OEM Rear Tire SHOT at 2,500 miles

[sledmaster]

Just in case anyone has experienced something similar, my OEM Kenda rear tire was really bald down the middle at only 2,500 miles on a brand new ST-S. I squeaked another 1,250 miles out of it, so it was completely bald in the center section, and I mean completely. Over the course of 65,000 miles on my 2008s I ran a couple sets of the OEM Kenda but then started using Kumhos and Maxxis tires, averaging 7,300 miles through the years. But to only get 2,500 (OK 3,750) out of the Kenda on the 2013?

My dealer told me BRP had changed the compound on the 2013s to a softer one, if true then it shows. I am familiar with the high speed centrifugal force causing the center to wear out first, don’t waste your time explaining that to me. And don’t bother with tire pressure being too high, it was always 26 psi, I ran it a tad low just to try to make it last longer.

So no more Kenda. This time I had a Toyo Proxes in the shop, this is what went on for now, but so far the Maxxis has been the most impressive. It is a MA-Z4S Victra 95V with 420 treadwear, AA traction and A temperature. Tough to find a better treadwear rating with AA traction in this size, and I won’t stoop down to a T speed rating (118 mph) when I run the thing at over 100 mph every chance I get. No wonder the Kenda didn’t last…….

So far I have stayed with the OEM 225/50R15 size, but might have to go to one of the other sizes to get some better tread wear. There are many more options when you go to a 215/60R15 (+5.4%) or even 205/60R15 (+3.5%). It is really tough to find anything in the 215/55r15 (+1.9%) or 205/55r15 (+0.1%) sizes, as they are closer in diameter than the 60s, but all of these will work as far as I have been able to determine by previous posts. There’s also 225/55R15 but also tough to find, that one is +3.7% in diameter. The 4-ply tires seem to be slightly heavier, but this is perfectly acceptable for the higher quality and durability. 2-ply is cheap junk.

So if your OEM Kenda is shot at a couple thousand miles, you are not alone. If it lasts for 10,000 miles, then you’d better burn the carbon out of the damn thing.

[Bob Denman]

Thanks for the warning...
Has anybody else heard about a change of compounds? We'll have to look for some independent confirmation on this on...
(NOT that we're doubting you! )

[billybovine]

If what dealer told you is correct about the softer tire, my experience is they don't stick to the road any better.

[daveinva]

Yeah, really wondering if this is true or if you just got a "bad batch" tire.

Because 2,500 miles on a rear is unacceptable, and would totally get me to buy something else other than OEM.

[Spyder Tony]

I looked at mine yesterday & was noticing i'm pretty much getting bald in the center of my rear tire on my ST-L. I have a bit more miles than you do (4500 approx) but still thought i'd get more miles out of the tire. I will make it through the riding season with this tire, but will need a replacement in the spring. I didn't expect to have to buy a tire each season...and I don't ride nearly as many miles as many do (although I do quite a few group rides). I purchased an '08 GS that has a car tire on it...but the new ST-L has the stock Kenda...and i'm feeling hard pressed to replace it with another Kenda. Although I have heard many out there run various car tires on the different Spyders, I don't recall seeing anyone put one on a '13 ST. If they have, let me know your thoughts as i'm considering switching from the factory tire.

[SpyderAnn01]

That is just crazy. I wasn't happy that I was ready for a new rear tire on my 2013 RT at 13,000 miles but 2,500. At that rate I'd be changing tires at least once a month if not more. I had purchased the Toyo Proxes but hadn't changed it when my Spyder burned. I sold it to a friend and so far he really likes it.

[Bob Denman]

Maybe you should have hung onto that Toyo?
Isn't that the model that's out of production now?

[Silvervette05]

If it is wearing only in the center you have to much air pressure in it. Tires do not wear just in the center because of a soft rubber compound.

[sledmaster]

My dealer and I were trying to figure out the difference. With the 65,000 miles on my 2008s we had a good sense of what was normal, we ran through four Kendas before switching to the Kumhos, ran through four of them and then went to the Maxxis which we really liked.

So when the Kenda went bad so fast on the ST-S we got real curious. He told me that BRP had indicated a compound change on the 2013s and he wasn't supposed to be using any of his pallet of pre-2013 Kenda, so he ordered the new part number for use on 2013s. Then it got weird, he said he got some of the new tires and then some of the old tires, so he wasn't sure what BRP was up to or if they knew what tire was for what year. We've been running the 4-ply car tires on my Spyders for so long with no issues that we instantly switched the ST-S to one.

But back to what the difference was, we figure several things. 1) possible compound change 2) no adjustable pre-load of the rear spring on the ST-S 3)I was riding the ST-S even harder faster than the 2008 GS spyders 4)ST-S is a heavier spyder than the 2008s 4)maybe got a bad tire?

I had done the 3750 miles in 63.5 hours so that is an average speed of 59 mph. I do not ride interstates or US highways, only ride state and county roads, all two lane, but I do live in an area where we ride open territory much of the time so it is almost 99% highways miles at good speeds. All of the Kendas had worn out in the middle like this, but never have I or my dealer saw one go bad this fast. He just couldn’t get his head around it, but nobody puts on miles like I do around here so we’re usually seeing things first out of his riders.

[Chupaca]

hard to believe that they would go to a softer compound considering the number of comlaints about tires not lasting very long. I think it is a dealer passifier myself. Where you ryde, how you ryde and when you ryde all factor in but never omit the possibility of a bad batch. Seems these tires are like the heat issues, some are good some are not. I ryde high speed high rpm so am usually at the power band and yet have 14,000 miles and still have tread left and wear is even across. But 2,500 miles is a first... Good luck on the next tire be what it may...!!

[clueless]

seeing the same here on ST-S ... about 1,600 miles and its wearing much much faster then the 2010 RT-S

Running 30 psi in rear at the top end of the recommended 28 +/- 2 psi.... It also sequeled a lot on sharp slow turns when I first got it. It quieted down now noticable at 30 psi in rear ...

I never ran it with the OEM shock. upgraded right out of the crate with a ELKA stage 1 shock. the OEM shock on the demo seemed too stiff and not enough rebound damping for my liking

Lamont said he got 6,000 out of his ST-S rear tire running at 30 psi

[tobor9]

I have over 23K on my OEM 2011 tires and they still look good,I hope when they do need changing I can get the same tires, not a softer compound.

[billybovine]

If it is wearing only in the center you have to much air pressure in it. Tires do not wear just in the center because of a soft rubber compound.

I run 22 psi instead of the recommended 28 +/-2 and it's worn out in the middle.

[gottago]

WoW!!! only 2500 miles, I thought mine was weird going bald at 8750. Maybe not. First trip in spring is to the dealer for new rear tire. I couldn't believe how fast the rear tire burned out. I was running 20 in the rear and 17.50 in front. front looks great but the rear is terrible. I'm hoping it isn't a new set of tires per season, if so oh well, the fun is worth it.

[alajeu]

I have a 2012 RT with 9577 miles and the tires look like they did with 100 miles on them. They are OEM Kendas.

As far as tire wear is concerned, I have a Star Stratoliner and never get more than 6000 miles on a set. I have to buy new ones every year.

WoW!!! only 2500 miles, I thought mine was weird going bald at 8750. Maybe not. First trip in spring is to the dealer for new rear tire. I couldn't believe how fast the rear tire burned out. I was running 20 in the rear and 17.50 in front. front looks great but the rear is terrible. I'm hoping it isn't a new set of tires per season, if so oh well, the fun is worth it.

[Bob Denman]

If it is wearing only in the center you have to much air pressure in it. Tires do not wear just in the center because of a soft rubber compound.

You'd think that; most of the time, you'd even be correct.

But these are two-ply tires... If they don't have enough air in them; they balloon at speeds, and this also wears out the center section first...

This is one of the reasons why so many of us switch to four-ply automotive tires...

[ARtraveler]

Just in case anyone has experienced something similar, my OEM Kenda rear tire was really bald down the middle at only 2,500 miles on a brand new ST-S. I squeaked another 1,250 miles out of it, so it was completely bald in the center section, and I mean completely. Over the course of 65,000 miles on my 2008s I ran a couple sets of the OEM Kenda but then started using Kumhos and Maxxis tires, averaging 7,300 miles through the years. But to only get 2,500 (OK 3,750) out of the Kenda on the 2013?

My dealer told me BRP had changed the compound on the 2013s to a softer one, if true then it shows. I am familiar with the high speed centrifugal force causing the center to wear out first, don’t waste your time explaining that to me. And don’t bother with tire pressure being too high, it was always 26 psi, I ran it a tad low just to try to make it last longer.

So no more Kenda. This time I had a Toyo Proxes in the shop, this is what went on for now, but so far the Maxxis has been the most impressive. It is a MA-Z4S Victra 95V with 420 treadwear, AA traction and A temperature. Tough to find a better treadwear rating with AA traction in this size, and I won’t stoop down to a T speed rating (118 mph) when I run the thing at over 100 mph every chance I get. No wonder the Kenda didn’t last…….

So far I have stayed with the OEM 225/50R15 size, but might have to go to one of the other sizes to get some better tread wear. There are many more options when you go to a 215/60R15 (+5.4%) or even 205/60R15 (+3.5%). It is really tough to find anything in the 215/55r15 (+1.9%) or 205/55r15 (+0.1%) sizes, as they are closer in diameter than the 60s, but all of these will work as far as I have been able to determine by previous posts. There’s also 225/55R15 but also tough to find, that one is +3.7% in diameter. The 4-ply tires seem to be slightly heavier, but this is perfectly acceptable for the higher quality and durability. 2-ply is cheap junk.

So if your OEM Kenda is shot at a couple thousand miles, you are not alone. If it lasts for 10,000 miles, then you’d better burn the carbon out of the damn thing.

IMO: This is new to most of us. You obviously have experience and the usual "tricks of the trade" information is not going to apply here. It really does seem to me that there is a problem if you are only getting 2500 miles out of a rear tire. My Vulcan 2000cc got 6,500 out of its first rear tire--and that puppy was made to burn up the pavement.

My experience with rear tires (non-2013's) has been 13K to 15K. Burned through three of them. Hope you folks can figure out what is going on. All we need is another issue for 2013.

[sledmaster]

This is curious. I started checking rear tire part numbers to see if there was a new rear tire for 2013. Checked 2013 ST-S rear tire part number 705 501 604. Checked 2012 RS, showed 705 501 464 but it superseded to the 2013 number 705 501 604. Interesting. So I checked the 2008 GS, it showed 705 500 958, but the supersede chain went to 705 501 312, then to 705 501 464, then to 705 501 604. So this tells me there have been four different part numbers for rear tires since the Spyder introduction, but they all appear to supersede to the 2013 number 705 501 604. I even checked a 2014 RT Limited and a 2014 ST-S and they both show the #604. It appears there is in fact a different tire for 2013 than what was used in 2012, but they are all now specifying the same #604. Now to see if we can get more info on what changed....

[Bob Denman]

Waiting to see what you find!
Happy Hunting!!

[billrob71]

Just in case anyone has experienced something similar, my OEM Kenda rear tire was really bald down the middle at only 2,500 miles on a brand new ST-S. I squeaked another 1,250 miles out of it, so it was completely bald in the center section, and I mean completely. Over the course of 65,000 miles on my 2008s I ran a couple sets of the OEM Kenda but then started using Kumhos and Maxxis tires, averaging 7,300 miles through the years. But to only get 2,500 (OK 3,750) out of the Kenda on the 2013?

My dealer told me BRP had changed the compound on the 2013s to a softer one, if true then it shows. I am familiar with the high speed centrifugal force causing the center to wear out first, don’t waste your time explaining that to me. And don’t bother with tire pressure being too high, it was always 26 psi, I ran it a tad low just to try to make it last longer.

So no more Kenda. This time I had a Toyo Proxes in the shop, this is what went on for now, but so far the Maxxis has been the most impressive. It is a MA-Z4S Victra 95V with 420 treadwear, AA traction and A temperature. Tough to find a better treadwear rating with AA traction in this size, and I won’t stoop down to a T speed rating (118 mph) when I run the thing at over 100 mph every chance I get. No wonder the Kenda didn’t last…….

So far I have stayed with the OEM 225/50R15 size, but might have to go to one of the other sizes to get some better tread wear. There are many more options when you go to a 215/60R15 (+5.4%) or even 205/60R15 (+3.5%). It is really tough to find anything in the 215/55r15 (+1.9%) or 205/55r15 (+0.1%) sizes, as they are closer in diameter than the 60s, but all of these will work as far as I have been able to determine by previous posts. There’s also 225/55R15 but also tough to find, that one is +3.7% in diameter. The 4-ply tires seem to be slightly heavier, but this is perfectly acceptable for the higher quality and durability. 2-ply is cheap junk.

So if your OEM Kenda is shot at a couple thousand miles, you are not alone. If it lasts for 10,000 miles, then you’d better burn the carbon out of the damn thing.

Right there there with ya little over 1200 miles and more then half way though it. Will defiantly looking for a harder compound tire , mine is wearing even all way across .
I like the tread pattern on kumho tire

[Flanker]

About 6500 on my 2012 Kenda............................still looks good. I've never had any of my motorcycle tires last that long (might be related to hard wheel spinning starts and burn outs ).

[bullant12]

Got 5200 on my 2013 RTS. When I traded for the 2010 at 12000 miles, the tire was ready to change. My wife's RS was swapped at 13000 miles.

I agree on the Kenda having issues. Heard of many front tires going bad as well.

I got my 2013 and the wife's RS both Kuhmo's. So far mine at 9300 miles and the RS at 15100 they are looking good.

[Sny]

Have you done a 3 wheel alignment?

There's been more than a few Spyders that are severely toe-out on one side and toe-in on the other... this results in the bike crabbing down the road in order to go straight, and wears the heck out of your tires (it's called scrubbing.)

I would suspect this has more to do with it than any suspected change in the composition of the tire itself.

[sledmaster]

Saw no need for alignment, let go of the bars and it runs true and straight, front tires look brand new. The outer edges of the rear were like new, it was the centrifugal force of the high speed operation that made the center go bald like that. To get an average speed of 60 mph over the course of 3,750 miles one has to be going 80 mph for every moment of 40 mph running, and is going 100 mph for every moment of going 20 mph. I am convinced it was the high speed operation. All of the four other Kendas I wore out on my 2008s looked the same, but they lasted more like 5,000 each. That's the point, what is the difference between the 2008s only getting 5,000 per Kenda where the 2013 was down to half (well, 3,750 is when it got swapped). My 2008 GS #006 averaged 56.5 mph over 32,000 miles, 2008 GS #659 averaged 56.0 mph over 33,000 miles, so we are down to weight difference between the 2013 and the 2008s and the lack of rear spring preload adjustability. The 2013 weighs more and it is carrying more weight on the rear with the spring being as it is. I believe this to be far more likely of a cause than needing a 3-wheel alignment, would you not agree? If the 4-ply tires do not last as long as they did on the 2008s I am going to swap out the rear shock and spring so I can get some adjustability back to the pre-load and see what happens. Funny thing, the 2013 makes the 2008s really feel old, especially with the Bajaron sway bar in there. Wow, what a difference that made to the handling!

[Bob Denman]

I was waiting to see when you would mention Ron's "magic touch"...