Catastrophic failure

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

So, are newer Kendas even worse than pre-2014 or have issues been corrected? Will need to replace my tire later this month.

Regarding the OP, would be curious to know the tire pressure too. Pretty bad failure.

The change that Kenda did, was in the make-up of the tread compound ……I believe they are still using the same casing.... a WEAK one …… jmho … Mike hyea:

 

[jegarh]

Would you mind providing more information about your riding habits and tire maintenance habits? How often did you check the pressure and what pressure did you maintain on the rear?

And why did you feel the need to replace your fronts at such a low mileage? They normally go at least 20k.

I am 81 so my hooligan days are behind me. Nanny has never scolded me in the twisties. I always ride the speed limit or less because my ever vigilant passenger can see the large numbers on the speedo from her perch. The fronts were changed because the left tire had sidewall damage from a time I was loading it on my trailer. I don't ride the dirt road from my house to the highway when it rains. I check the tire pressures every time I go on a trip and about once a week when ridden daily. 18 to 20 in the front and 23 to 28 in the rear depending on the load. Just before (hours) I went out that fateful day I had checked it at 23. As far as I am concerned, I have never ridden it with less than 23 # in the rear. The vehicle has always been kept, by me, in an enclosed space. I don't know if the extended warranty that I inherited from the previous owner, which expires in 2020 would matter in this case. I have owned it since July 2016.

BTW. Last Saturday I made wheel guides for the trailer so the front tires would never be damaged again. At least this made recovery after the incident, in the dark, a piece of cake.

 

[UtahPete]

I am 81 so my hooligan days are behind me. Nanny has never scolded me in the twisties. I always ride the speed limit or less because my ever vigilant passenger can see the large numbers on the speedo from her perch. The fronts were changed because the left tire had sidewall damage from a time I was loading it on my trailer. I don't ride the dirt road from my house to the highway when it rains. I check the tire pressures every time I go on a trip and about once a week when ridden daily. 18 to 20 in the front and 23 to 28 in the rear depending on the load. Just before (hours) I went out that fateful day I had checked it at 23. As far as I am concerned, I have never ridden it with less than 23 # in the rear. The vehicle has always been kept, by me, in an enclosed space. I don't know if the extended warranty that I inherited from the previous owner, which expires in 2020 would matter in this case. I have owned it since July 2016.

BTW. Last Saturday I made wheel guides for the trailer so the front tires would never be damaged again. At least this made recovery after the incident, in the dark, a piece of cake.

Thanks for the comprehensive explanation.

23# seems a little low for the rear kenda. Mike, what do you think?

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Thanks for the comprehensive explanation.

23# seems a little low for the rear kenda. Mike, what do you think?

If you are mostly concerned with tire life 28 would fine ….. Because of the weak carcass I think 23 lbs. is low ….. The rear Kenda's have been tried at various PSI's from 25 to 35 lbs. , nothing seems to change the mileage …… Mike hyea:

 

[UtahPete]

If you are mostly concerned with tire life 28 would fine ….. Because of the weak carcass I think 23 lbs. is low ….. The rear Kenda's have been tried at various PSI's from 25 to 35 lbs. , nothing seems to change the mileage …… Mike hyea:

I was thinking more along the lines of what might have caused the catastrophic failure

 

[h0gr1der]

Glad I got rid of my Kenda's at ±1000 miles! I don't trust Chinese quality control even a little.

 

[SpyderAnn01]

If you all remember back in 2014 BRP switched to a softer compound tire, it was junk, I got about 8,000 miles out of mine and they were shot. Look at the manufacture date on the tire, if it is 0114 to 2614 it is the soft compound, they went back to a firmer compound mid-year. The OP likely had the soft tires, which are now 6 years old and should be changed just for that reason alone.

 

[UtahPete]

Thanks PMK. I'll take your suggestion to heart. My dealer is 156 miles away (187.2 KM) away. But since I grew up in south Texas where it is 50 miles in any direction for a drink of water, the trip to the dealer is no big thing. The RT is already on the trailer so I may take off tomorrow after I have talked to the adjuster.

" Well , here's another nice mess you've gotten me into " , I said to myself..........

Here is a photo of the disaster area;

Another question. Where is the blowout? In the tread area or in the sidewall? Can you tell?

 

[jegarh]

Another question. Where is the blowout? In the tread area or in the sidewall? Can you tell?

There was no"blowout". The tread separated and peeled off. When I was able to come to a stop, the carcass was still holding air. After about a minute it popped. As I was examining it before it popped I was thinking I could probably limp home on the shoulder of the road. The rubber had peeled off from rim to rim. I had that happen on a US Royal tire on my grandmother's brand new 57 Chev 4 door hard top with the power pack (She asked me to choose the model for her) and I was able to drive back 8 miles and take it to the US Royal guy the next morning. But the non tread part of that Kenda was no thicker than an inner tube.

In the mean time I have trailered it 157 miles today to Coyote Powersports in Boerne TX and left it in the capable hands of Rocky who doesn't think it will total and can be repaired. I told him to make a deal with the Foremost Adjuster when he calls tomorrow.

While I was at Coyote Power Sports I saw a gorgeous orange 2019 RT SE6 that made me wish that mine had been stolen.

 

[UtahPete]

I'm a little disappointed the tire experts haven't shown more interest in this thread, and in trying to determine what might have caused this catastrophic failure. The OP has provided excellent information and seems willing to answer questions in order to help with the inquiry.

 

[jcthorne]

I'm a little disappointed the tire experts haven't shown more interest in this thread, and trying to determine what might have caused this catastrophic failure. The OP has provided excellent information and seems willing to answer questions in order to help with the inquiry.

Its very simple really. Cheap, low quality chinese tires. Its really amazing there has not been more of these type failures with the very weak construction Kenda tires.

 

[Spyderlass]

It's very easy to be critical and blame the Chinese based, it seems, only on predudise but there are plenty of tyre gators on the roads from all sorts of tyres.

It may well have been a faulty tyre but it could also be abuse somewhere in the tyre's life. A pothole impact, kerbing, under inflation, run flat at some point, - there could be all sorts of things gone on.

 

[stmike 1800]

I replaced the rear kenda at 10,000km ,it was so soft in the center it felt like i could shove my thumb through it .

 

[jcthorne]

It's very easy to be critical and blame the Chinese based, it seems, only on predudise but there are plenty of tyre gators on the roads from all sorts of tyres.

It may well have been a faulty tyre but it could also be abuse somewhere in the tyre's life. A pothole impact, kerbing, under inflation, run flat at some point, - there could be all sorts of things gone on.

Not prejudice. Actual hands on experience with MANY of these low quality poorly constructed tires. The defects they ship would never pass qc at top tier brands. Exposed bead reinforcement, moulded significantly out of round and out of balance far beyond industry standard tolerances. Even ones that are moulded cockeyed where the tread is at an angle to the underlying tire. Nope, the Kendas are JUNK. I really find it hard to believe there have not been more failures. Will not run them on our own bikes. New ones come off when the bike comes home.

Even among low end chinese brand tires, the Kendas are far below industry standards.

I have replaced a large quantity of these. Its so bad that its actually very rare that the fronts ever wear out, they fail internally and will not hold balance long before the tread wears out. I have only seen ONE pair actually worn even to the point of tread wear indicators. ONE out of dozens and dozens.

We do not sell junk chinese tires. There really is a difference in top tier quality tires. Your bike and your safety deserve the difference.

 

[h0gr1der]

I'm a little disappointed the tire experts haven't shown more interest in this thread, and trying to determine what might have caused this catastrophic failure. The OP has provided excellent information and seems willing to answer questions in order to help with the inquiry.

Not an expert in any sense of the word, but my brand new Kendas wouldn't balance at all. Replaced all three, told my story. I believe in speaking straight, good or bad, but folks must make their own decisions. The Chinese don't have their QC under control.

 

[SpyderAnn01]

There was no"blowout". The tread separated and peeled off. When I was able to come to a stop, the carcass was still holding air. After about a minute it popped. As I was examining it before it popped I was thinking I could probably limp home on the shoulder of the road. The rubber had peeled off from rim to rim. I had that happen on a US Royal tire on my grandmother's brand new 57 Chev 4 door hard top with the power pack (She asked me to choose the model for her) and I was able to drive back 8 miles and take it to the US Royal guy the next morning. But the non tread part of that Kenda was no thicker than an inner tube.

In the mean time I have trailered it 157 miles today to Coyote Powersports in Boerne TX and left it in the capable hands of Rocky who doesn't think it will total and can be repaired. I told him to make a deal with the Foremost Adjuster when he calls tomorrow.

While I was at Coyote Power Sports I saw a gorgeous orange 2019 RT SE6 that made me wish that mine had been stolen.

Were these original tires??

 

[johnsimion]

Obviously some Kendas aren't good, but there's absolutely no basis to conclude that all Kendas are junk because of a few anecdotal failures. You can find anecdotal evidence of failures of any tire but you rarely hear of good examples because ... why would anybody post a good example? Well, I will. I have 4200 miles on my Kendas and I have no vibration, they track straight, and they look like brand new. Why are mine good and others have problems? Dunno. Do we ALL maintain proper air pressure ALL the time? Do we ALL always avoid the "tyre gators" that Spyderlass mentioned? Do we ALL drive under the same temperatures, weather, speeds, on the same roads, etc.? Emphatically NO. That alone is enough to dispel this ridiculous generalization. And consider this - BRP built the Spyder with competent engineers and if their engineers aren't experts, then none of us should never climb aboard a Spyder because they're obviously far too dangerous ... right??? If Kendas are as dangerous as some people here claim, BRP would be sued nine ways to Sunday. Ever heard of such a lawsuit? Me neither.

Are there some bad Kendas? Yes, of course, just like you can find bad tires by any manufacturer. Maybe some "need" to run out and replace their Kendas. Others don't, so enough of the generalizations. This is the same kind of "wisdom" here that tells you that everyone "needs" a laser alignment and everyone "needs" a BajaRon sway bar and everyone "needs" that thingie that supposedly prevents the belt vibration that I never feel. Maybe some do need these things, but when somebody tells you there is a problem it's really easy to start imagining that you have it, too. I myself was ready to fall for this stuff until I did a ryde where I was doing 80 mph on the freeway for a couple of hundred miles without a bit of vibration and I came home and exited the freeway on a flyover where I was passing cars at 65 mph and having a grand old time. It was then that I realized how fantastic my factory-original Spyder with plain old Kenda tires was and WTF would I want to mess with it? "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

 

[UtahPete]

Obviously some Kendas aren't good, but there's absolutely no basis to conclude that all Kendas are junk because of a few anecdotal failures. You can find anecdotal evidence of failures of any tire but you rarely hear of good examples because ... why would anybody post a good example? Well, I will. I have 4200 miles on my Kendas and I have no vibration, they track straight, and they look like brand new. Why are mine good and others have problems? Dunno. Do we ALL maintain proper air pressure ALL the time? Do we ALL always avoid the "tyre gators" that Spyderlass mentioned? Do we ALL drive under the same temperatures, weather, speeds, on the same roads, etc.? Emphatically NO. That alone is enough to dispel this ridiculous generalization. And consider this - BRP built the Spyder with competent engineers and if their engineers aren't experts, then none of us should never climb aboard a Spyder because they're obviously far too dangerous ... right??? If Kendas are as dangerous as some people here claim, BRP would be sued nine ways to Sunday. Ever heard of such a lawsuit? Me neither.

Are there some bad Kendas? Yes, of course, just like you can find bad tires by any manufacturer. Maybe some "need" to run out and replace their Kendas. Others don't, so enough of the generalizations. This is the same kind of "wisdom" here that tells you that everyone "needs" a laser alignment and everyone "needs" a BajaRon sway bar and everyone "needs" that thingie that supposedly prevents the belt vibration that I never feel. Maybe some do need these things, but when somebody tells you there is a problem it's really easy to start imagining that you have it, too. I myself was ready to fall for this stuff until I did a ryde where I was doing 80 mph on the freeway for a couple of hundred miles without a bit of vibration and I came home and exited the freeway on a flyover where I was passing cars at 65 mph and having a grand old time. It was then that I realized how fantastic my factory-original Spyder with plain old Kenda tires was and WTF would I want to mess with it? "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

:agree: totally. Thanks John. I think it's worth investigating why this particular tire of the OP's failed so catastrophically well within its expected lifetime so newbies don't unnecessarily worry about their Kenda tires or spend money to replace them before they actually need to.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Obviously some Kendas aren't good, but there's absolutely no basis to conclude that all Kendas are junk because of a few anecdotal failures. You can find anecdotal evidence of failures of any tire but you rarely hear of good examples because ... why would anybody post a good example? Well, I will. I have 4200 miles on my Kendas and I have no vibration, they track straight, and they look like brand new. Why are mine good and others have problems? Dunno. Do we ALL maintain proper air pressure ALL the time? Do we ALL always avoid the "tyre gators" that Spyderlass mentioned? Do we ALL drive under the same temperatures, weather, speeds, on the same roads, etc.? Emphatically NO. That alone is enough to dispel this ridiculous generalization. And consider this - BRP built the Spyder with competent engineers and if their engineers aren't experts, then none of us should never climb aboard a Spyder because they're obviously far too dangerous ... right??? If Kendas are as dangerous as some people here claim, BRP would be sued nine ways to Sunday. Ever heard of such a lawsuit? Me neither.

Are there some bad Kendas? Yes, of course, just like you can find bad tires by any manufacturer. Maybe some "need" to run out and replace their Kendas. Others don't, so enough of the generalizations. This is the same kind of "wisdom" here that tells you that everyone "needs" a laser alignment and everyone "needs" a BajaRon sway bar and everyone "needs" that thingie that supposedly prevents the belt vibration that I never feel. Maybe some do need these things, but when somebody tells you there is a problem it's really easy to start imagining that you have it, too. I myself was ready to fall for this stuff until I did a ryde where I was doing 80 mph on the freeway for a couple of hundred miles without a bit of vibration and I came home and exited the freeway on a flyover where I was passing cars at 65 mph and having a grand old time. It was then that I realized how fantastic my factory-original Spyder with plain old Kenda tires was and WTF would I want to mess with it? "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

The Kenda's got the moniker " JUNK " for a lot of reasons … like weak construction ( few plies and they are thinner than auto tires ), very high lack of quality control , ie out-of-round , Un - balanceable etc. ….. Now I am NOT referring to just a couple of Spyder Kenda's …. this info has been posted here by many, many Kenda user...… If you like them - fine ….. I don't and a lot of other folks here don't either ………. Mike :roflblack::roflblack: :roflblack: I should have just said JCthorne " nailed it " )…..

 

[spyder01]

I thought that maybe the Kendas were getting a bad rap,but coming home from a long trip all of a sudden the frt just started shaking.I pulled over and looked at the tread and checked to see if the lugnuts might be loose.So my tires still have great tread but they were replaced by Quatracs,shaking gone.Hoping I get a little more than 10k out of these.