Vredestein Quatrac 5 in 175/55-60

[Airborne]

I haven't found anyone in Australia who stocks the Vredestein Tires (yet!) But even if we do get someone prepared to import &/or carry them, we've still gotta convince them there's enough demand for those tires in sizes that we can use on our Spyders - sizes that don't fit a great number of modern motor vehicles!! :gaah:

Just don't get too hung up on the 'nominal size' printed on the sidewall, the size that's far more important to us & our Spyders is the actual physical size & whether or not that size will fit on the various Spyder models! That often means trying it, or at least comparing the specified rolling dia & tire width (not just tread width) with the physical dimensions of a tire known to fit! :thumbup:

And you really don't want to forget that generally, the ambient & road temps in most of Australia tend to be just a tad higher than those experienced by a lot of North America!! So a tire that's ideal for the temps they experience over there may not work too well &/or for very long over here; and a tire that works really well here in our warmer areas might not work very well at all over there, especially in the colder areas! :lecturef_smilie:

But if it means you can get out there & ryde, it's all fun, innit?! hyea: :2thumbs:

Thanks Peter, in formative as usual, i'll PM you to find out you suggestions for local conditions remembering i live in cool Tassie.

I Have heard Toyos mentioned.

 

[BoilerAnimal]

I had two Quatrac5 175-55-15 tires put on on our Spyder about 1000 miles ago. Running at 16 PSI the handling and ride is outstanding!

That said, when I put them on, I spun them to see If they rubbed. As my luck would have it, both tires did but very, very lightly. Took it for a ride of about three miles, then removed them to see what was causing it. I couldn't find where the problem was, however, the rub was almost gone. Put the tires on again and the noise was completely gone in less than two more miles with no signs of interference on the tires or fenders.

BRP should make these tires standard right from the factory. If they did that and a PROPER laser alignment, they would probably be able to sell more bikes. That would virtually eliminate the folks put off by the "twitchy steering" factor. Even though ours had been "Squared Away" and the handling was great, the change from Kendas to these tires is shocking.

The only thing that I haven't had a chance to do is ride in the rain. Kind of looking forward to that! If it is as good as most say, I will not dread rainy rides anymore.

One question. Did anybody think that these tires had a "strange" smell to them? They made our whole garage smell for the first couple of days after they were first mounted. They smelled different than other tires normally do. Not really bad, just different. No smell at all after a couple of days.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Quarac 5 tire rubbing ???

PM sent …. Mike hyea:

 

[BoilerAnimal]

As requested by BLUEKNIGHT911, I'm posting the exchange of PM's between us.


Quote Originally Posted by BLUEKNIGHT911

Hi Mike here ….. a month or so back another member reported rubbing …. so I reached out to other members who had them in 175/55-15 ….. they all said no issues !!! …...… If you have time , could you possibly remove the wheels and look for " what on the front suspension " is/was the contact being made ….. you could also up the PSI to 17 ….. in the past I have added 3 washers ( one each ) between the wheel and the face of the hub ….. Thanks …. Mike


Originally Posted by BoilerAnimal

Hi Mike. The rubbing was very slight and didn't leave any marks on the tire or fenders. I was going to do the washer thing but don't really have a need to now. If it had been worse I would have, but not a problem after about five or six miles.

By the way, these tires are fantastic. Thanks for bringing them to our attention, Bob.


Originally Posted by BLUEKNIGHT911

Your very welcome thanks for the compliment ….. Here's what I think may have occurred …. When you started out the tires were Cold …. ( ambient temp ) …. then as you drove they heated up a bit ( normal )… this would cause them to rise just a bit which would make them very slightly narrower …. this was just enough to eliminate them touching what ever it was making contact …… I think you will be impressed in the wet ….many folks here have reported this …..Mike …. I should have posted this instead of just Pm'ing you ….. Could you move it to your post ?????

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Thanks B A, some folks are very talented with the computer thing …..( I'm not one of them :roflblack Mike hyea:

 

[h0gr1der]

My first thought was the casting nipples rubbing on something. Mine had those things sticking out all over the place, and were all about 3/8" or so long.

 

[BoilerAnimal]

Seemed like more "whiskers" than most any tire I've seen. But I don't think that was the cause because it only rubbed each tire in two places and only very slightly. Not enough to leave a mark on the tires or fenders and the noise was gone after five or six miles.

Did you notice any smell that you thought was different than the way most new tires smell?

 

[h0gr1der]

Seemed like more "whiskers" than most any tire I've seen. But I don't think that was the cause because it only rubbed each tire in two places and only very slightly. Not enough to leave a mark on the tires or fenders and the noise was gone after five or six miles.

Did you notice any smell that you thought was different than the way most new tires smell?

Not really. They're made in the Netherlands, so maybe recycled Tulips or clogs?

 

[BoilerAnimal]

Not really. They're made in the Netherlands, so maybe recycled Tulips or clogs?

:yikes::roflblack:At this point, I don't care what they're made of, they are fantastic as far as I'm concerned!

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

:yikes::roflblack:At this point, I don't care what they're made of, they are fantastic as far as I'm concerned!

:agree::2excited::thumbup::clap::clap: ……………….. Please let us know if you get caught in the rain ….. and are riding your Spyder ….. Mikehyea:

 

[BoilerAnimal]

I will. I've only got about a month and a half of riding left this year. I'm getting surgery done on my right elbow on 9/17. Damn arthritis!