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Can-Am's position on tires
- Thread starter ButterSmooth
- Start date
IdahoMtnSpyder
Active member
As RayBJ suggests, do a search. Using the terms car tire will bring up hundreds of discussions! You'll have reading material to keep you busy for two weeks! Nothing that anyone can/will offer up here will be any different or better than what you'll find already posted. Searching with Google [car tire site:spyderlovers.com] brings up almost 9000 hits.
BLUEKNIGHT911
Sadly Passed Oct 2024 - RIP
If you want the very best auto tire currently available I suggest the Vredestein Quatrac 5 ..... for the front they have sizes in 14 inch and 15 inch wheels and for the rear 15 in. 205/60 and 205/65 .... older models of the V-twin ( GS, RS and RSS ) might need the rear fender raised with spacers for good clearance ..... Mike :thumbup:
bikerbillone
Well-known member
Mike, I notice you are high on the Vredestein Quatrac 5 from several comments, I saved one to file so I could remember. Do you order them on line on line, if so, where? Also, what kind of mileage are you getting? Thanks.
BLUEKNIGHT911
Sadly Passed Oct 2024 - RIP
The three distributors that I know of are Tire Rack , Simple tire, and Vulcan tire. You may have a store on your area .... otherwise they all can be accessed on-line .... As far as how well they wear - I discovered this tire about 8 Mo. ago, so they haven't been around long enough to give long-term wear results. I think " teninospyder " has about 10,000 mi. on His. He rides double and according to Him, He is at the Max load allowable ..... Mike :thumbup:.....PS, one of our Canadian members reported that He bought the Q-5's at a store near Him.....
I was going to order my Vreds from Vulcan. I checked with the muffler/service shop where I get my car work done to see if they would mount them if I brought them in. He checked, he could order them for me, the price was less than $5 more, so I let him get his cut on the profit, too.
Any decent tire shop should be able to get them, many will not mount what they did not sell, so shop around.
By the way, I have 175/55-15 on the front, 205/65-15 on the rear of a '17 RT-S.
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Any decent tire shop should be able to get them, many will not mount what they did not sell, so shop around.
By the way, I have 175/55-15 on the front, 205/65-15 on the rear of a '17 RT-S.
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BLUEKNIGHT911
Sadly Passed Oct 2024 - RIP
hyea:Mate of mine just did a 16,000km (10,000 mile) trip in Australia. Ran out of rear tyre in Alice Springs. Tiger 1200. Only tyre available was a Dunlop tyre branded HARLEY DAVIDSON. We gave him a lot of grieve over that.
Car tyres for me
BLUEKNIGHT911
Sadly Passed Oct 2024 - RIP
I have reported here a few times that H.D. Trikes all come with DUNLOP ... AUTO tires ..... but I didn't know they also had Harley Davidson written on the tire ..... Thanks for this .... Mike :thumbup:
lvmyspyder
New member
Hello all. After the three R's, reading, researching and riding for a few months. I could not get my Kenda's to balance. Spin balance and beads, still got the shimmy from the OEM Kenda's no matter what I tried. It was maddening. It was ALWAYS there, just sometimes worse then others, especially at the 60-64mph. It was beyond annoying. After the Baja Ron bar add and the Fox Racing shocks, which really should not have impacted that constant shimmy IMHO, at times if the road was spectacularly smooth (Here in Washington, that is about 500 feet of road per 20K miles of roadway...yeah, they suck!!!) my Spyder would smooth out just enough to make me think that getting this machine dialed in was possible. Its rough pulling off tires that only have 2K miles on them and look brand new, but 10 inches of stick on weights made me say, is that the rim or the tire that is really that bad. Conclusion. Kenda OEM tires. Enough was enough. Bought Federal Formoza AZ01's. Les Schwab took off those Kenda's and put on the new Formoza tires. $29.00 per side. No beads. 20 pounds to start. Took them on a joy ride today. Put about 100 miles on them. First part was easy, but then through some twisty's, some hard braking and really tried to test the tires out. Observations. Ride was not harsh at 20 pounds. 0-84mph...smooth as silk. Through the twisty's, felt secure and not a slip. Overall responsiveness was no comparison. They are MUCH more responsive than the Kenda's. They are also non-directional, so just need the outside to the outside. I hit some rain that I did not expect and honestly I try to avoid rain. I will ride in the cold all day. No sweat. Rain just is not my buddy on a bike and never heard anyone say, man, I love riding in the rain. What I can say is I slowed down, but no hydroplaning what-so-ever at 65mph on a pretty wet freeway and when I did get into some corners on the wet. No problem. Bottom line for me is no shimmy and car tire or not, this was one of the best things I did for the Spyder and for me. With these on I truly believe I have this machine dialed in to the way it CAN and SHOULD have run from the dealer floor. For me with the purchase of the tires and mounting was about $160.00 was definitely one of best things I could have done for my Spyder. The cycle shop, kept saying Kenda made for this machine and they were the best option, never heard of an issue with them (other than getting a non-round tire to balance properly) and all the sales jargon, which of course he has to say. If I may be so bold. Forget the word "car" on these tires and just evaluate them on their performance. Two more comments. I kept the Kenda's "just in case" the Formosa's did not perform like they should and again I rode them hard today. First thing when I got him, the Kenda's went into the recycle bin. Other observation is, the 10 inch weigh strip went down to 3 weights on the same rim. I have 2 weights on the other rim. That tells me something. Not the rim, it was the tire. Lastly, again the response and the ride...almost perfect. If you make the change I strongly suspect, you will be very happy you did.
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IdahoMtnSpyder
Active member
As I'm sure you've read some owners have good luck with the OEM Kendas and others, like you, find them to be crap. [Is that what's meant by a crap shoot? :roflblack:] The OEM tires on the 2013 RT I had rode decently and still had a bit of tread left when I sold it at 25,000 miles. But not so with the ones on my 2014 RTS. I finally took them off at 13,000 miles because after about 12,000 miles I was tired of the constant slight pull to the right.
Peteoz
Well-known member
I’m in the other camp, Bruce. I couldn’t care less about “value for my money” :thumbup:. Give me a tyre that grips well in all conditions, feels solid under me and that can be easily balanced, and I am happy to pay their asking price. Safety is far more important to me than simply saving a few bucks. If longevity over the Kenda is part of that tyre’s build then I am even more happy. :2thumbs:
Pete
Snoking1127
Well-known member
And your choice is?
We get a whole different set of tires over here in Oz, Sno... some of what you can get just aren't available here; some of what we can get aren't available over there; and even when they ARE available, there can be differences in the specs, often to the extent that there are significantly different compounds in what otherwise might seem to be exactly the 'same' tire!! :shocked:
So while Pete's choice might be useful to you as a 'size' guide, or maybe a 'brand' or 'type' guide, I reckon you'd still be be well advised to check out what others in your neck of the woods are running. :thumbup:
Snoking1127
Well-known member
Got it, thanks!
BLUEKNIGHT911
Sadly Passed Oct 2024 - RIP
:agree:with Peter.... currently the Best tire today is still the Vredestein Q-5 ( fronts 165/60-15 - rear 205/60 or 65 -15 ) ..... others are OK but stay away from the Kumho, quite a few folks here have re-ported they loose WET traction at about 12-15,000 mi. and even tho you may not ride much in the rain ..... that's when you really need traction ...... Mike :thumbup:
Peteoz
Well-known member
My choice and sizing is below my signature, Snoking
As Peter says, we get different brands and compounds out here, and very limited choices . The Kuhmos I am running here are great in the wet, but it appears Kuhmos are not so good in the US when it’s wet. Maybe different tyre compounds, maybe different road surfaces... :dontknow:
Pete
What does your insurance company think about the unauthorized use of a car tire on a motorcycle? I'm pretty sure no one dares to ask the question of their lawyers.
Are you betting everything you own and will ever own on them overlooking this loop hole to avoid paying out in the event of a mishap?
Are you betting everything you own and will ever own on them overlooking this loop hole to avoid paying out in the event of a mishap?
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