Lesson learned with crappy Kenda tires....

[jcthorne]

Wanted to share our recent Kenda tire experience so others may benefit from the learning.


Before leaving on our 23 day adventure to Deadwood etc, I thoroughly checked both my F3 and Louise Thorne​'s RT. This included tire tread depth for the planned 5k miles. Both had well over 7/32 tread depth.


I check over the bikes daily while on the trip, simple stuff like oil, tires etc. On the morning of July 20 I did the same. Noting that both Louise and I were going to need new tires by the time we get back to Houston but they were good for now.


At lunch, about 140 miles later, I went out to Louise bike to fetch something and instinctively looked at the rear tire. I was in horror. I was looking at a completely BALD tire. No evidence of tread left, worn completely past the depth of the tread grooves except at the very edges of the tire.


First the good news, R&S Motorsports in Albuquerque was amazing. Got us in the next morning and had a new tire mounted and installed along with belt retention etc. DONE by 1015am. And all at a VERY fair price compared to most dealer quotes posted. (240 out the door).


The bad news is what I learned about the tire and how I could have missed a completely bald tire. On the OTHER SIDE of the tire there was better than 1/8" of tread remaining.


Yes, you read right. The utterly crappy Kenda tire was molded more than 1/8 off center between the carcass and tread molds. This explained the factory 9.25 oz of weight on her rear tire.


Folks this is way beyond crappy quality. Its in violation of DOT standards. The tire was dangerous and did not meet requirements for import into the US.


BRP REALLY needs to find a new tire supplier. Leave the Kenda tires to the wheel barrows.


The lesson learned here is do not look at tread depth on one spot on the tire that you can see. You MUST check at several locations around the tire for the crapenda tires to know if you are beyond their 'service' life. Better yet, just get rid of them.

 

[Bob Denman]

:shocked: Wow...
Unfortunately: Kenda may have been the only manufacturer interested in creating a "motorcycle-approved car tire.
I would guess that the low production volume may have a whole lot to do with it...

Glad to hear that this problem didn't become WAYYY worse! :thumbup:

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

CRAPENDA TIRES

:agree: ...... JC , I'm sure that qualifies for a Warranty claim.....................JMHO ......Mike :thumbup:

 

[Bob Denman]

That's true... but they'll only give him another Kenda! :gaah:

 

[fjray]

krappy kenda

Just changed the rear on my 2015 RT for the same reason. Bald on one side and good tread on the other.

 

[Deanna777]

Just changed the rear on my 2015 RT for the same reason. Bald on one side and good tread on the other.

What new tire did you put on the rear?

Deanna

 

[MidTNDawg]

Well I thought this

You MUST check at several locations around the tire for the crapenda tires to know if you are beyond their 'service' life.

was already SOP for all tires.

 

[Habib]

I personally do not think Chinese manufacturing knows anything or cares a rip about quality. It's all about money, money, money. And, BRP could not find someone reputable to make their tires?

 

[Peter Aawen]

:shocked: Wow...
Unfortunately: Kenda may have been the only manufacturer interested in creating a "motorcycle-approved car tire.
I would guess that the low production volume may have a whole lot to do with it...

Glad to hear that this problem didn't become WAYYY worse! :thumbup:

That might've been the case way back in 2007 before anyone had any real idea about the potential Spyder market & tire behaviour, use etc under these reverse-trikes, but it really doesn't cut the mustard now!! And even if Kenda is the only current manufacturer of what can only loosely be described as 'tires' for our Spyders in that spec/size, there's ample evidence in the literally hundreds of thousands of safe miles travelled by Spyder Ryders on a variety of tires of different makes, tread patterns, sizes, etc, showing these others options are up to the task of running safely under Spyders, if not actually being waaaaayyyy better at every important safety & wear aspect of Spyder tire use & life! It seems like the ONLY aspect that doesn't come up to BRP's standards is how much profit they can make by foisting what seems to be a clearly substandard tire onto their customers!! :yikes:

Surely by now, it wouldn't be hard to formally test, approve, & endorse a few alternative sizes & makes of tires as suitable for Spyders?? Even if they stick with the Kenda crap as their OE preference/spec, there is ample evidence from their customers that there are other makes & sizes of tires that 'apparently' work just as well, & heaps of anecdotal evidence that any if not all of those alternatives outperform the Kenda crap in some if not all respects; apart from the amount of profit thing of course?!? They would gain a vast amount of good will & credibility by doing the testing, going thru the approval process, and then publicly endorsing a range of alternative makes & sizes that work for all Spyders - after all, we, their customers, have already done the most difficult & dangerous bit of that process at our own risk & expense; & that raises the potential for another pressing reason that BRP should be actively seeking alternative tire makes & sizes for ALL the Spyders they've ever made or will make!!

This growing body of evidence that Kenda tires are sub-optimal should have them doing everything within their power to get other makes, tread patterns, & sizes of tires approved - surely it's now just a matter of time before court action is taken against them regarding the rubbish tires they've approved/specified & even seemingly made every attempt to force everyone to keep using on their Spyders?!? Anyone who's had an accident running the Kenda's or who is still running the Kenda tires and has an incident involving loss of control or braking that could be attributed in any way to these tires & their poor performance has an increasingly significant body of evidence (albeit maybe largely circumstantial & not formal, but it's there, it's significant, & it's growing daily!!) supporting the claim that the Kenda tires are below the standards accepted by the bulk of the driving/riding community, if not also below the mandated DOT standards etc too (and maybe we should also be questioning that they do actually meet those?!) and that the tires specified by BRP & virtually forced on riders could be a significant contributing cause for any damage, injuries, or loss of life that has/might occur..... :yikes: BRP would not be the first vehicle manufacturer ever hit with massive damages & forced into a very expensive payout & recall because of the sub-optimal tires they've specified & used, and even if BRP feels that Kenda would take the brunt of the financial damage resulting from such an action, they must be aware that they will be included in said action & are very likely to suffer substantial costs & penalties if that occurs & they are ruled against!!

Even Blind Freddy can see that unless they do something, it's really just a matter of time before the Kenda crap we've been lumbered with comes back to bite them!! :shocked:

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I personally do not think Chinese manufacturing knows anything or cares a rip about quality. It's all about money, money, money. And, BRP could not find someone reputable to make their tires?

Not true. It's the buyer who is responsible for specifying the quality level. 30 years ago Chinese made tools in the bargain tool bins in big box stores and elsewhere in this country were absolutely crappy looking. I was in Finland in 1989 and saw some Chinese made tools in a bargain tool bin there, just like here. Guess what? The quality was just as good looking as anything made by Mac Tools or Craftsman here in the States at the time! Much better than what American buyers were getting from China. Here's a pic of a 1.5 KG sledge hammer I bought back then in Finland. I use it regularly and it still is in great shape with original handle and no swelling of the head. There is a chip in the wedge end and a small one on the corner of the head.

The Chinese CAN make great stuff, IF North American buyers will just demand it. But then the products wouldn't be cheap either, and cheap, for NA companies, is the name of the game.

 

[BoilerAnimal]

I used to ride bicycles on long trips and quite a few century rides (100 mile rides, usually in around six hours). NOBODY used Kenda tires on road bikes! There is a reason.

 

[pauly1]

We've had the same off center issue with a Kumho tire. Ive not experienced the same on 80K miles on the Kenda tires and they have averaged 16K on each tire (except the F3 was 12K). Had premature wear on the Dunlops on my Electra Glide about the ssme time frame as the fast wear on the Kenda.

Wayne

 

[RudyB]

What's your answer for replacement tires

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

 

[Motorcycledave]

I use Michelin tires on my Spyder

QUOTE=RudyB;1160175]What's your answer for replacement tires

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]

 

[missouriboy]

...R&S Motorsports in Albuquerque was amazing. Got us in the next morning and had a new tire mounted and installed along with belt retention etc. DONE by 1015am. And all at a VERY fair price compared to most dealer quotes posted. (240 out the door)...

That IS a great price, especially if it was another Kenda. My dealer charges $410.68! :yikes:

 

[WellsboroSpyder]

Kenda tires are below the standards accepted by the bulk of the driving/riding community, if not also below the mandated DOT standards etc too (and maybe we should also be questioning that they do actually meet those?!) and that the tires specified by BRP & virtually forced on riders could be a significant contributing cause for any damage, injuries, or loss of life that has/might occur..... :[/QUOTE]

Am I naive, wouldn't the Kenda tire have to go through DOT testing and approval before going on USA roads? Don't get me wrong, I hate the fact that there is one approved tire by BRP. But all motor vehicle manufacturer (car and motorcycle) put on tires they recommend for that machine. It's up to the other tire companies to then produce a tire to compete with and maybe get approval from BRP. The one company that tried seemed to put out an inferior product to make quick cash.(my opinion). It doesn't seem that the motorcycle magazines and market have taken the Spyder serious yet. The spyder is not put in comparison articals with other street machines. How to get other tires companies to design for the Spyder is beyond my knowledge. But I think that's who we have to get on the band wagon.

 

[jcthorne]

:agree: ...... JC , I'm sure that qualifies for a Warranty claim.....................JMHO ......Mike :thumbup:

No, it does not. The tire had just over 10k on it. I suppose if I had noticed the difference in tread depth side to side back when it was new, then perhaps but still not worth the trouble dealing with a Can Am dealer and a brp letter writing campaign to get another crappy Kenda tire I don't want.

 

[jcthorne]

What new tire did you put on the rear?

Deanna

Albuquerque dealer only sold Kenda for Spyders. Was my only choice being that far from home. At least they had one and took care of me promptly and fairly. I really cannot fault this dealer.

 

[jcthorne]

Not true. It's the buyer who is responsible for specifying the quality level. 30 years ago Chinese made tools in the bargain tool bins in big box stores and elsewhere in this country were absolutely crappy looking. I was in Finland in 1989 and saw some Chinese made tools in a bargain tool bin there, just like here. Guess what? The quality was just as good looking as anything made by Mac Tools or Craftsman here in the States at the time! Much better than what American buyers were getting from China. Here's a pic of a 1.5 KG sledge hammer I bought back then in Finland. I use it regularly and it still is in great shape with original handle and no swelling of the head. There is a chip in the wedge end and a small one on the corner of the head.

The Chinese CAN make great stuff, IF North American buyers will just demand it. But then the products wouldn't be cheap either, and cheap, for NA companies, is the name of the game.

View attachment 134517

I completely disagree. You can specify what ever you want. Chinese manufactures will produce what ever they think they can get away with and then replace a small qty of what they get caught, if then. I have had to deal with very poor chinese steel on Russian projects for years. Its flat out dangerous and they DO NOT CARE.

 

[jcthorne]

We've had the same off center issue with a Kumho tire. Ive not experienced the same on 80K miles on the Kenda tires and they have averaged 16K on each tire (except the F3 was 12K). Had premature wear on the Dunlops on my Electra Glide about the ssme time frame as the fast wear on the Kenda.

Wayne

I don't really consider Kumho a great example of a top tier tire either. Perhaps one notch above Kenda but no great tire.

Stick with top name brands, they really do the research and quality control to support the reputation they have earned.