OEM tires improved?

[Highwayman2013]

I average 13,000 in the rear Kenda tire and 27,000 on the front Kenda tires.
I experience excellent traction, no flats and thus no reason to risk loss of traction.
If it aint broke don't fix it.
The geniuses on this thread talk mileage and never traction and that tells everything.
Stay with what Can Am mandates and ride safe.

Didn't you argue similarly with the "geniuses" on here about aftermarket swaybars? Just saying.

 

[JKMSPYDER]

Yes, even Road-Kill argued that the chances of the front pulley on his F3 going out were less than 1%. He has had two crater on his now! And he did have to change his tune about Ron’s sway bar after he finally tried one. If he doesn’t want to install car tires on his Spyder it’s his loss. I think he drinks too much BRP kool aide.

 

[Road-Kill]

Very true.
I admit I was wrong.

Didn't you argue similarly with the "geniuses" on here about aftermarket swaybars? Just saying.

Also very true.
I admit I was wrong, but in my defense by adding Rons sway bar I was giving up nothing in the way of safety.
As far as car tires are concerned, I have had no issues with BRP Kenda tires though.
Safety is a huge concern and the only reason I'm not going to play with "car" tires.

Yes, even Road-Kill argued that the chances of the front pulley on his F3 going out were less than 1%. He has had two crater on his now! And he did have to change his tune about Ron’s sway bar after he finally tried one. If he doesn’t want to install car tires on his Spyder it’s his loss. I think he drinks too much BRP kool aide.

 

[PW2013STL]

Very true.
I admit I was wrong.


Also very true.
I admit I was wrong, but in my defense by adding Rons sway bar I was giving up nothing in the way of safety.
As far as car tires are concerned, I have had no issues with BRP Kenda tires though.
Safety is a huge concern and the only reason I'm not going to play with "car" tires.

I agree - safety is extremely important to me, and that is why I prefer car tires. They not only provide extended range, lower cost, but more importunely better handling.

But please stick with the Kenda tires, or you maybe coming on here again to admit you were wrong.

 

[Road-Kill]

Extended range = lower cost (we agree)
Lower cost = obviously lower cost (we also agree)
Better handling = ??????? Braking distance? less grip on the road? slippage while cornering? (we now disagree)
I'm sure a tire with less traction will allow for better turning but only because you are sacrificing..... traction.
3 tires vs 4 tires on a car designed for a vehicle weighing 3-4 times as much? and you think its better?

I agree - safety is extremely important to me, and that is why I prefer car tires. They not only provide extended range, lower cost, but more importunely better handling.

But please stick with the Kenda tires, or you maybe coming on here again to admit you were wrong.

 

[PW2013STL]

Extended range = lower cost (we agree)
Lower cost = obviously lower cost (we also agree)
Better handling = ??????? Braking distance? less grip on the road? slippage while cornering? (we now disagree) Where did you get this info from? Not my experience at all
I'm sure a tire with less traction will allow for better turning but only because you are sacrificing..... traction. I have experienced traction on par with, and even better traction than my OEM rear
3 tires vs 4 tires on a car designed for a vehicle weighing 3-4 times as much? and you think its better?[/QUO That's why you run them at a lower pressure

The first time I tried a car tire was with the Kuhmo and it handled so much better that my wife asked if I had changed the suspension. I told her all I did was replace the rear tire.

How can you bash something that you have no experience with?

 

[Road-Kill]

Everybody here puts something different on their ride.
You car tire enablers cant even agree on what's best.
Until I see a citation from a reliable source on TRACTION I'll stick with my Kendas.
Traction and feel are not the same thing.:banghead:

Extended range = lower cost (we agree)
Lower cost = obviously lower cost (we also agree)
Better handling = ??????? Braking distance? less grip on the road? slippage while cornering? (we now disagree) Where did you get this info from? Not my experience at all
I'm sure a tire with less traction will allow for better turning but only because you are sacrificing..... traction. I have experienced traction on par with, and even better traction than my OEM rear
3 tires vs 4 tires on a car designed for a vehicle weighing 3-4 times as much? and you think its better?[/QUO That's why you run them at a lower pressure

The first time I tried a car tire was with the Kuhmo and it handled so much better that my wife asked if I had changed the suspension. I told her all I did was replace the rear tire.

How can you bash something that you have no experience with?

 

[PW2013STL]

Everybody here puts something different on their ride.
You car tire enablers cant even agree on what's best.
Until I see a citation from a reliable source on TRACTION I'll stick with my Kendas.
Traction and feel are not the same thing.:banghead:

I agree - A lot of good choices out there. We may all have our personal preferance, but one thing we all agree on is the there all better than the Kenda. I am not trying to convince you to try a better tire I just have an issue when anyone makes a statement about something that they have no expereance with.

 

[maxxheadroom]

I had car tires on my 14 for 3 of the 4 years I owned the bike. Federal front and Kumho rear. I now have an 18 which still has the stock Kendas on it and from just my experience the life of the car tires is greater but the handling is much worse. They did not have near the traction when there was a lot of rain and I did notice much more hydroplaning with the car tires I was using. I am not saying that anyone should use one or the other I was just surprised that I could notice such a difference between the 14 with car tires and the 18 with OEM tires. Just my two cents.

 

[Peteoz]

I had car tires on my 14 for 3 of the 4 years I owned the bike. Federal front and Kumho rear. I now have an 18 which still has the stock Kendas on it and from just my experience the life of the car tires is greater but the handling is much worse. They did not have near the traction when there was a lot of rain and I did notice much more hydroplaning with the car tires I was using. I am not saying that anyone should use one or the other I was just surprised that I could notice such a difference between the 14 with car tires and the 18 with OEM tires. Just my two cents.

That’s interesting, maxx. Just out of interest what psi were you running your car tyres at? For some reason, riders on Kuhmo in the US seem to have issues with wet roads, while riders on Kuhmo out here in Oz have very few issues in the wet. Very odd.

Pete

 

[maxxheadroom]

Hello, I was running 20 in the fronts and 26 in the rear. I ran that same combo on my 2012 also (tires and pressures). Not sure what the difference is but maybe since the water goes down a different direction, maybe the tires do also... JK...

 

[Highwayman2013]

Well as a “genius” on this forum here is my experience with car tires on 2 different Spyders. We had a 2012 RTL that performed great on General Altimax tires on the front at 18 psi and a Michelin Primacy on the rear at 28 psi. 23,000 on the rear when we traded it in and 18,000 on the fronts. On our 2016 F3L we have a General Altimax RT43 on the rear at 22 psi with 14,000 miles and on the front are Federal Formozas with 4,000 miles running at 20 psi. The fronts came off at 20,000 because I couldn’t stand the wobble anymore. The rear was bald at 10,000 miles. The F3L was laser aligned at 500 miles. I’ve even got a Bajaron sway bar on the F3L. My wife is the primary rider of the F3L and I would NEVER want to compromise her safety. If someone wants to stick with Kenda tires that’s fine but do not insult our choice or us.

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

That’s interesting, maxx. Just out of interest what psi were you running your car tyres at? For some reason, riders on Kuhmo in the US seem to have issues with wet roads, while riders on Kuhmo out here in Oz have very few issues in the wet. Very odd.

Pete

You actually get wet roads in Oz??? :roflblack::roflblack: I thought dusty roads were all you had!!!!

 

[wyliec]

Road-Kill, this ones for you.....

I think with all these tire threads (or treads, if you prefer), it’s the Johnson theory at work.:roflblack:
Just nod, if you understand.

 

[Peter Aawen]

You actually get wet roads in Oz??? :roflblack::roflblack: I thought dusty roads were all you had!!!!

Lotsa people think that about Austraya, but (apologies to Dorothea Makellar) besides being a Sunburnt Country...

we live in a land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
of droughts and flooding rains,
we love her far horizons,
we love her jewel seas,
she's a land of beauty and of terror,
it's the wide brown land for us

:thumbup:


You can check out all her poem here: https://www.dorotheamackellar.com.au/archive/mycountry.htm

 

[Lew L]

???????????

In the high desert of Northern Nevada, we don't get much rain either, but it does happen. 2 summers ago my wife and I got caught in a real gully washer just out of Salt Lake City and the General Altimax handled it fine with no hydroplaning. This last summer we experienced hail in eastern Nevada on the "loneliest road in the country" ( Hwy 50 in E. Nevada) . The car tire handled it just fine also. Dry traction is also great.********** OEM rear tires are wimpy. **********

There must be thousands of us on this site who have gone to auto tires and are very pleased. Kinda like an up rated anti-sway bar is unnecessary.

I think a 4 ply tire on the back of a :spyder2: is a safety upgrade.

Lew L

 

[Road-Kill]

Nothing "odd" about hydroplaning.

There is something "odd" about thinking reduced air pressure makes all tread the same or better. :banghead:

I long for someone to post a credible citation on treads/weight ratio etc.:thumbup:

Nobody can because all the "citations" show the weight ratio being so far off and adding to that YOUR MISSING A FRIGGIN TIRE!

I had car tires on my 14 for 3 of the 4 years I owned the bike. Federal front and Kumho rear. I now have an 18 which still has the stock Kendas on it and from just my experience the life of the car tires is greater but the handling is much worse. They did not have near the traction when there was a lot of rain and I did notice much more hydroplaning with the car tires I was using. I am not saying that anyone should use one or the other I was just surprised that I could notice such a difference between the 14 with car tires and the 18 with OEM tires. Just my two cents.

That’s interesting, maxx. Just out of interest what psi were you running your car tyres at? For some reason, riders on Kuhmo in the US seem to have issues with wet roads, while riders on Kuhmo out here in Oz have very few issues in the wet. Very odd.

 

[AeroPilot]

Since Dbaucum asked if the Kenda OEMs were getting better I'll throw my 2 cents

quote "After the original rear tire on my RT only lasted 6k miles, I started using car tires."

Yes I was especially disappointed in the rear tire on the the 14 RTS. It was bald in the middle way before 10,000 miles, and after 5 OEM Kenda rear tires, and the well known compound change after the soft 14 model, I do think the Kendas are "better".

Better for me means they last longer, and roll and balance better. Our 2011 RT had issues with the front Kendas balance, and after the alignment was corrected, the next set was better. We have had better luck/experience with the current 15 RT OEM tires, and the wifes 16 F3Ts front Kendas have rolled smooth for over 40,000 miles.

The rear Kendas on these 15 and 16 models got us 12,500 miles and 13,000 miles before being replaced with a Kumho Ecsta and a General Altimax respectively.

The fronts were sourced and mounted at Walmart, and with Lamonts centrimatic balancers my wifes F3 is ready to roll next year....

Now at 40,180 miles, "Babys got new shoes"- I do think the feedback has given Kenda and BRP stimulus to improve, and competition and choices are always good.
​

 

[Peteoz]

You actually get wet roads in Oz??? :roflblack::roflblack: I thought dusty roads were all you had!!!!

Don’t be silly, Idaho.......the red dust roads don’t start until you are at least 100metres from the coast :thumbup:

Pete

 

[tehrlich]

I would like to point out that I'm not pointing anything out.


LOL!!