I've got a bent front wheel - any idea where to buy a new one?

[cgroh360]

I have a 2023 S2S and the left front wheel shimmies really badly at 62 mph. I have had it balanced twice and it's no better. The bike only has 1400 miles on it and I took it in the dealer with 90 miles on it saying it had a bad vibration. I changed the shocks, tires, sway bar, and finally took the wheels off a friends bike and found it was the left front wheel. I don't think the dealer is going to help me on this, so does anyone have any ideas on where to buy a new wheel?

 

[Tango]

If you reported it at 90 miles, there is a record of it. If dealer is no help, call BRP.

 

[Nokesy]

If you're only buying the one OEM part, then getting it from a dealer of the manufacturer is your only bet, unless you have a bike wrecker nearby, and then you might get both front wheels.

 

[mecsw500]

Trying to buy an exact single front wheel from Can Am for your year and model, you might just want to buy a pair of matching front wheels from E-Bay as it may be cheaper.

Anything from the same era will fit. You can probably get to choose the look you prefer that way.

Typically though things like wheels from BRP aren't usually marked up as much as you might think. It might just be the delivery time that's the issue.

Of course you will have to mount and balance the tires.

It may well be worth upgrading to the new XPS branded Kendas as I think they are a huge improvement over the originals. My 2026 S2S came with them and I thought they were much better, especially in the wet.

 

[Jackhartjr]

Trying to buy an exact single front wheel from Can Am for your year and model, you might just want to buy a pair of matching front wheels from E-Bay as it may be cheaper.

Anything from the same era will fit. You can probably get to choose the look you prefer that way.

Typically though things like wheels from BRP aren't usually marked up as much as you might think. It might just be the delivery time that's the issue.

Of course you will have to mount and balance the tires.

It may well be worth upgrading to the new XPS branded Kendas as I think they are a huge improvement over the originals. My 2026 S2S came with them and I thought they were much better, especially in the wet.

No disrespect sir. It's still a kenda! In 18 years, they haven't impressed anyone!

 

[Snoking1127]

I have a 2023 S2S and the left front wheel shimmies really badly at 62 mph. I have had it balanced twice and it's no better. The bike only has 1400 miles on it and I took it in the dealer with 90 miles on it saying it had a bad vibration. I changed the shocks, tires, sway bar, and finally took the wheels off a friends bike and found it was the left front wheel. I don't think the dealer is going to help me on this, so does anyone have any ideas on where to buy a new wheel?

BUT! You did not change the tires??????? Alloy wheels do not bend!

 

[Peter Aawen]

BUT! You did not change the tires??????? Alloy wheels do not bend!

That isn't quite true - and altho while the tires (any Kenda, Kenda clone, OR the 'new' XPS branded Kendas, which are effectively not much more than a 'new tread' section put onto the same old 'not ideal' carcass) are far more likely to be the issue here than anything else, there have been a reasonable number of dodgy/out of true &/or congenitally unbalanced rims reported here over the years!! There was even a time I saw about a dozen dodgy rims in just a couple of months, all coming off brand new Spyders!! And then there's also the issues that some here have reported they have had with the brake disc &/or the wheel mounting faces on the front spindles/hubs not being square with the axles, so tightening the lug nuts pulls everything outta whack and causing all sorts of ride & handling problems; and the problems some have had with failed/never good OEM Ball Joints &/or the A arm bushings.

IIRC, back in the early days of the 15" rims, there was even one poor fella who posted here about trying everything we could suggest to fix the savage vibration he was experiencing on his brand new Spyder, both thru a couple of dealers and then a couple of non-dealer/not Spyder specialist alignment places, before eventually resorting to buying a new set of a/mkt tires on his own dime to see if that would fix his issues, only for the next non-dealer tire fitter who was trying to mount them to find they still had the same 'can't balance that out' issues, and identify that the original PAIR of OEM rims he'd scored on his Spyder were bent, not just one of them!! And then it all got worse, cos of course he had to argue with his dealer/BRP about it, before eventually and somewhat begrudgingly, they supplied him with a set of new front rims, only for his tire bloke to find that those too, a brand new supposedly unused set of rims, weren't able to be balanced/trued either!! I believe that was about where he just gave up, cut his losses, and bought a set of PPA rims to fit new car tires onto before he sold the Spyder!!

So while it's certainly uncommon for the rim/s to be the issue from the manufacturer/factory, it's not impossible - this has been reported here before; and beyond that, it certainly IS possible to bend an alloy rim that started out balanced and true, you can even break chunks out of them &/or cause a circumferential crack that renders them incapable of holding air, even with the best of tires fitted - it's just that to do that sorta thing to an alloy rim, you'll generally have abso-freakin-lutely NO DOUBT that you've hit something hard enough to damage a rim, and that usually means you've probably bent some other pretty important components too!!

 

[Mikey]

Unless the rim was run into a curb or dropped into a pothole, I would say it's the tire!

 

[Snoking1127]

BUT! You did not change the tires??????? Alloy wheels do not bend!

I see he did say he changed the tires. So as Peter says it is most likely a manufacturing problem in the wheel.

 

[mecsw500]

No disrespect sir. It's still a kenda! In 18 years, they haven't impressed anyone!

Well, the prior Kendas were very average but were the only option for many trying to find an automotive tire that any dealer would fit.

My experience of the old Kenda was mixed. If they were balanced properly, they did have at least a nice predictable breakaway but they weren’t very strong in the sidewall and were hopeless in wet weather.

Having done some miles on the new XPS Kendas I would say they are a drastic improvement. They are better made, balance better, still breakaway predictably, much better wet weather grip and likely longer life due to the superior construction and better tread depth. Sidewall strength is much improved too.

Are they better than a car tire? Well I suppose what brand of car tire you decide upon. Cheap Asian import off brand automotive tires that just happen to fit I think the XPS Kendas are probably better. Name brand automotive tires, likely not as good as.

So are they decent? For an OEM tire they are now probably acceptable. Are there better aftermarket tires available, maybe, but getting those fitted and balanced often takes a friendly tire shop willing to do it.

I think Can Am definitely had to up their game due to the consistent complaints and they have done a credible attempt with the XPS Kendas. They may not be for everyone but at least they are good enough to sell off the customer showroom store now. I’ve had no real trouble with mine. They went up and down the canyon yesterday better than expected which although not giving perhaps the ultimate in grip, they were progressive in breakaway, good on the brakes, and felt predictable enough that meant I didn’t feel like I was going to bin it at anytime.

So, for a S2S they seemed decent enough, perhaps for an F3S, they might not be enough, I don’t know.

 

[Lew L]

.
12 years ago I had the same problem with a brand new Spyder. The dealer was good about pulling another wheel off a showroom Spyder. And, yes, it was a bad rim..........

 

[Snoking1127]

Well, the prior Kendas were very average but were the only option for many trying to find an automotive tire that any dealer would fit.

My experience of the old Kenda was mixed. If they were balanced properly, they did have at least a nice predictable breakaway but they weren’t very strong in the sidewall and were hopeless in wet weather.

Having done some miles on the new XPS Kendas I would say they are a drastic improvement. They are better made, balance better, still breakaway predictably, much better wet weather grip and likely longer life due to the superior construction and better tread depth. Sidewall strength is much improved too.

Are they better than a car tire? Well I suppose what brand of car tire you decide upon. Cheap Asian import off brand automotive tires that just happen to fit I think the XPS Kendas are probably better. Name brand automotive tires, likely not as good as.

So are they decent? For an OEM tire they are now probably acceptable. Are there better aftermarket tires available, maybe, but getting those fitted and balanced often takes a friendly tire shop willing to do it.

I think Can Am definitely had to up their game due to the consistent complaints and they have done a credible attempt with the XPS Kendas. They may not be for everyone but at least they are good enough to sell off the customer showroom store now. I’ve had no real trouble with mine. They went up and down the canyon yesterday better than expected which although not giving perhaps the ultimate in grip, they were progressive in breakaway, good on the brakes, and felt predictable enough that meant I didn’t feel like I was going to bin it at anytime.

So, for a S2S they seemed decent enough, perhaps for an F3S, they might not be enough, I don’t know.

Break away? I have never been able to get a Vredestein Quatrac in both 165/60R15 on the Champaign trike and 175/55R15 on the Asphalt trike to "break away". And have no idea why one would want that to happen. With the General Altimax 215/60R15 out back, no under or over steer, trikes just goes where you point them.

 

[mecsw500]

Break away? I have never been able to get a Vredestein Quatrac in both 165/60R15 on the Champaign trike and 175/55R15 on the Asphalt trike to "break away". And have no idea why one would want that to happen. With the General Altimax 215/60R15 out back, no under or over steer, trikes just goes where you point them.

Break away? I have never been able to get a Vredestein Quatrac in both 165/60R15 on the Champaign trike and 175/55R15 on the Asphalt trike to "break away". And have no idea why one would want that to happen. With the General Altimax 215/60R15 out back, no under or over steer, trikes just goes where you point them.

Well they absolutely don't always go where you want them to. In our canyons some of the almost 180 degree switchback bends can be really tight with huge drop offs in terms of height throughout the bend and pretty slick road surfaces with very old tarmac surface. When going through these the front end can try to push and under-steer. The roads are often adverse camber, covered in tons of over banding and you are fairly hard over on the steering.

I've been around these curves on sport bikes that feel like they are going to tuck under and low side. With the weight on the front it's a weird sensation because of the adverse camber you run out of lean angle and the bike wants to move to the outside. My old Lotus used to stick to any road like glue with over steer being its natural limit behavior, but coming down the canyon switch backs would always make it push the front end. In the case of the Lotus it would not be a gradual transition.

It's the same with some of the mountain scenic routes too. It's all fine until you get into the tight stuff with a sharp decent, then the whole plot wants to push. You don't have to going that fast to feel it.

I've ridden a lot of vehicles through these bends and the original Kendas coped OK as the bike transitioned from one direction to the other, but always retained good feel. The new XPS Kendas are even better grip, but they retain that nice feeling of nothing is going to suddenly give up and let you move into that very close outside wall but you can definitely feel the front end scrub especially when the road surface is cold, even worse when it is wet from snow melt.

Even Martin the Vlogger got this experience on the sometimes similar roads he rides, which is why he makes so many modifications. Admittedly he rides a lot faster than I do, on his "beast."

So, on flat ground, normal roads you can't get the thing to slide without seriously attempting to. In the mountains, on the switchbacks, you most certainly can quite easily, without even trying especially hard.

 

[Dasmoetorhead]

I had front end vibration from day 1. I checked everything and came to tne conclusion it was one of the front Kenda's.
Brought it to the dealership who actually worked with me. They went through 4 sets of those kendas and finally found a set that had LESS vibration, but they considered that normal.
I just bit the bullet and brought it to BAJARON'S for all new (3) tires. 2 Vredesteins and altimax on back, and no more vibration. Hands off the bars at 70 mph and she tracks straight. That was 12,000 miles ago. Still perfect and barely any wear. 18-19 psi on both front & rear.

 

[Snoking1127]

Well they absolutely don't always go where you want them to. In our canyons some of the almost 180 degree switchback bends can be really tight with huge drop offs in terms of height throughout the bend and pretty slick road surfaces with very old tarmac surface. When going through these the front end can try to push and under-steer. The roads are often adverse camber, covered in tons of over banding and you are fairly hard over on the steering.

I've been around these curves on sport bikes that feel like they are going to tuck under and low side. With the weight on the front it's a weird sensation because of the adverse camber you run out of lean angle and the bike wants to move to the outside. My old Lotus used to stick to any road like glue with over steer being its natural limit behavior, but coming down the canyon switch backs would always make it push the front end. In the case of the Lotus it would not be a gradual transition.

It's the same with some of the mountain scenic routes too. It's all fine until you get into the tight stuff with a sharp decent, then the whole plot wants to push. You don't have to going that fast to feel it.

I've ridden a lot of vehicles through these bends and the original Kendas coped OK as the bike transitioned from one direction to the other, but always retained good feel. The new XPS Kendas are even better grip, but they retain that nice feeling of nothing is going to suddenly give up and let you move into that very close outside wall but you can definitely feel the front end scrub especially when the road surface is cold, even worse when it is wet from snow melt.

Even Martin the Vlogger got this experience on the sometimes similar roads he rides, which is why he makes so many modifications. Admittedly he rides a lot faster than I do, on his "beast."

So, on flat ground, normal roads you can't get the thing to slide without seriously attempting to. In the mountains, on the switchbacks, you most certainly can quite easily, without even trying especially hard.

I would not be riding if mine handle that way, when I got the first Champaign 2018 in fall of 2020 it over steered badly in the twisties, which started the march to improving the handling. Tires sway bar etc.

 

[2dogs]

Get a different tire/wheel from a salvage yard, make sure the size matches, and have it spin balanced. If the rim's style isn't the same, it would be fun to see how many would notice. "Hey, dude, you've got two different wheels on that thing"! Oh really? I never noticed that? How did that happen? LOL