Vee Rubber for the RT

[Lamonster]

Just got the new tire in for testing. So far I like it a lot better than the first two I tried. Thicker sidewalls for sure

[Bob Denman]

Let us know how it wears, as you pile up the first 10,000 miles on it...
By the end of August; right?

[Trbayth]

Same size for the ST?

[Chupaca]

Be great to have another motorcycle tire for these machines. I for one do not use car tires...'ing for updates....

[900Dave]

Same size for the ST?

All Spyders come with the same size rear tire.


Keep us posted I will be willing to try it.

[Bob Denman]

I've still got to figure out how to wrap my head around the name of the tire...

[JCGammack]

I put a Vee Rubber rear tire on our 2014 ST-Limited just before our trip to Spyderfest in April. Seems to be wearing better that the original Kendra. We do a lot of two-up riding and trailer towing with our ST so real long life may not be a realistic expectation. I for one have not been convinced that a car tire is the best way to go for the ST. The bike is just not heavy enough to make the car tire work correctly in all conditions. Treadwear is not the only consideration to judge a tire. Having spent many years playing in Motorsports a tire that is too stiff or too hard can hurt handling as much as too soft. It may last longer but you could be off course more as well.


My question is Vee Rubber working on a 15" front tire for the spyder? I know that they have a 14" but have not seen any listing for the 15".

[Wiredux]

Yes. Please keep us posted.

[trikermutha]

Yes the new fronts will be out soon see the post on VEE RUBBER in the RT section.

[Lamonster]

I put a Vee Rubber rear tire on our 2014 ST-Limited just before our trip to Spyderfest in April. Seems to be wearing better that the original Kendra. We do a lot of two-up riding and trailer towing with our ST so real long life may not be a realistic expectation. I for one have not been convinced that a car tire is the best way to go for the ST. The bike is just not heavy enough to make the car tire work correctly in all conditions. Treadwear is not the only consideration to judge a tire. Having spent many years playing in Motorsports a tire that is too stiff or too hard can hurt handling as much as too soft. It may last longer but you could be off course more as well.


My question is Vee Rubber working on a 15" front tire for the spyder? I know that they have a 14" but have not seen any listing for the 15".

Yes they are working on the 15" fronts but no date on them yet. The compound on the tire I have now just showed up at the warehouse last week I'm told so whatever you guys have been running before is not this tire.

[gypsy_100]

Just got the new tire in for testing. So far I like it a lot better than the first two I tried. Thicker sidewalls for sure

Yes they are working on the 15" fronts but no date on them yet. The compound on the tire I have now just showed up at the warehouse last week I'm told so whatever you guys have been running before is not this tire.

Now you've got me intrigued. Your earlier comments a couple years' ago re Vee Rubber were pretty negative. Strongly negative. I had a 2011 RT and bought their rear tire and saw the inadequate load rating and told them about it. I was very unhappy with their response. Sort of like "Yeah, we're working on it. But we haven't had any problems with this one." I took the tire off immediately, at my own expense. After that experience with their customer service and your comments, I wrote Vee Rubber off. Now it sounds like you're seriously interested. I think the other thread indicated you might even sell them if your current evaluation is good. Quite a turnaround. Consider me intrigued but skeptical. I'll need a rear fairly soon for the rear of my '14 RT. Probably too soon for your evaluation unless you do some real traveling!

[JCGammack]

Lamont, you started this thread in July. Any thoughts on how the new tire worked out?

[Utah Geezer]

I'm curious as well. Please do tell on how its working out.

[asp125]

Add me to the curious crowd. What's the treadwear rating on the Vee Rubbers? Unlike some here, I'm not worried about tread life and mileage. Tires for me are an expendable item. I'd rather be glued to the pavement. So I probably am looking for recommendations on a sticker softer performance tire than most of you touring crowd.

[SpyderAnn01]

I tested a rear one also and it was pretty much the same as the other one I had. The handling is great - very much like the Kenda. The tread life is dismal and the tires wear on the outer edges.

[007james]

Was this the new compound Rear V35004 or the new Front V350003 you Tried? About how many miles would you call "dismal"? I hope some one that has tried both the old Rear V35002 VS. The new V35004 shares experience on difference, or if there is any verified improvement in tread wear. So far, the Kumho 225/50R/15 Rear is still looking the best to me, as long as the owner reviews from Consumer Affairs are disregarded from Cage owner reports. My Kumho on my 2012 RT Limited has 10,000 miles on it right now, and hasn't quite hit the wear marks yet, so I expect another 2-3,000 miles on it, if it passes inspection in Jan. The wear pattern is straight, and handling has been superb in all weather conditions, riding both Solo and two up. But before I order another one and pay $20-30 more than Discount tire's usual price of $81.00 delivered,......I hope to find out if there is some Conspiracy going on with Discount Tire about why they are with holding selling it to selective Spyder Owners like me, who they refuse to sell to, regardless of my being their past Customer with 10,000 miles of experience and counting. So, if I keep the same size, I already know Kenda is an 8,500 mile Rear Tire, on my last two, and my both sets of Kendra fronts have worn on the inside, and the first set cupped. So, Kenda is out on Fronts for me as well, next set. I definitely plan on going with Bridgestones on the front next set. But the Jury is still out for the Rear. I run with 20 psi in the fronts, and 30 psi on the Rear after much experimentation. My first set on Kenda fronts were replaced at 12,700 miles because of extreme wear on inside, and after toe in adjusted and air pressure increased to 20 psi, my present set has 15,000 on them, and still wearing on inside, but I might get another 2-3000 miles out of them.

I tested a rear one also and it was pretty much the same as the other one I had. The handling is great - very much like the Kenda. The tread life is dismal and the tires wear on the outer edges.

[quasi]

Was this the new compound Rear V35004 or the new Front V350003 you Tried? About how many miles would you call "dismal"? I hope some one that has tried both the old Rear V35002 VS. The new V35004 shares experience on difference, or if there is any verified improvement in tread wear. So far, the Kumho 225/50R/15 Rear is still looking the best to me, as long as the owner reviews from Consumer Affairs are disregarded from Cage owner reports. My Kumho on my 2012 RT Limited has 10,000 miles on it right now, and hasn't quite hit the wear marks yet, so I expect another 2-3,000 miles on it, if it passes inspection in Jan. The wear pattern is straight, and handling has been superb in all weather conditions, riding both Solo and two up. But before I order another one and pay $20-30 more than Discount tire's usual price of $81.00 delivered,......I hope to find out if there is some Conspiracy going on with Discount Tire about why they are with holding selling it to selective Spyder Owners like me, who they refuse to sell to, regardless of my being their past Customer with 10,000 miles of experience and counting. So, if I keep the same size, I already know Kenda is an 8,500 mile Rear Tire, on my last two, and my both sets of Kendra fronts have worn on the inside, and the first set cupped. So, Kenda is out on Fronts for me as well, next set. I definitely plan on going with Bridgestones on the front next set. But the Jury is still out for the Rear. I run with 20 psi in the fronts, and 30 psi on the Rear after much experimentation. My first set on Kenda fronts were replaced at 12,700 miles because of extreme wear on inside, and after toe in adjusted and air pressure increased to 20 psi, my present set has 15,000 on them, and still wearing on inside, but I might get another 2-3000 miles out of them.

if they are constantly wearing on the inside you may have a camber issue.

[Brentc]

I have just over 7000 on my rt and noticed yesterday that I am seeing some center wear. I'm planning to drop pressure a little, but looks like I will be needing a new tire next spring. With all of the tire threes on spyder lovers I don't recall seeing anything about using a non kenda tire and warranty. Does anyone know if there are any issues around that? It does seem that many people have also had issue getting non kenda tires installed wether it is at the dealer or a tire shop. Is this normal and should I start looking around now for a tire shop that would be willing to do the install? I will be following this thread to see what lamp steer and other say about the veerubber tire. After having looked at their web site, I didn't see a dealer locator or pricing so was wondering where to buy?

[trikermutha]

I had the vee rubber tire installed on the rear by the dealer..Have over 3 k on it now and still looks good..See what happens in 2016 on the rear tire..

[SpyderAnn01]

The first Arachnid I had was the original compound and lower weight rating I got 8,355 miles on it. The second was the new weight rating and tread compound and I got 8,882 miles on it. The last was the new weight rating but the old compound (it was free and I needed a tire so I mounted it) I got 5,009 miles on it.

All three tires wore on the sides - opposite of a Kenda which always wears in the center - I started them out at 28 psi and then bumped it up to 30 based on feedback from Vee Rubber. I started the 3rd tire out at 30 but it didn't have any effect on the wear.

Also, I run the rear tire until it is pretty much bald and many of you would have changed these tires out sooner. I do generally ride at high speeds and pull a loaded trailer.

To compare I got 9,600 miles on the OEM Kenda, 20,744 on a Kumho, 8,734 on a Yokohama S Drive and I am currently running another Kumho.

[gypsy_100]

The first Arachnid I had was the original compound and lower weight rating I got 8,355 miles on it. The second was the new weight rating and tread compound and I got 8,882 miles on it. The last was the new weight rating but the old compound (it was free and I needed a tire so I mounted it) I got 5,009 miles on it.

All three tires wore on the sides - opposite of a Kenda which always wears in the center - I started them out at 28 psi and then bumped it up to 30 based on feedback from Vee Rubber. I started the 3rd tire out at 30 but it didn't have any effect on the wear.

Also, I run the rear tire until it is pretty much bald and many of you would have changed these tires out sooner. I do generally ride at high speeds and pull a loaded trailer.

To compare I got 9,600 miles on the OEM Kenda, 20,744 on a Kumho, 8,734 on a Yokohama S Drive and I am currently running another Kumho.

Just curious -- what took you back to the Kumho? I recall you thought your first Kumho hydroplaned too easily.

I've got 3K on the latest Arachnid Vee Rubber 35004 on my 2014 RT. No complaints. The first 1500 mi were eight days largely on wet, twisty backroads in WV (when the hurricane was offshore and kept the east coast wet) and they stuck just fine. Some wet interstates as well and no problem. After 3K I can see the wear on the edges (30psi since installed) but looking better than the Kenda's at a similar mileage. If I get 8500 or so, I'll be satisfied. Stickiness is what counts for me.

I, too, am curious to hear Lamont's feedback.

[SpyderAnn01]

I was ordering a Kumho for a customer and I just decided to go with another. I figure I will be using it mostly in dry conditions over the winter and I'll decide what to go with in the spring. Cheap price had something to do with it also.

I would also like to hear Lamont's feedback.

[JayBros]

if they are constantly wearing on the inside you may have a camber issue.

Camber is not adjustable on a Spyder; it's build into the design. If tires are wearing on the inside it's an indication of toe out.