Actual tire experience

[canamjhb]

I'm getting ready to replace my front tires on my 2014 RTL. I decided upon Federal Formoza AOZ1 165 55R/15s but now find they are virtually "out of stock" everywhere. I am looking for advice from those who have run the Formoza tires. Are there other brands that are equal or better? I know that everyone who switches from the Kendas has experienced an upgraded. Not to sound rude, but I am not wanting to know about opinions from those who have not experienced Formoza. What I am looking for is actual experience between the Formoza and other non Kenda tires. In other words, If I can't get the Formozas, what is my next best choice of tire that is at least equal to or better than the Formoza in handling and longevity....?

 

[Roadster Renovations]

We run the Federal EVO's on both the RT and Daytona. The RT tires have about 12k on them and still look brand new. The Daytona has about 1200 miles on them and they grip the road and turn so easily that it took some getting used to. Now, as my arm gets stronger I can corner like you would not believe. I set a line into the curve those tire just stick. The RT was great on cornering, but for me the EVO on the F3 is even better.
Some people don't like Federals due to them being a harder compound, but I will gladly trade that for the cornering and the additional safety.

 

[Chupaca]

It's late....

East coast is out for the night and the south east has some serious weather issues...ray:'s And I'm the last one that can help you cause I use Kendas and have no problems. There is a wealth of information on tires here but would take a long time to wade through it all. If I were to get other tires I would go with the Yokahama's, would love to find Dunlops, Brigdestones, and some of the others I used on two wheelers. :banghead: Anyway....in the morning you will get a bunch of info and opinons and probably alot of the information you don't want. Gotta say 33,000 mile of hard ryding on the Kenda fronts is not bad...Just saying....

 

[SpyderAnn01]

I have run two sets of Evos and have Formozas on now. I prefer the handling of the Formoza over the Evo. I got nearly 30,000 miles out of both sets of Evos and am at 22,000 on the Girmoza with plenty of tread left. I will say that when I ran the Evo I had Kumhos on the rear and I'm not a fan of them. So maybe the handling difference I felt was caused more by the rear tire.

 

[Buckeye Bleau]

I just installed the AZ01 tires but in the 175/55R 15 size and it made legions of improvement in handling.

Joe

 

[jcthorne]

We have dealt with both the Federal Formoza and our preferred Yokohama on the fronts of customers bikes. I have to admit the Formozas feel fine on the bike and balance just fine. I still give an edge in handling to the stronger side wall Yokos and I always prefer top tier name brand tires over third world off brands on my own and customers vehicles. Bottom line, I can find nothing really wrong with the Formoza tires but we do not stock and sell them. If you cannot get them, you will be very pleased with the Yokohama Avid S34FA 175/55-15 on your spyder. Perhaps pleased enough to never go back to the Federals.

 

[SPYD3R]

HANKOOK

i've replaced my OEM Kenda's with the HANKOOK.... AWESOME tire with an 80,000 mile rating....

they hold the road like they are glued to it, and disperse water very well...
Dan P
SPYD3R

 

[Navy9]

Tires

I'm getting ready to replace my front tires on my 2014 RTL. I decided upon Federal Formoza AOZ1 165 55R/15s but now find they are virtually "out of stock" everywhere. I am looking for advice from those who have run the Formoza tires. Are there other brands that are equal or better? I know that everyone who switches from the Kendas has experienced an upgraded. Not to sound rude, but I am not wanting to know about opinions from those who have not experienced Formoza. What I am looking for is actual experience between the Formoza and other non Kenda tires. In other words, If I can't get the Formozas, what is my next best choice of tire that is at least equal to or better than the Formoza in handling and longevity....?

Just purchased two of the tires you are looking for. Try Simple Tire in Bensalem, Pa. Ordered on line and had tires in five days. About 46 dollars per tire.

 

[blacklightning]

I love my EVOs!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-New-165-5...ash=item1c8c7fdf9c:g:Gb4AAOSwAtFZd2Q3&vxp=mtr

This is what I had on my 2014 RT, and I loved them. I am tempted to order a set for my F3T with only 6k miles on the bike. The stock tires are holding up pretty good, but I just know the Federal 595 EVO's are so much better. I think this is the one that Doc runs.

 

[ARtraveler]

East coast is out for the night and the south east has some serious weather issues...ray:'s And I'm the last one that can help you cause I use Kendas and have no problems. There is a wealth of information on tires here but would take a long time to wade through it all. If I were to get other tires I would go with the Yokahama's, would love to find Dunlops, Brigdestones, and some of the others I used on two wheelers. :banghead: Anyway....in the morning you will get a bunch of info and opinons and probably alot of the information you don't want. Gotta say 33,000 mile of hard ryding on the Kenda fronts is not bad...Just saying....

:agree: x 2. Dealer will not install any other than Kenda's here. No problem--I have consistently got over 20,000 miles on all five :spyder2:'s owned. I tend to replace earlier than I could. I prefer more tread than baldness.

 

[cyclekid58]

Federal tires

I have run two sets of Evos and have Formozas on now. I prefer the handling of the Formoza over the Evo. I got nearly 30,000 miles out of both sets of Evos and am at 22,000 on the Girmoza with plenty of tread left. I will say that when I ran the Evo I had Kumhos on the rear and I'm not a fan of them. So maybe the handling difference I felt was caused more by the rear tire.

Like Ann I run the Federal Evo's on the front and a General Altimax Rt43 on the rear and like the combo which works well both wet and dry roads. I run 17lbs front and 23lbs rear.

 

[Fat Baxter]

I put Kumho Solus KH16's on my 2014 RT-S, about 12,000 miles ago. Got no complaints. To the contrary, the feel and handling were dramatically better than the Kendas. MUCH smoother. But I think I had two bad Kendas to start with.

I think you'll find that most folks choose tires from the higher end of a manufacturer's roster of rubber. Given that the Kendas are a low-end tire to begin with, almost any of the recommendations you find here will yield a big improvement.

 

[Buckeye Chuck 54]

Kumho Solus

I've been running the Kumho Solus KH16 in the 155-60-15 size. This is my second set. I got over 46,000 miles on the first set and have 34,000 miles on the second.
Very happy with these tires but may try the Federal's next. I saw the Federals on '13 RT-L Buckeye Bleau rides and was very impressed.
Chuck

I'm getting ready to replace my front tires on my 2014 RTL. I decided upon Federal Formoza AOZ1 165 55R/15s but now find they are virtually "out of stock" everywhere. I am looking for advice from those who have run the Formoza tires. Are there other brands that are equal or better? I know that everyone who switches from the Kendas has experienced an upgraded. Not to sound rude, but I am not wanting to know about opinions from those who have not experienced Formoza. What I am looking for is actual experience between the Formoza and other non Kenda tires. In other words, If I can't get the Formozas, what is my next best choice of tire that is at least equal to or better than the Formoza in handling and longevity....?

 

[Highwayman2013]

Looks like that thread got hijacked.

 

[Ex-Rocket]

Looks like that thread got hijacked.

Why you say that??opcorn:opcorn:opcorn: