Here's some New Kenda Tires!?!

[Peteoz]

Until the Actual specs are posted for this tire …. I will reserve judgement ….. guessing about this or anything else is a big mistake …… Mike hyea:

Have a look at post#8, Mike and Peter A. The spec of concern for me is - Tread plies = 3. Sidewall plies =1. Same sidewall as current. I have zero interest in price (within reason) or increased mileage. What I want is a tyre that is easily balanced, feels secure under you (my original Kendas certainly didn’t), and will be fitted by a CanAm shop. Not much to ask, surely ?

Pete

 

[BazF]

I read and re-read all these posts on tyres, and yet I don't have all the dramas with tyres which I read about:

I have had my F3T for 2 years, still have original tyres. I have covered 13,000 kms. I ride twice a week, usually on roughish country roads and some freeway riding. Highest speed I have done on my F3 is 135kms/hr. Usually speeds are 90 -100kms/hr on rough country roads. My front tyres look new, my rear is starting to show wear in the middle, but not bad. I run pressures exactly as directed in the owners manual. Handling is very good (did a realignment when new). No worries at all.

What am I doing wrong?

(2 wheel rider for around 64 years)

 

[Peteoz]

I read and re-read all these posts on tyres, and yet I don't have all the dramas with tyres which I read about:

I have had my F3T for 2 years, still have original tyres. I have covered 13,000 kms. I ride twice a week, usually on roughish country roads and some freeway riding. Highest speed I have done on my F3 is 135kms/hr. Usually speeds are 90 -100kms/hr on rough country roads. My front tyres look new, my rear is starting to show wear in the middle, but not bad. I run pressures exactly as directed in the owners manual. Handling is very good (did a realignment when new). No worries at all.

What am I doing wrong?

(2 wheel rider for around 64 years)

If your Kendas feel stable and are doing what you want, that’s great, Baz. For me, the Kendas felt unstable, which was cured by their replacement with Kuhmo, which feel particularly stable to me.

Pete

 

[HankD]

I read and re-read all these posts on tyres, and yet I don't have all the dramas with tyres which I read about:

I have had my F3T for 2 years, still have original tyres. I have covered 13,000 kms. I ride twice a week, usually on roughish country roads and some freeway riding. Highest speed I have done on my F3 is 135kms/hr. Usually speeds are 90 -100kms/hr on rough country roads. My front tyres look new, my rear is starting to show wear in the middle, but not bad. I run pressures exactly as directed in the owners manual. Handling is very good (did a realignment when new). No worries at all.

What am I doing wrong?

(2 wheel rider for around 64 years)

There are 2 subjects that always generate a lot of input on this forum...Tires, and Oil

I have had my spyder for 3 years and have no particular problem with the stock Kenda's that came on it, other than I would like to have gotten more than 9,000 miles out of the rear. The fronts still have a ways to go before I need to change them out. But, I'm a pretty aggressive rider. I have never felt "unsafe" with the kenda's. I've been doing 2 wheel riding for about 30 years and I think I would probably notice if I felt something unsafe in the tires/traction on the trike.

But, people have strong opinions on this subject.

If I could experiment I would....but installers within a reasonable distance from me will only do Kenda's. That's the way many dealers in the USA operate. So, I will try the new model Kenda Kanine and report on my findings.

 

[JayBros]

Until such time as Spyder riders verify through many thousands of miles that the Kanines are better than the automobile tires I have on my roadster I'm in jc's camp.

 

[h0gr1der]

If you're using the '4psi Rule', set your cold start pressure & ride for an hour, then check again. An increase of MORE than 4psi means your cold start pressure was too LOW; an increase of LESS than 4psi means your cold start pressure was too HIGH; so an increase of 4psi is the 'ideal' target to aim for. hyea:

But there are some things to remember - it's a 'Rule of Thumb', so it's not necessarily or specifically exact, but for most, it IS reliable, repeatable, and reasonably close for the majority of circumstances; a tire pressure gauge that's consistent is better than one that's questionably or occasionally exactly accurate; and adjusting your tire pressure is not the only way of getting closer to achieving the ideal 4psi increase - briefly, you could consider adjusting your avg speed just a little, that can make a big change in tire temps & therefore in tire pressure; cornering, braking, and generaly just ryding harder or gentler can do the same; reducing or increasing the load on the tire can make a significant difference; and ambient temps, road surface temps, & road conditions (wet, dry, or anywhere in between) can make a difference! So you don't need to become a slave to checking tire pressures, but if you do check them regularly for a few weeks initially, just to work out what YOUR ryding/driving does to your pressures, most will get pretty good at 'guesstimating' something pretty close to the pressure that'll give them that 'ideal 4psi increase' given what they are going to be doing today in today's conditions with today's load, and checking that you've got it fairly close to right every now & then is usually going to be enough. A TPMS can help make it easier to do that checking more often if you wish.

Just beware of getting too invested in keeping your tire pressures at exactly the 4psi above your cold start pressure - you're meant to be ryding safely & enjoyably, not sweating over getting your tire pressures exact for every circumstance &/or ryde!! Like Mike said above, there's been a lot of miles of testing & confirming, and many have done this often enough to confirm that for most running car tires as opposed to the OE Spec & differently constructed Kendas, there's just not that great a variation in the 'ideal pressure' from what's been recommended often, here & elsewhere. Still, even just checking your cold start pressures once a week and confirming that you're in the '4psi increase' ball-park once every half a dozen or even every dozen rydes is going to be much better than doing nothing, or just adhering to the (still better than nothing) tire placard 'one pressure fits all uses & circumstances' pressure, but if you do check for that 4psi increase about that regularly you'll probably see and feel the dividends in better ryde, handling, & tire wear, et al. Enjoy, but please, don't obsess!! :thumbup:

Ride More, Worry Less!

Mr. Peter,
One of the reasons I phrased my query as I did was my inability to get 4 PSI on the front tires at any time. At 14 PSI I only saw about 1.5 - 2 PSI increase. Below 14 PSI the sidewall began widening the tread footprint test, so I couldn't go lower. Hence the tire tread pyrometer method. I got 4 PSI on the drive tire at 18 PSI, and everything else was in the normal range, but I suspect the front tires are too lightly loaded to gain 4 PSI. My opinion only.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Have a look at post#8, Mike and Peter A. The spec of concern for me is - Tread plies = 3. Sidewall plies =1. Same sidewall as current. I have zero interest in price (within reason) or increased mileage. What I want is a tyre that is easily balanced, feels secure under you (my original Kendas certainly didn’t), and will be fitted by a CanAm shop. Not much to ask, surely ?

Pete

I noticed the plies for this tire also, and if my memory is correct the former Kenda's also had the same plies ratio ….. HOWEVER the new Kanine has swapped one the Polyester Tread plies for one of STEEL. Generally speaking a steel ply should make the tread a bit more stiff & I believe stable.... all steel belts/ply's are not necessarily equal, so there could be NO change in stiffness ….. actual physical testing will shed more light on this .…. personally I would LOVE to see the Kanine tire improve to the point of coming markedly closer to that of any Auto tire, …. I am not confident that the one ply poly sidewall is any better than the original, the sidewall strength has more to do with stability than the tread composition …… Wow I can't believe I typed this much :roflblack: ...…… Mike hyea:

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I read and re-read all these posts on tyres, and yet I don't have all the dramas with tyres which I read about:

I have had my F3T for 2 years, still have original tyres. I have covered 13,000 kms. I ride twice a week, usually on roughish country roads and some freeway riding. Highest speed I have done on my F3 is 135kms/hr. Usually speeds are 90 -100kms/hr on rough country roads. My front tyres look new, my rear is starting to show wear in the middle, but not bad. I run pressures exactly as directed in the owners manual. Handling is very good (did a realignment when new). No worries at all.

What am I doing wrong?

(2 wheel rider for around 64 years)

You aren't doing anything wrong ….. Although I have always stated the Kenda's are weak in their construction and don't recommend re-placing them with another Kenda or worse an Arachnid …. I have also said Kenda's on the FRONT can give somewhat satisfactory performance IF the are properly Balanced and the ALIGNMENT is 98 to 100% Perfect ….. There is nothing that can be done to correct the rear tire wear issue - NOTHING , it has all be tried without changing them ….. good luck … Mike hyea:

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

There are 2 subjects that always generate a lot of input on this forum...Tires, and Oil

I have had my spyder for 3 years and have no particular problem with the stock Kenda's that came on it, other than I would like to have gotten more than 9,000 miles out of the rear. The fronts still have a ways to go before I need to change them out. But, I'm a pretty aggressive rider. I have never felt "unsafe" with the kenda's. I've been doing 2 wheel riding for about 30 years and I think I would probably notice if I felt something unsafe in the tires/traction on the trike.

But, people have strong opinions on this subject.

If I could experiment I would....but installers within a reasonable distance from me will only do Kenda's. That's the way many dealers in the USA operate. So, I will try the new model Kenda Kanine and report on my findings.

Your experience with Your Kenda's fall into the 70% category …. so you are fortunate ….. however 100 plus forum members have reported that " their Kenda's were defective " when NEW …. couldn't machine balance , tread and or ply separation, out of round …. among some of the issues … In my 60 years of dealing with tires, the Kenda's for Spyders have the highest " DEFECT " rate of any tire I know of ….. good luck …. Mike hyea:

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

There are 2 subjects that always generate a lot of input on this forum...Tires, and Oil

I have had my spyder for 3 years and have no particular problem with the stock Kenda's that came on it, other than I would like to have gotten more than 9,000 miles out of the rear. The fronts still have a ways to go before I need to change them out. But, I'm a pretty aggressive rider. I have never felt "unsafe" with the kenda's. I've been doing 2 wheel riding for about 30 years and I think I would probably notice if I felt something unsafe in the tires/traction on the trike.

But, people have strong opinions on this subject.

If I could experiment I would....but installers within a reasonable distance from me will only do Kenda's. That's the way many dealers in the USA operate. So, I will try the new model Kenda Kanine and report on my findings.

???? … how far are you from " SpyderPops " …… He can help you out …. Mike hyea:

 

[Ktd1911]

This may not be new kendall tires but I have the OEM kendall front tires on my 2018 spyder f3s and I have 16,000on the front tires running smooth and quiet

 

[Peter Aawen]

Mr. Peter,
One of the reasons I phrased my query as I did was my inability to get 4 PSI on the front tires at any time. At 14 PSI I only saw about 1.5 - 2 PSI increase. Below 14 PSI the sidewall began widening the tread footprint test, so I couldn't go lower. Hence the tire tread pyrometer method. I got 4 PSI on the drive tire at 18 PSI, and everything else was in the normal range, but I suspect the front tires are too lightly loaded to gain 4 PSI. My opinion only.

H0gr1der, was that with the OE Kendas up front, or your replacement 'car' tires? If it was the Kendas, they are soo 'different' in construction/quality to anything else that you really don't want to even try..... so go by the Spyder's tire placard recommendations for the Kendas - you probably aren't going to be able to improve their mediocre behaviour or performance anyway, trying to do this is just like putting lipstick on a pig! :gaah:

Buuut, if it was the replacement tires, then your assumption that they are too lightly loaded to get the 4psi could well be correct, at least for how, when, & where you ride - it's generally pretty easy to get a 4psi increase here in Aust on our generally hotter roads & with our often hotter weather (even on 175/60R15 tires that really need to be worked harder to reach the same temps/pressures) but I didn't ever get 4psi when I was ryding in our snowfields. However, knowing that I wasn't getting the 4psi increase then meant that I KNEW my front tires were a little compromised due to them running too high a pressure, and I adjusted my ryding in that terrain/under those conditions to suit, especially when it came to cornering at the limits & braking hard! :lecturef_smilie:

Running tire pressures that aren't reaching a 4psi increase means the pressures in them are too high for the load imposed upon them, which means your tires aren't going to get up to their optimum temps; therefore grip, ride, handling, braking, tire longevity, and even puncture resistance will be somewhat less than what it could be.... (probably still a fair bit better than the OE spec stuff tho!) There are a bunch of ways to work with this that you could take: you could drop your pressures further, altho like you, I probably wouldn't go much lower than you already have for road use; you could brake later, corner harder, ride more aggressively, IF you wish; or you could simply recognise that the tires you are running are probably not working at their absolute best & allow yourself a little bit more leeway to compensate! I am still firmly convinced that even at their worst, there just aren't too many 'proper' car tires out there that will limit your Spyder/Spyder ryding as much as the OE Spec Kendas do, and even if you don't get the best milage/tire life from your replacements, there's still a better than just 'very good' chance they'll last longer & work better for you doing it than the Kendas ever did! hyea:

 

[Ex-Rocket]

I saw today on Facebook that Lamonster Garage has endorsed these tires and are selling them. Maybe he has more information on the tires.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

H0gr1der, was that with the OE Kendas up front, or your replacement 'car' tires? If it was the Kendas, they are soo 'different' in construction/quality to anything else that you really don't want to even try..... so go by the Spyder's tire placard recommendations for the Kendas - you probably aren't going to be able to improve their mediocre behaviour or performance anyway, trying to do this is just like putting lipstick on a pig! :gaah:

Buuut, if it was the replacement tires, then your assumption that they are too lightly loaded to get the 4psi could well be correct, at least for how, when, & where you ride - it's generally pretty easy to get a 4psi increase here in Aust on our generally hotter roads & with our often hotter weather (even on 175/60R15 tires that really need to be worked harder to reach the same temps/pressures) but I didn't ever get 4psi when I was ryding in our snowfields. However, knowing that I wasn't getting the 4psi increase then meant that I KNEW my front tires were a little compromised due to them running too high a pressure, and I adjusted my ryding in that terrain/under those conditions to suit, especially when it came to cornering at the limits & braking hard! :lecturef_smilie:

Running tire pressures that aren't reaching a 4psi increase means the pressures in them are too high for the load imposed upon them, which means your tires aren't going to get up to their optimum temps; therefore grip, ride, handling, braking, tire longevity, and even puncture resistance will be somewhat less than what it could be.... (probably still a fair bit better than the OE spec stuff tho!) There are a bunch of ways to work with this that you could take: you could drop your pressures further, altho like you, I probably wouldn't go much lower than you already have for road use; you could brake later, corner harder, ride more aggressively, IF you wish; or you could simply recognise that the tires you are running are probably not working at their absolute best & allow yourself a little bit more leeway to compensate! I am still firmly convinced that even at their worst, there just aren't too many 'proper' car tires out there that will limit your Spyder/Spyder ryding as much as the OE Spec Kendas do, and even if you don't get the best milage/tire life from your replacements, there's still a better than just 'very good' chance they'll last longer & work better for you doing it than the Kendas ever did! hyea:

Peter, He bought the Vredestein Quatrac 5 tire that I have been recommending …..and He loves them …. Mike hyea:

 

[ThreeWheels]

This may not be new kendall tires but I have the OEM kendall front tires on my 2018 spyder f3s and I have 16,000on the front tires running smooth and quiet

The OEM tires run pretty well in the front if the alignment is set up properly.
The main issue in the front is the BUILD QUALITY of the tire. They'll grip pretty well, and wear good enough, but they're built so crappy that many of them will deteriorate ahead of their time.
Slipped belts. Poor rubber adhesion.
If you get a decent set of tires, with a good alignment, you can easily get 25,000 miles on a set of OEM front tires. Not great, but OK
The rear is a tire of a different color. I was getting around 6 or 8 thousand miles on the OEM Kenda. Maybe one season ?? That's absurd.
So now people are looking for better tires, Kumho, or Continental, etc.
I[m running Kumho Solus KH16 Front Tires 175/55/15 and Cooper Mastercraft LSR Grand Touring rear 215/60/15
Truthfully, I've got less than 2000 miles on these. I'll have them transferred to my 2020 Spyder when it comes in next month. In 8°F weather..............

 

[HankD]

I saw today on Facebook that Lamonster Garage has endorsed these tires and are selling them. Maybe he has more information on the tires.

That's awesome, thanks so much for the info! I looked up the Lamonster Facebook post and since it says they are also installing them, I'll call the techs there and ask them about inflation pressure. Lamonster folks are always VERY helpful with phone inquiries. I feel better now hyea:

 

[Wildrice]

I kinda doubt it. I do remember that the sidewall on my Kenda Kanine says "For Motorcycle Use Only". My dealer asked if that was on there and I said yes. He said, "OK, then I can install it". All the dealers in this neck of the woods won't substitute car tires on the Spyder.

If that Kenda tire is made for the Can Am Spyder why would any dealer refuse to mount it ??

 

[askitee]

I have just ditched my Kenda's with one-third of the tread to go, and fitted two Nankang AS1's to the front.

Two things I've noticed on my RTL

• Way less vibration in the front, all is now nice and smooth
• More confident braking in the wet (got to test that in the "Rain Bomb" we had last Saturday and a couple of Roos i
• Better clearing the contact patch of water whereby you could see the dry mark on the road surface behind.
• Not as soft a ride as the OEM Kenda's on the rough stuff
• Aquaplaning was waaaaaay less than the Kenda's

If the Kanine can produce the same outcome, I'm in regardless of origin, but having experienced Kenda on Quads, Dirt bikes, Wheelbarrows and my trusty Pushbike, I think there might be two chances they get it right - and buckleys is looking to be their best hope. I might fit one to the wheel barrow to see how it handles.

 

[Wildrice]

I kinda doubt it. I do remember that the sidewall on my Kenda Kanine says "For Motorcycle Use Only". My dealer asked if that was on there and I said yes. He said, "OK, then I can install it". All the dealers in this neck of the woods won't substitute car tires on the Spyder.

If that Kenda tire is made for the Can Am Spyder why would any dealer refuse to mount it ??

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I have just ditched my Kenda's with one-third of the tread to go, and fitted two Nankang AS1's to the front.

Two things I've noticed on my RTL

• Way less vibration in the front, all is now nice and smooth
• More confident braking in the wet (got to test that in the "Rain Bomb" we had last Saturday and a couple of Roos i
• Better clearing the contact patch of water whereby you could see the dry mark on the road surface behind.
• Not as soft a ride as the OEM Kenda's on the rough stuff
• Aquaplaning was waaaaaay less than the Kenda's

If the Kanine can produce the same outcome, I'm in regardless of origin, but having experienced Kenda on Quads, Dirt bikes, Wheelbarrows and my trusty Pushbike, I think there might be two chances they get it right - and buckleys is looking to be their best hope. I might fit one to the wheel barrow to see how it handles.

" not as soft " ???? …. what psi are you using ???? ………….....Thanks ...Mike hyea: