Kenda Tire: Important Recall Information

[Bob Denman]

Jack, The insurance adjusters barely care if the tires are even round... nojoke

 

[jcthorne]

The Spyder does not come from BRP with motorcycle tires installed. They are de-rated automotive profile tires with a side stamp 'For Motorcycle Use Only' There is a big difference.

If you believe buying replacement de-rated automotive tires keeps you safer...go ahead. I tend to disagree and want better tires on my bike with BETTER traction and hydroplane resistance than the Kenda. Not to mention better handling, vehicle control and stability.

 

[ARtraveler]

Akspyderman checking in. My dealer (the only one left in AK), will only install factory Kenda's. I do not want non-BRP service personnel screwing up my back wheel, drive belt, alighment, etc. so I feel the work is best done by the actual dealer.

Fronts are a different situation--but since I get over 20K consistently, I am not going to change those from Kenda either.

 

[Bob Denman]

The Spyder does not come from BRP with motorcycle tires installed. They are de-rated automotive profile tires with a side stamp 'For Motorcycle Use Only' There is a big difference.
.

I respectfully disagree: If the tire is marked as "For Motorcycle Use Only"; that makes it a motorcycle tire...
But you're wasting time with an argument over semantics now... :bdh::bdh::bdh::bdh::bdh::bdh:

 

[ThreeWheels]

I'm OK with the Kendas up front. I get some decent mileage. about 20K.
The rear is an entirely different story. The Kenda on the rear gets about 8K. In my opinion, far too little for a touring machine.
I haven't had any issues with the quality of the tires, just the mileage, which is an issue with design, not the build.

 

[Peter Aawen]

.....They are the ONLY tire manufacturer that is supplying this type of tire to the motorcycle companies, and it is actually approved for use on motorcycles.....

Actually Bob, at least as far as my Country is concerned, the 'Special Motorcycle Tire' imprint on the sidewalls of the OE Kendas doesn't signify that they are 'approved' for motorcycles!! Here, it denotes that those tires are RESTRICTED to being fitted on a few vehicles only, and those vehicles are described as 'lightweight vehicles fitted with Passenger car type Rims that would otherwise require the fitting of Passenger Car Tires' & that since all those vehicles just happen to be classified as 'special' motorcycle/motortrikes, they are permitted to wear these lighter/less capable car tires that have been identified & labelled as being too lightweight for use under any other cars by the 'Special Motorcycle Only' labelling!! :yikes:

If we take our stock Spyder Rims in to ANY tire Dealer in this Country & don't say anything about needing tires for a Spyder, here, it is actually ILLEGAL for said Dealer to fit anything but a Passenger Car Rated tire onto that rim, because it IS a Car Rim with 'for P/Car tire ONLY' bead profiles & the consequent legal stipulation re what they can fit!! :shocked:

 

[Tango]

Perhaps not, but we will not be hydroplaning, skidding and a lot safer on softer compound M/C tires.

Just a thought: If you have and accident with car tires will your insurance bulk because you did not have

the recommended M/C tires installed and skidded or hydroplaned into someone or off the road? I will

opt for safety over mileage any day. JMO

Jack

Then why does the Spyder have car tire rims? And when was the last time an insurance co. denied a claim because a motorcycle had car tires on? :dontknow: Tom :spyder:

 

[rcturner]

The Spyder does not come from BRP with motorcycle tires installed. They are de-rated automotive profile tires with a side stamp 'For Motorcycle Use Only' There is a big difference.

If you believe buying replacement de-rated automotive tires keeps you safer...go ahead. I tend to disagree and want better tires on my bike with BETTER traction and hydroplane resistance than the Kenda. Not to mention better handling, vehicle control and stability.

I am not sure what your source of information is but you have obviously never dealt with an automotive/motorcycle company. There will be nothing accidental about the design or performance characteristics of the Kenda tires.
There is no way that Can-Am did not know about all of the issues we complain about well before these bikes went on sale. I don't know why Can-Am did what they did but, anyone who has ridded heavy bikes in the past knows that 7000 to 9000 miles on a rear tire is normal. Less if you are an aggressive driver. Also, the constant insistence that on a motorcycle car tires are better than motorcycle specific tire is somewhat nuts. There is a reason that tires are rated the way that they are. Use what you want but be careful about the wisdom you are imparting on others.

 

[Cleg]

Choice?? hmmmmmm!

Albeit a personal choice to go forth with the OEM as a replacement tire the same goes for the 'auto tire'. I did the auto tire replacement on my 2012 RT Limited and really had no issues to speak of. The mileage was better than the OEM tire and once I figured out the air pressure the ride was ok. Now I'm in the same situation with my 2015. I have read numerous posts where the dealers won't install anything but the OEM. Why, there must be a significant reason? I really trust my dealer and his knowledge and experience. When he explained the rim designs, the recommendations from BRP and their reasons why, I am hard pressed to waive... besides, the engineering and design teams for BRP are a lot smarter than I am and I guess because I trust their engineering to ride one, I have no reason to doubt their tire choice. There is another tire out there that could be used as a replacement, but it doesn't compare to the OEM from what I've heard and seen. Soooooo....because the latest version of Kenda tires has been modified based on the complaints of low mileage from the owners, I'll give it another try and then if something fails, I'll have at least one leg to stand on while going after the liable party... just my opinion and thanks for reading.:ani29::2thumbs:

 

[Firefly]

BRP might have a contract with Kenda to do all their tires.. but BRP is able to spec the tires however they want.. and BRP decided that CHEAP 2-ply crap was what they wanted. Not every Kenda tire out there is crap I'm sure, but the ones used on the Spyders ARE CRAP.
It's one thing for BRP to spec a crap tire for an off-road vehicle that usually runs at 40 mph... but we're going 80 mph down a highway with cars and semis around us.
You don't see the other motorcycle makers putting crap tires on their bikes. HD? Honda? Yamaha? They all use decent tires.

I'd be okay with a Kenda if BRP would require Kenda to supply a better tire.

The current Kenda's are overpriced and horrible quality, not to mention they scrunch them up small and shrink wrap them when they ship them.. bending them all out of shape... at least I've seen them come in that way at a dealer.

Dealers like to use some 'liability' excuse for not mounting other branded tires.. which is a load of crap. Dealers carry insurance to cover such things.. and I'd be there's a far better chance of an accident due to a crap Kenda than running a quality car tire.

Federal Evo's are great for the fronts. Toyo Proxies (when they were made) were great for the rear. I've also used a Kumho for the rear.. which was better than the Kenda, but still not great. Bridgestone Potenza's were also a great tire for the fronts.. if you're running a 14 size.

 

[pauly1]

Notice on the original post in this thread that it also included a Dunlop recall. During the tours at BRP, a Dunlop was on the rear wheel of prototype #2.

Wayne

 

[jcthorne]

I am not sure what your source of information is but you have obviously never dealt with an automotive/motorcycle company. There will be nothing accidental about the design or performance characteristics of the Kenda tires.
There is no way that Can-Am did not know about all of the issues we complain about well before these bikes went on sale. I don't know why Can-Am did what they did but, anyone who has ridded heavy bikes in the past knows that 7000 to 9000 miles on a rear tire is normal. Less if you are an aggressive driver. Also, the constant insistence that on a motorcycle car tires are better than motorcycle specific tire is somewhat nuts. There is a reason that tires are rated the way that they are. Use what you want but be careful about the wisdom you are imparting on others.

That does not change the fact that the tires that come fitted on the Spyer are not motorcycle tires. They are passenger car profile tires with a derating label. I prefer fully rated tires to de-rated ones.

 

[Bob Denman]

:shocked:

 

[jcthorne]

:shocked:

View attachment 148894

You are right. I need to learn to let these religious discussions go.

 

[Pappy John]

I ran my original Kenda rear tire to 14K.... just replaced it 2 months ago. Both fronts still look good enough to get 2 more riding seasons out of them. I must ride like an elderly pensioner (Oh yeah, that's right, I am).:shocked:

 

[rcturner]

That does not change the fact that the tires that come fitted on the Spyer are not motorcycle tires. They are passenger car profile tires with a derating label. I prefer fully rated tires to de-rated ones.

I don't mean to question the validity of your statement. I am, however, curious where this "derating label" is and what does it say? I don't have a Kenda any longer and as such am not able to look at a tire and see this information.

 

[Arion]

Make it four and five (I have two :spyder2::ani29:'s).

You can add us as numbers six and seven. We have two also. :thumbup:

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

LABEL

I don't mean to question the validity of your statement. I am, however, curious where this "derating label" is and what does it say? I don't have a Kenda any longer and as such am not able to look at a tire and see this information.

" FOR SPECIAL MOTORCYCLE USE ONLY " ........ which means Do not use it on any CAR because it's too weak and will fail. This is not a joke, the tire won't support even the " Smart car " ...... the label is actually a Warning not a recommendation as some have believed ...... Mike :thumbup:

 

[WackyDan]

BRP ONLY buys them as they are locked into a long term contract. One they entered back when no one knew what a spyder was, they had little funds to set up a new tire contract and Kenda took the long term bait.

The Kenda tires are low quality cheap chinese tires I would not install on anything.

Kendas on the Spyders are junk. True. Fronts are just ok. Rears are Junk. BRP sets the spec that Kenda builds them to. The onus and blame for that rear is strictly on BRP and not Kenda.

Kenda does indeed make some decent tires. I run Kenda 33" Klevers on my Jeep and they do a pretty good job on and specifically off road. They have a decent reputation for other vehicle, and I say that as one of the guys that refuses to run Kendas on my Spyder. - Not all Chinese product is crap... You just have to do your research and choose carefully. Same for Taiwan... My trailer tires are made by a Canadian company manufacturing in Taiwan and they are far better than the Goodyear trailer tires made here in the U.S.

BRP has had ten years of data from that rear tire on the spyders. Ten years. They charge over $170 dollars for the damn thing. I imagine only $5 more dollars in material would make a far better tire that would at minimum wear EVENLY across the tread. I don't fault them for having all their eggs in one basket with Kenda as their tire OEM for all their vehicles, but come on BRP - Are you even listening?

 

[WackyDan]

I am not sure what your source of information is but you have obviously never dealt with an automotive/motorcycle company. There will be nothing accidental about the design or performance characteristics of the Kenda tires.
There is no way that Can-Am did not know about all of the issues we complain about well before these bikes went on sale. I don't know why Can-Am did what they did but, anyone who has ridded heavy bikes in the past knows that 7000 to 9000 miles on a rear tire is normal. Less if you are an aggressive driver. Also, the constant insistence that on a motorcycle car tires are better than motorcycle specific tire is somewhat nuts. There is a reason that tires are rated the way that they are. Use what you want but be careful about the wisdom you are imparting on others.

Most of us are fine with 10K miles on a tire. No problem there. WHat we have a problem with is the design of the tire causing premature wear across the center of the tread as on the rear Kenda. Hence why I refuse to run them anymore. That rear Kenda is a bigger liability to me as a rider than running a car tire ever will be.

So why do I still bitch about the rear when I can buy a car tire for cheaper that will be stickier, wear more evenly and out perform the Kenda in the rain? One of these days, my rear car tire will go flat due to a puncture or some other mishap. It is likely that I'll have to pay a dealer where ever I'm at the $170+ just for the Kenda rear only to have to replace it in 5k miles like I did on the one that came on my new Spyder. It was worn so much across the center that it wasn't safe anymore.

It is good to have options, but I would like to have the BRP rear be at least an acceptable option for when I have no other choice.