New Kenda Kanine Rear Tire for 2013 RT-S

[yankster99]

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone had any info on the new Kenda Kanine Rear tire 225/50R15 76H for my 2013 RT-S. I found online price of $86. with free shipping which seems unusually cheap! Would just need to get my local dealer to mount it. Thanks.

 

[CopperSpyder]

You should check with your local dealer and see if they will install it. A lot of dealers will not install a tire they don't sell to you. You may be able to get someone else to install it for you at a local tire shop. The Kanine is a new tire and a few member here have put them on and we are waiting for reports on how they handle and wear over time. Time will tell. Welcome to the forum!!

 

[RICZ]

Buy the tire from your local dealer, even if it's a few more dollars. It'll help keep someone you know in business and not a faceless Internet seller. He might toss in the mounting for free or at a discount.

 

[yankster99]

Good advice, thanks.

 

[JayBros]

Please keep us informed about tread wear, mileage, wet weather performance, etc.

 

[billybovine]

Your local dealer may sell the new Kenda tire at a much lower price then the OE tire. You just need to ask.

 

[yankster99]

I checked with local dealer. They only have the original Kenda stock tire ( @ $175) but have no problem installing a tire I supply. So it appears my ‘safe’ choice for a different tire is either the Kenda Kanine or the Kumho ecsta. Does this make sense?

 

[CopperSpyder]

If they will mount it for you and you are happy with what they charge. Go for it.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I checked with local dealer. They only have the original Kenda stock tire ( @ $175) but have no problem installing a tire I supply. So it appears my ‘safe’ choice for a different tire is either the Kenda Kanine or the Kumho ecsta. Does this make sense?

Well if the dealer will mount an Auto tire, I think you should consider any of these before the Kumho .... Vredestein Q-5, Michelin Defender " T&H ", or the great standby General Altimax RT43, ..... Many folks here have reported that the Kumho when only about 1/2 worn starts to lose it's wet traction ability ..... and wet traction is more important than what it can do when it's dry ....... good luck .... Mike :thumbup:

 

[yankster99]

Ok, thx. And I’m assuming these alternatives play nice with the Spyder stability system, etc.?

 

[JKMSPYDER]

Yes they do.

 

[yankster99]

Correction...I am going with the General Altima RT 43. I just want to confirm size is 205/60R15 which seems it will fit/work, thanks.

 

[trong]

My dealer told me that they charge extra if they mount and balance a tire they didn't sell. I removed the rear tire on my RT-L and took it to Discount Tire and they mounted it but could not balance because they did not have a small shaft to go thru the wheel bearing. the guy told me not to worry because the wheel is light enough and the Kumho most of the time do not need any weight. 150 miles on it and so far go good.
BTW, two-piece wheel hub is a pain to remove.

Cheers

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Correction...I am going with the General Altima RT 43. I just want to confirm size is 205/60R15 which seems it will fit/work, thanks.

Yes I believe that it also comes in that size .....HOWEVER almost everyone is using the 215/60-15 size ..... that will bring the speedo / odo to almost perfect ..... good luck ..... Mike ..............PS when you fill it try 18psi , this psi wil be great for any weight you have on an RT ..... Mike :thumbup:

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

My dealer told me that they charge extra if they mount and balance a tire they didn't sell. I removed the rear tire on my RT-L and took it to Discount Tire and they mounted it but could not balance because they did not have a small shaft to go thru the wheel bearing. the guy told me not to worry because the wheel is light enough and the Kumho most of the time do not need any weight. 150 miles on it and so far go good.
BTW, two-piece wheel hub is a pain to remove.

Cheers

Welllllllllllllllllllllllllll IMHO that's not really the reason for no rear tire weights ...... Yes auto tires are better made and very often balance just using the RED or Yel. dot in conjunction with the valve stem to achieve balance ..... The other reason is HOW the rear wheel is supported compared to the fronts ..... over the past 11 years I have only balanced ONE rear wheel/tire .... the rest I just used the Dots ..... there was no difference felt .... only in the wallet :roflblack: ............ good luck ..... Mike :thumbup:

 

[yankster99]

Thanks Mike, that’s what I wanted to hear. I’ll go with the flow on the 215 size, thanks again!

 

[yankster99]

Hi Mike, I had General Altima 215/ 50R 15 sent to my dealer and they seem very concerned about the safety. here is what my dealer is saying :
In our experience a car tire doesn’t have the proper side wall so it flexs too much under a load during a turn causing the bike to tip in the rear. As well as the tire tread is too hard (made for a car) for the weight on a motorcycle so the rear tire skids. Especially with the tire you got the sidewall is about an inch taller then stock and the ply of the sidewall is 1. This 100% will mess with the stability / traction control in turns. We have done this and tested with multiple customers with poor results.

Just want to make sure you fully understand the importance of the correct tire on the rear of the spyder.

 

[yankster99]

Sorry tire size is 215/60R 15

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Hi Mike, I had General Altima 215/ 50R 15 sent to my dealer and they seem very concerned about the safety. here is what my dealer is saying :
In our experience a car tire doesn’t have the proper side wall so it flexs too much under a load during a turn causing the bike to tip in the rear. As well as the tire tread is too hard (made for a car) for the weight on a motorcycle so the rear tire skids. Especially with the tire you got the sidewall is about an inch taller then stock and the ply of the sidewall is 1. This 100% will mess with the stability / traction control in turns. We have done this and tested with multiple customers with poor results.

Just want to make sure you fully understand the importance of the correct tire on the rear of the spyder.

OMG...This has to be the worst thing I have heard a dealer saying about Auto tires on Spyders ...... they know absolutely Nothing about Kenda tires They even got the actual size of the Altimax wrong !!! ... and they know nothing about how tires actually work .... RUN away from this Stealer .... good luck .... Mike :thumbup:

 

[Peter Aawen]

:agree: Ask that dealer for the names & contact details of those 'multiple customers with poor results'!! :shocked:

And while you're about trying pointless things, read all the (obviously gotta be heaps of them, surely.... ) threads & discussions here from all the owners/ryders who've had those any/all of those issues the dealer listed as being such a common problem with running auto tires.... it might be hard to find 'them all' tho!? :roflblack:

Or maybe you could look at the (actually many) threads & discussions all about setting your tire pressures in an auto tire appropriately for the lighter load a Spyder imposes upon them, and the significant improvements doing that &/or running auto tires brings to our Spyders?! :shocked: Better yet, find another dealer - one that doesn't peg the BS meter quite so hard onto the 'Fulluvit' stop! :thumbup:

Ps: even the lowest safe pressure in a 'proper' auto tire will result in LESS sidewall flex than that in the lightly constructed Kendas under load in a turn, largely because of the STRONGER materials used &/or the greater ply ratings used in the auto tires/their sidewalls - so by the dealer's reasoning, it's actually the KENDAS that are unsafe!! Well, arguably that's not wrong, but it just adds to showing how Fulluvit the dealer actually is!! And funnily enough, almost all who have actually run auto tires report LESS Nanny intervention, not more?!? :lecturef_smilie: