A note on tire compounds.

[BajaRon]

Wow! Tough Crowd! You'd think our team was getting beat up in the World Series or something!

The poor BRP rep is just giving us information. BRP THOUGHT we were more interested in TRACTION than MILEAGE! It's always a trade-off, one for the other. But after all the complaints about tire mileage they decided that most were happy to trade some traction for more miles. So they were pro-active and made a change in the rubber compound, to make us happy!

There were NO Defects! One rubber compound is not Inferior to the other except in application and rider expectation.

You can put a tire on your Spyder that will go 30,000 miles. But you may end up in a ditch when the traction goes away. There is much more to a tire than how long it lasts.

It's all a matter of degree. There are several other tire options out there, but all of them must trade one desirable aspect to achieve more of another. One tire is not going to please everyone. BRP is just trying to find a tire that will please the greatest number of people.

If every time BRP makes an 'Improvement' to their product in response to customer input, we then scream that they MUST upgrade all previous Spyders with that same component, it isn't going to be cost effective for BRP to make anything better.

Give the guy a break. Thank him for the information and be thankful that BRP cares. :thumbup:

 

[SAR41]

WELL STATED

Wow! Tough Crowd! You'd think our team was getting beat up in the World Series or something!

The poor BRP rep is just giving us information. BRP THOUGHT we were more interested in TRACTION than MILEAGE! It's always a trade-off, one for the other. But after all the complaints about tire mileage they decided that most were happy to trade some traction for more miles. So they were pro-active and made a change in the rubber compound, to make us happy!

There were NO Defects! One rubber compound is not Inferior to the other except in application and rider expectation.

You can put a tire on your Spyder that will go 30,000 miles. But you may end up in a ditch when the traction goes away. There is much more to a tire than how long it lasts.

It's all a matter of degree. There are several other tire options out there, but all of them must trade one desirable aspect to achieve more of another. One tire is not going to please everyone. BRP is just trying to find a tire that will please the greatest number of people.

If every time BRP makes an 'Improvement' to their product in response to customer input, we then scream that they MUST upgrade all previous Spyders with that same component, it isn't going to be cost effective for BRP to make anything better.

Give the guy a break. Thank him for the information and be thankful that BRP cares. :thumbup:

Well Said Ron, I'm new here so I probably should not comment but it just like you said, BRP was doing what they thought best, going for performance and safety first. I applaud them for watching this forum and responding to what the customer is saying. I've been on other forums like motorhomes and the complaints are plenty and for a lot more money and you don't see any response from the manufacturers at all.

 

[Dgjason]

Wow! Tough Crowd! You'd think our team was getting beat up in the World Series or something!

The poor BRP rep is just giving us information. BRP THOUGHT we were more interested in TRACTION than MILEAGE! It's always a trade-off, one for the other. But after all the complaints about tire mileage they decided that most were happy to trade some traction for more miles. So they were pro-active and made a change in the rubber compound, to make us happy!

There were NO Defects! One rubber compound is not Inferior to the other except in application and rider expectation.

You can put a tire on your Spyder that will go 30,000 miles. But you may end up in a ditch when the traction goes away. There is much more to a tire than how long it lasts.

It's all a matter of degree. There are several other tire options out there, but all of them must trade one desirable aspect to achieve more of another. One tire is not going to please everyone. BRP is just trying to find a tire that will please the greatest number of people.

If every time BRP makes an 'Improvement' to their product in response to customer input, we then scream that they MUST upgrade all previous Spyders with that same component, it isn't going to be cost effective for BRP to make anything better.

Give the guy a break. Thank him for the information and be thankful that BRP cares. :thumbup:

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

 

[Netminder]

:agree: With Bajaron ! I know some of the best winter tires you can buy have a softer compound and do not last very many winters, but man do they grip! Blizzak and toyo are examples, both great tires!

 

[cuznjohn]

i have been thinking about this, and than that's when i get in trouble. after some thought i feel they don't need to replace the tires for us. if the tire was defective or unsafe i would demand a replacement. but being it is a safe tire and just has less tread life than i changed my mind about the whole issue. now if we could find a better griping tire with longer tread life that would be the tire they should supply when you buy a buy a bike or replace the tire you have.

 

[Dan McNally]

I don't think I was complaining . . . just stating that I think BRP should offer both types of tires and let the owner decide which tire is a better suited for that particular owner's riding profile, rather than making one choice for us all . . .

 

[safecracker]

Steve, thank you for the heads up. I still will be putting on a car tire, though....h

 

[BajaRon]

I don't mean to get on any one person or any single post. I'm just throwing my thoughts into the ring along with everyone else's. This pie is much bigger than we may realize.

Race car tires cost hundreds of dollars each and don't even get to the end of a 500 mile race. If money were no object I'm sure BRP could come up with a tire that would get both more miles and better traction. There are quite a few parameters that BRP is trying to maximize. It appears that they are genuinely TRYING to align their priorities with ours. But you know that even we don't agree among ourselves. Take just the subject of oil, for example.

Believe me, it can be a very tough, if not near impossible task.

Some manufacturers would never post on any forum like this. I know that all of us appreciate BRP's involvement here. My concern is if we beat them up for trying, they may quit. None of us want that.

I, for one, very much appreciate that BRP makes meaningful posts here on Spyderlovers. We are free to complain when we need to. And we can also say thank you when we get a positive response from the manufacturer.

 

[Bob Denman]

:agree: Thanks, Ron... :clap:
But I like Canola oil...

 

[cuznjohn]

i have been thinking about this, and than that's when i get in trouble. after some thought i feel they don't need to replace the tires for us. if the tire was defective or unsafe i would demand a replacement. but being it is a safe tire and just has less tread life than i changed my mind about the whole issue. now if we could find a better griping tire with longer tread life that would be the tire they should supply when you buy a buy a bike or replace the tire you have.

well i did change my mind

 

[NovaSpyder]

I have been somewhat surprised at all the discussions on the longevity of the rear tires. Over 35 years of 2 wheel riding i never got 10k out of a rear tire. The lowest mileage was on soft compound tires for my Suzuki Katana 1100, perhaps 4k, but oh boy would that thing stick.

Now I have an RT, along with a ST1100, and for the RT I would prefer the harder compound but I do like Hayfield's comment about offering a performance tire vs a touring tire. I'll be 'sticking' with the Kendas. I do thoroughly enjoy other peoples perspectives though.

 

[Orange Spyder Man]

When the new OEM tires that wore out so quickly... doesn't it make you wonder why they are going back to the old compound ????????? If they were so safe... why change ????? ...kinda a little double talk I think

 

[OJ UK]

doesn't it make you wonder why they are going back to the old compound ?????????

Many Spyder owners complained that the later tyres didn't last as long as the original harder compound. No double talk!
Soft compounds give more grip than hard compounds but don't last for as many miles. So BRP have gone back to the old harder compound
as a response to all of the complaints. There was nothing wrong with the softer compound from a safety point of view but they
simply didn't last as long.

 

[adlereins]

Differ'nt Strokes

How about the softer compound on the RS & ST and harder on the RT. . . . or would that make sense.
Allen B.

 

[DrewNJ]

How about the softer compound on the RS & ST and harder on the RT. . . . or would that make sense.
Allen B.

How about putting the RT on a diet so it doesn't wear tires out so fast?... [emoji12]

 

[BajaRon]

How about the softer compound on the RS & ST and harder on the RT. . . . or would that make sense.
Allen B.

Doing a bit of speculation my feeling is that with the greater low end torque with the 1330 ACE motor, BRP may have wanted to give that rear tire a bit more grip. You're getting a double whammy. Higher torque needs more traction. But at the same time higher torque is harder on a tire resulting in far less tire mileage.

Those who want their cake and eat it too are often disappointed.

 

[Chupaca]

Good to know..!!

glad you posted this info. I have had great results with Kenda and now understand this change...:bowdown:

 

[PW2013STL]

I am glad that BRP is listening to us and made the change, but I do find it interesting that when I changed out the softer more grippy stock rear tire for a harder 4 ply car tire (Kumho Ecsta AST) tire that the handling improved along with the milage (9000 miles and still looking good).
I do think that the Spyder being classified as a motorcycle hurts BRP ability to source tires since they have to put on motorcycle specified tires and there just not a lot of tire companies that will outlay the cash to build so few tires.

 

[pwilbarger]

I just traded in my '10 with a bald rear tire that was put on in Apr of '13. It only had 11k on it. The original factory tire it replaced had 14k and still had some tread life left but had a puncture. Is there a way to tell if the '14 RT-Ltd I just bought has the softer compound? Or do I just have to wait for it to wear out?


Spyder Phyl
2014 RT-Ltd, Cognac and Time Black 2010 RT-622 trailer.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Dudley]

Thanks for the post. I will go back to the Kenda on my next tire change. It would also be nice to have another manufacturer qualified. It is tough to pay $179 for a two ply tire when you can get a 4 ply for under $90.

So why buy the Kenda when you can get a better tire for a lot less money? I haven't had an OEM tire on my 2010 RT which has 52,000 miles since I replaced it at 10,000 miles with a Kumho Ecsta and have been using Kumho ever since.. The Spyder has no idea what kind of tire I install and the way I drive I surely don't need a softer compound. But to each his own.