kenda motorcycle tires?

[usernamedoug]

Friend is learning to ride on an 87 cbr250, makes 500 power. The bike came with kenda "cruiser" tires and I was wondering if anyone has any experience on this brand of tires? She's looking at doing some track days and I'm debating talking her into some pirelli diablos, its a weird size I think 100 front and 130 rear so not much available in that size

Thoughts?

[outhouse]

kendas are cheap junk you run on a dual sport

not a track.

an 87 cbr250 does not make 500 power lol


ok ok if your headed to a track, put track tires on it.

[mrphotoman]

what exactly does make 500 power mean?

[TCormier]

I assumed he meant it made the same power as a 500

[Zumina]

Kendas are for UJMs and dirt bikes.

[usernamedoug]

500 power being similar to a GS or ninja 500 which it does, around 50 hp. What's ujm mean again, because I'm pretty sure this bike fits the bill. It was a never sold here privately imported bike.

Anyway for those tire widths are there really any options other then the pirelli diablo? More sport riding oriented would be great

[The Predator]

you're talking about an MC17 CBR250rr. the one that revs to some insane number like 18,500.
the MC22 hit 19 grand I think, and some people hit 20 with em. Kawi and suzuki also had little screamin 250s. the Z2r and the GSXr250. although neither hit the honda-like rev number. the Z2r hit I think 16 and the GSXR hit either 15,5000 or 17,500.

as for that size: my VTR250 had some form BattlAx from bridgeston (I think BT045 was the nomenclature) but I'm not sure. those were on the side of touring mroe than sport though, from the tread pattern.

[Rev6]

Originally Posted by outhouse

kendas are cheap junk you run on a dual sport

not a track.

an 87 cbr250 does not make 500 power lol


ok ok if your headed to a track, put track tires on it.

might have meant that it was bored over to a 500? Common on 250's.

[The Predator]

no, the old 4 stroke 250s from the big 4 all make about 45-50hp. it's right near what a 500 makes.
the issue is that a 500 makes more useable power. what good is 50hp if you're wringing the balls out of the engine to hit it at 17 grand?

[Süsser Tod]

IT IS A MC17, a 4 cylinder CBR 250RR, it makes about 45 crank hp, or it did 20 years ago, give or take 40hp on the rear tire. It's 15hp down compared to a Ninja 500, and people are dragging knee on EX500s using bias ply tires, like the MT75, BT45 or... GASP! Kenda cruiser tires.

Face it, it's a 24 year old bike, there is not much in the way of tires for it. Those Kendas are probably as good as the best tires that were available for it 24 years ago. Due to the size you'll be limited to bias ply tires, so get the fancy tires out of your mind, they won't fit...

And I can't see why you'd need them, it's just a 45hp bike. Yes, a 45hp bike that can rev to 19K rpms, super rare, but it's just a 45hp bike.

Here... Knee down on a porker Kan-o-tuna 750, with twice the hp as the CBR and what feels like twice the weight.



Tires: Pirelli MT75.

[usernamedoug]

You guys are being seriously unhelpful. I already know pirelli makes the demons in about every size imagineable so only bias ply? Come on. This girl while a new rider is learning and getting comfortable really quick, when her pace comes up near the end of the season I more worry about the tires overheating and losing grip

[Bobarino]

I had Kendas on my bike when I bought it. They sucked big time. They're as hard as billiard balls with the same type of traction you'd expect from one. I replaced them with radial ply Metzlers and the difference was huge. So much improvement. Ditch the bias ply tires and put some modern sticky shoes on the machine and she'll be much happier with it.

[Rev6]

Michelin Pilot Sport SC Performance... they have matching front and rear for about 40 bucks each. Looks like that or those diablos are your best bet. Motorcyclesuperstore.com reviews of both those sets are pretty high. I imagine both are a much softer compound than the kenda K600 series that she most likely has on right now. For around 100-110 mounted that sounds like a worthy expirement.

[riverszzr]

Originally Posted by usernamedoug

You guys are being seriously unhelpful. I already know pirelli makes the demons in about every size imagineable so only bias ply? Come on. This girl while a new rider is learning and getting comfortable really quick, when her pace comes up near the end of the season I more worry about the tires overheating and losing grip

Any rider, new, old, male or female should get used to riding on tires that "slip". hell even the stickiest of pure full on race tires can "slip". Too many riders today buy the stickiest best rubber they can get and then wonder why they never actually improve as a rider, plus they can never give any real feedback on what the bike is doing-to aid in suspension set up and adjustment etc...

I wouldn't worry about over riding the tires, a rider needs to learn what the bike feedback is telling you before you can really go fast, and one of the best ways to do that is with crap tires that are all sorts of loose. You learn real fast how the bike responds to inputs and if not careful just as fast you'll learn how hard asphalt is when you land on it at speed.

BT45's seem to be the tire of choice for the trackday junkies up here on the bikes where the sizing is odd and choices very limited. Here seem to be the choices;

Pirelli sport demon
Bridgestone BT45
Dunlop GT501
Metzeler Lasertec----------I run these on my 250 ninja
Pirelli MT75
Avon AM63 Viper Stryke
Pirelli Diablo Scooter---I ran these once and they weren't bad
Dunlop GT301

I don't like Kenda's much, besides the fact they always take lots and lots of weight to balance, they rarely are actually round and most of the people who install them are cheap bastards just looking to dump the bike on some unsuspecting sole and say "It has brand new tires" imo... I rarely see someone who had them on a bike get them a second time...I think maybe 2 times in the last decade that has happened.

[Süsser Tod]

Originally Posted by usernamedoug

You guys are being seriously unhelpful. I already know pirelli makes the demons in about every size imagineable so only bias ply? Come on. This girl while a new rider is learning and getting comfortable really quick, when her pace comes up near the end of the season I more worry about the tires overheating and losing grip

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