will also balloon but at a much, much higher speed, like 100 + mph ..... Mike

Yes but is it designed into the rear tyre as a unique safety feature exclusive to Spyders that under normal circumstances could be dismissed as weak construction?
Which is safer in the wet a worn Kenda with deep intact tread on the edges or a similarly worn car tyre with less tread depth.Think nanny tyre and my theory makes more sense.

[Snoking1127]

Or maybe it is all this?

[BajaRon]

I'm entertaining a new theory (hey I'm a contrarian) that the wearing in the centre of the rear tyre is a design feature inserted by Kenda engineers. It's there to prevent aquaplaning on a worn tyre. The fact that the fronts have a totally different wear pattern yet are the same build quality are the proof.
Prove me wrong.

You may be on to something here. The engineers may have made their Kenda tires lumpy and out of round to give the rider an off road experience without having to leave the pavement! Genius!

KendaTires.jpg

[JayBros]

... It's there to prevent aquaplaning on a worn tyre. The fact that the fronts have a totally different wear pattern yet are the same build quality are the proof.
Prove me wrong.

I believe there may be an error in your physics. One can hydroplane a brand new General Altimax RT 43, one of the better rear car tires some of us have used with great success. How, too much water on the road for the tread to dispurse the fluid. With a bald center rear tire there is zero tread to dispurse any water and hydroplaning can become instantaneous. Way back in the mid-nineteen seventies that was the determination of a VA state trooper who investigated the accident caused by a driver in a tuna boat-size sedan with four bald tires who slid across a four lane highway in a heavy rain shower and nearly wiped out me and all my family. The trooper knew his physics.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I believe there may be an error in your physics. One can hydroplane a brand new General Altimax RT 43, one of the better rear car tires some of us have used with great success. How, too much water on the road for the tread to dispurse the fluid. With a bald center rear tire there is zero tread to dispurse any water and hydroplaning can become instantaneous. Way back in the mid-nineteen seventies that was the determination of a VA state trooper who investigated the accident caused by a driver in a tuna boat-size sedan with four bald tires who slid across a four lane highway in a heavy rain shower and nearly wiped out me and all my family. The trooper knew his physics.

You are spot on ..... and that Trooper more likely had some additional " accident investigation training " In my LEO days I was the go-to guy for " Death Resulting " accidents, because My Dept. had invested in getting me lots of specialized training. ....Which I gladly share here on this Forum .....Mike

[hypurone]

Do we owe Kenda an apology?

[ARtraveler]

Interesting read here.

The title of the thread: Do We Owe Kenda an Apology.

Not me! I am still one of the very few that have a lot of Spyder experience and miles with Kenda. I have NEVER said anything disparaging about them in my 16 years of Spyder ownership which ended in Oct 2023. I owned 7 Spyders over the 16 year period.

I used non-Kenda tires once. In 2019 I bought new Federals from ??????. I never got to see how good they were in comparison to the OEM Kendas that I replaced. This was on the 2014 which came with the "softer" Kendas. Most of you got 4K to 6K miles on the rears. I got 9K on mine. The Federals had about 5K on them when I traded it off.

I put K-9s on one other bike It had less than 10K on the tires when traded off. No signs of wear whatsoever.

My experience over 7 Spyders with OEM Kendas was consistantly 13K to 15K on the rear tires. I believed in 26# (2 # less than recommended) to compensate for the mid tread wearout do to ballooning. My fronts always got 20K miles.

Granted, there are much better tires out there to be had. I could not replace my own and needed a trusted dealer to put the tires (especially the rear) on for me. When you mess will drive belts etc. you need to know what you are doing. I was at the mercy of the "dealers."

So that's my .02 from an old crackpot Spyder owner who lives in the hills and hollers of Arkansas. I don't have a punkin truck though. And I won't be buying any more Kendas.

It has been good to spar with some of you on this subject over the years though.

Be nice now.

[Cobwebs]

I believe there may be an error in your physics. One can hydroplane a brand new General Altimax RT 43, one of the better rear car tires some of us have used with great success. How, too much water on the road for the tread to dispurse the fluid. With a bald center rear tire there is zero tread to dispurse any water and hydroplaning can become instantaneous. Way back in the mid-nineteen seventies that was the determination of a VA state trooper who investigated the accident caused by a driver in a tuna boat-size sedan with four bald tires who slid across a four lane highway in a heavy rain shower and nearly wiped out me and all my family. The trooper knew his physics.

Your post gives rise to another point I was going to put out there. When swapping to heavier tyres, how much effect % wise are the unsprung weight increases having on suspension and steering performance? Are people unwittingly compromising more important areas than they are aware?
Also, how much sensitivity/feel/traction is being lost by mounting a less forgiving carcass that won't conform to road deviations as well as a Kenda as shown in BajaRons flexibility index diagram.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Your post gives rise to another point I was going to put out there. When swapping to heavier tyres, how much effect % wise are the unsprung weight increases having on suspension and steering performance? Are people unwittingly compromising more important areas than they are aware?
Also, how much sensitivity/feel/traction is being lost by mounting a less forgiving carcass that won't conform to road deviations as well as a Kenda as shown in BajaRons flexibility index diagram.

If you are indicting His post # 10 above .... that DIAGRAM has nothing to do with FLEXIBILITY .... I suggest you PM Ron for His meaning on that ..... Mike

[Cobwebs]

If you are indicting His post # 10 above .... that DIAGRAM has nothing to do with FLEXIBILITY .... I suggest you PM Ron for His meaning on that ..... Mike

No need Mike, he said genius I'm typing the apology.

[Snoking1127]

We had a guy on RV.net that defended crappy ST (special trailer) tires for years as they failed and damaged trailers. Towards the end he admitted that he had 22 failures of trailer tires. We thought maybe we was paid to be on the internet spreading the goodness of ST tires.

[Valkrocket]

You may be on to something here. The engineers may have made their Kenda tires lumpy and out of round to give the rider an off road experience without having to leave the pavement! Genius!

KendaTires.jpg

Bahahaha!

[Snoking1127]

On the recent new to me 2018 RTL which had 8240 miles on the clock when I bought it, I found that it had a vibration at highway speed, so I moved the my Centramatic balancers from the front of my other Spyder to the new one. Out of the highway I could see the left front Kenda not running true and still causing a vibration in the trike. The rim appeared to be running true, so the issue was the tire. So I put the PPA wheels and Vredestein Quatrac SL on it and it VERY smooth on the road now. The Champagne one got it's original wheels with Federal Formoza tires re-installed.

AT 1,249 miles the Elka shocks and 2013 RS blade style wheels were installed(moving the OEM Kendas to the new wheels, and I have the OEM wheels without tires) with 2 oz counteract balance beads in each wheel/tire. And this Spyder got a new set of Kenda tires because of issues at 1,383 miles, as I have all the service records on it. So it appears that Kenda tires have been an issue with this one right off the dealers showroom floor. I probably should call the seller and tell him the vibrations have been solved.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

On the recent new to me 2018 RTL which had 8240 miles on the clock when I bought it, I found that it had a vibration at highway speed, so I moved the my Centramatic balancers from the front of my other Spyder to the new one. Out of the highway I could see the left front Kenda not running true and still causing a vibration in the trike. The rim appeared to be running true, so the issue was the tire. So I put the PPA wheels and Vredestein Quatrac SL on it and it VERY smooth on the road now. The Champagne one got it's original wheels with Federal Formoza tires re-installed.

AT 1,249 miles the Elka shocks and 2013 RS blade style wheels were installed(moving the OEM Kendas to the new wheels, and I have the OEM wheels without tires) with 2 oz counteract balance beads in each wheel/tire. And this Spyder got a new set of Kenda tires because of issues at 1,383 miles, as I have all the service records on it. So it appears that Kenda tires have been an issue with this one right off the dealers showroom floor. I probably should call the seller and tell him the vibrations have been solved.

Thanks .... I've said this and so has Peter ..... Kenda tires that can NOT be balanced is not UNUSUAL and the ratio of defective tires produced by Kenda is quite large ..... JMHO ....Mike

[Cobwebs]

Bit of an update on the apology I sent to Kenda. Pretty much I've managed to smooth things over with them and all is forgiven (phew! ). Here's the reply................

Deer missa Clackplot, thanking ewe much of the edumucasion eferts to Spy Duh oners. Ewe won of de millyon Owr now cumpeny wif bigggnus. Wee sent ewe tim of lieff suplie Kendas sew ewe now spin biggly dem bernowts If ewer hart kined an ounce munthlee speshall too uther burn boise flee ere inn everly tier. Later dude.


So there you go, I think I got away with it................just, so we probably should back off the negative reports for a while (well at least till I get my tyre bundle).

[ARtraveler]

Bit of an update on the apology I sent to Kenda. Pretty much I've managed to smooth things over with them and all is forgiven (phew! ). Here's the reply................

Deer missa Clackplot, thanking ewe much of the edumucasion eferts to Spy Duh oners. Ewe won of de millyon Owr now cumpeny wif bigggnus. Wee sent ewe tim of lieff suplie Kendas sew ewe now spin biggly dem bernowts If ewer hart kined an ounce munthlee speshall too uther burn boise flee ere inn everly tier. Later dude.


So there you go, I think I got away with it................just, so we probably should back off the negative reports for a while (well at least till I get my tyre bundle).

Thanks for the headache. That translation of Japenese to Aussie puts quite a twist and it took a while for it to come through. One word at a time, no plobrum. Many words.

[Cobwebs]

Thanks for the headache. That translation of Japenese to Aussie puts quite a twist and it took a while for it to come through. One word at a time, no plobrum. Many words.

Quite a skill to speak fluent Kendran isn't it.

[Snoking1127]

Quite a skill to speak fluent Kendran isn't it.

Maybe you could explain your reason to start this worthless thread? At least in America we know Kenda tires are subpar. Maybe driving on the left side of the road compensates for the short comings of the Kenda tires.