kenda motorcycle tires? - Page 2

PhilB · 06-09-2011, 02:40 PM

You can't have too much traction.
Never go cheap on anything your life depends on.
I wouldn't put Kendas on my scooters.
Even on a 10hp 175cc scooter, I'll buy good tires, at least Bridgestones or similar.

PhilB

Nightfall · 06-09-2011, 04:37 PM

Kenda = Japanese company that has their tires made in third world countries ... sadly, it's not like most people care, Kawasaki makes their Ninja 250 in Thailand and Triumph makes their Bonnie there and people still buy them .... personally, I wouldn't touch them, just like I wouldn't touch a kawi or trumpet made there, your choice.

usernamedoug · 06-09-2011, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Süsser Tod

What advantage do you think she'll get from radial tires that provide traction beyond what the bike is capable of using or needing?

umm because sticky tires are helpful when you carry high corner speeds regardless of how much power it has.

I bet she'd be much happier on diablos at the track. Imagine tip in and line holding ability would be much improved. I didn't even realize the kendas were a bias ply. I took her bike out with her 110 lb frame on the back which fair enough is probably way too much weight on that shock, but it felt really sketchy and vague mid corner, not inspiging at all.

I doubt she wants to spend the money on new tires but if shes doing a track day she should probably get some diablos.

Royal Tiger · 06-09-2011, 08:13 PM

Kenda makes tires that seem popular in the KLR & DR communities, but they looked cheap to me. I run top shelf Continental TKC80's on my KLR. Sure one tire costs more then a set of Kenda's, but as Phil said, don't skimp on the important stuff.

Süsser Tod · 06-10-2011, 04:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by usernamedoug

umm because sticky tires are helpful when you carry high corner speeds regardless of how much power it has.

I bet she'd be much happier on diablos at the track. Imagine tip in and line holding ability would be much improved. I didn't even realize the kendas were a bias ply. I took her bike out with her 110 lb frame on the back which fair enough is probably way too much weight on that shock, but it felt really sketchy and vague mid corner, not inspiging at all.

I doubt she wants to spend the money on new tires but if shes doing a track day she should probably get some diablos.

"Diablos" are not the only "sticky" tires out there, and...

Rubber compound is just part of the equation when it comes to traction, the carcass is much more important. A radial tire will have a harder/stiffer carcass, which is fine (and desirable) when you have a larger and wider carcass, but not so much with a narrow carcass, as it will result in a small contact patch.

Then there is also suspension setup, which must be all wrong considering it's a 20 year old bike. It MIGHT be close to "ok" for her, but I really doubt those tired 20 year old springs and valves are remotely close to being able to handle both of you.

Also, she is a new rider, she won't be riding as fast as to come close to the traction limits of those tires. If she goes down it will be technique related, not because of the tires.

Better get her working on her technique and freshen up the suspension on that bike.

stealthee · 11-28-2012, 05:59 AM

Grave digging but, i ran kenda k671's on my 250 for about a year, they did great here in florida, They are popular on the 250boards, same with the bt45's.
Personally my tire of choice (what i run currently) are the pirelli diablo scooters but DON'T expect a long life outta the rear. I run them on my ex500 and i got maybe 5k outta the rear, almost 10k on the front.

kevinwilly · 11-28-2012, 08:34 AM

Yeah, the K671's are what my wife runs on her 250. The guys on the 250 board rave about them.

We bought pirelli's for her current set, but they were defective from the factory... no matter what, you could not get one of the beads to seat with them. I tried it 6 times and had 3 different shops try it. So we sent them back and went back to Kenda.

They are not bad if you get the right ones.

Anyways, old thread is old.

R1100S-Rider · 11-28-2012, 11:02 AM

Pirelli doesn't make a Diablo that will fit the that bike. You'll have to go with a Sport Demon if you want to stick with Pirelli. Or go with Avon.

kevinwilly · 11-28-2012, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R1100S-Rider

Pirelli doesn't make a Diablo that will fit the that bike. You'll have to go with a Sport Demon if you want to stick with Pirelli. Or go with Avon.

Right. I didn't even get into this.

People were bitching about people suggesting bias ply tires.

Show me a radial that comes in a 100/80-17. Go ahead.

And yeah- it was the sport demon's that we bought and they were defective. We've used them before a couple years ago and they are fairly nice, but these ones obviously weren't. I forget my wife's favorite tire. VERY sticky, but crap for tire life, so we don't get them any more.

I didn't bother trying to remember because this thread is so old and it probably doesn't matter any more.

R1100S-Rider · 11-28-2012, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevinwilly

Right. I didn't even get into this.

People were bitching about people suggesting bias ply tires.

Show me a radial that comes in a 100/80-17. Go ahead.

And yeah- it was the sport demon's that we bought and they were defective. We've used them before a couple years ago and they are fairly nice, but these ones obviously weren't. I forget my wife's favorite tire. VERY sticky, but crap for tire life, so we don't get them any more.

I didn't bother trying to remember because this thread is so old and it probably doesn't matter any more.

Yea, I found it rather funny people were going back and forth... Yet, no one actually looked it up.

Avon is probably your best choice. They make all kind of weird sizes. Most of the older Japanese bikes (50's-80's) use Avons because they are the only ones that make a good tire that'll fit them.

oic0 · 11-28-2012, 02:22 PM

I think new riders need good tires for another reason too, they stop better! I made the mistake of cheaping out on tires to commute with on my supermoto. After poor performance in a few panic stops I ditched em

bluspyder · 11-28-2012, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oic0

I think new riders need good tires for another reason too, they stop better! I made the mistake of cheaping out on tires to commute with on my supermoto. After poor performance in a few panic stops I ditched em

I ran kenda's (touring model) on my ninja 500 and never had them lose traction. Panic stops, turns (scraped both pegs) or acceleration.

The Predator · 11-28-2012, 09:46 PM

I was sure it was mentioned that the model of pirelli wanted was demons. . .

OreoGaborio · 11-29-2012, 01:20 AM

The good news is it's got 17" rims which means you could probably experiment a little with modern tires and tire sizes. I'm sure a 110 could fit on the front, maybe even a 120. A 150 could probably squeeze onto the rear. You can find decent modern sport tires in those sizes.

I post this knowing I'm probably going to get a whole bunch of "RABBLE RABBLE PINCHED TIRES, BAD PROFILE, GRRR" bullshit from the naysayers, but something tells me they've never raced an EX500 with a 120 front 160 rear combo on it. It's been done... and it's been proven... by some VERY accomplished riders who know what they're doing. I myself raced an EX500 on a 120/150 combo for a couple of seasons... Yes it handles a little differently, yes the profile gets a little pinched but it was no big deal. No it's not the "best" solution, but it's the best solution THAT WAS AVAILABLE. The cons of pinching the tire are outweighed by the improved tire technology.

EDIT: What tires do the Ninja 250 cup guys generally go for?
Here's one answer - Results for NINJA 250R
Hey, look at that... 110/ 70 X 17 FRONT (stock size), 150/ 60 X 17 REAR (stock = 130/70)