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Are the OEM XPS front tires really directional, on '25 S2S?

hogmemberisold

hogmemberisold

Active member
This one has me stumped.

While doing the second oil change and having the RT off the ground with both front wheels off, I kept the wheels separated to keep them going back on the proper side.

They look like they would work either way. I couldn't find any markings on the tires to suggest direction. The owners manual states the tires are made to rotate in one direction only. How can one know what direction that is? Are the newer tires really directional or the manual not updated to reflect the newer XPS tires?
 
If they are marked inside and outside then they are likely just asymmetric and have to be mounted on the rim correctly, but they wont likely be directional in the conventional sense.

If they have arrows on them, they are directional.
 
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XPS tires are just new Kenda offerings. I think Kenda has gotten such a reputation that BRP decided to deflect customers with the new label. But a rose by any other name...
 
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BajaRon said:
XPS tires are just new Kenda offerings. I think Kenda has gotten such a reputation that BRP decided to deflect customers with the new label. But a rose by any other name...

And yes, these tires are obviously directional. As Copperman states, they do have an arrow showing direction of rotation.
Click to expand...
From my experience with a set of one of the XPS branded Kendas I think they are marked improvement over the original Kenda OEM fitment.

However, they may well be still smelling a bit like the manure applied to the roses, I'm not sure.:rolleyes:

I'm reasonably happy with the set I have, but you will have far more evidence across multiple sets than I do.

The thing that drives me crazy though is the asymmetric tread look you get from the front. It brings out some level of OCD that must be floating just below the surface. The original OEM fitments on my 2021 RT LTD looked better, which was possibly about the best thing about them I guess.

Of coarse it may all be psychosomatic with me.:unsure:

Have you experienced any real differences between the original Kenda OEM fitment from the 2021 era and the new XPS branded Kendas, or is it all in my head and you're rolling your eyes back in your head because I drank the Cool-aid?:)
 
Well, I went outside and looked at the tires/wheels again and I don't see anything that shows direction on these XPS tires. I took a pic of both front wheels and can size them up and post them.

@mecsw500 have you looked at your tires on the front to see if you can determine their orientation?
 
hogmemberisold said:
Well, I went outside and looked at the tires/wheels again and I don't see anything that shows direction on these XPS tires. I took a pic of both front wheels and can size them up and post them.

@mecsw500 have you looked at your tires on the front to see if you can determine their orientation?
Click to expand...
I don't see anything text wise that states direction of rotation on the outside of my front tires.

I can't see the insides as the fenders cover most of the tire and I'm too old to take the wheels off.

They look the same as your pictures.

Usually tires sate "Direction of Rotation-->" or "<-- Direction of Rotation" in English text if they are directional. I know the graphics imply a direction, perhaps, kind-of-sort-of, but they usually have text on them making it hyper obvious.

However it is apparently not a DOT rule or a rule in the NHTSA mandated markings requirements that direction of rotation has to be specified on the tire sidewall. It just has to be documented such that the tire fitter knows the correct orientation! This one surprised me, but apparently a label affixed the tire or some other fitment documentation is all that is required.

FMVSS No. 119 applies to motorcycles and it doesn't have to specify direction of rotation specifically on the tire.
FMVSS No. 139 applies to cars and it doesn't have to specify direction of rotation specifically on the tire either.

Your is guess as to whether a Spyder is defined as a car or motorcycle for these legal purposes I don't know.

So, I guess I don't know. Perhaps fill in the form on the Can Am website and ask them so you can figure it out.
 
mecsw500 said:
From my experience with a set of one of the XPS branded Kendas I think they are marked improvement over the original Kenda OEM fitment.

However, they may well be still smelling a bit like the manure applied to the roses, I'm not sure.:rolleyes:

I'm reasonably happy with the set I have, but you will have far more evidence across multiple sets than I do.

The thing that drives me crazy though is the asymmetric tread look you get from the front. It brings out some level of OCD that must be floating just below the surface. The original OEM fitments on my 2021 RT LTD looked better, which was possibly about the best thing about them I guess.

Of coarse it may all be psychosomatic with me.:unsure:

Have you experienced any real differences between the original Kenda OEM fitment from the 2021 era and the new XPS branded Kendas, or is it all in my head and you're rolling your eyes back in your head because I drank the Cool-aid?:)
Click to expand...
I'm not saying that the XPS Kenda's are bad. I don't think they've been around long enough to know what their quality is. Kenda is certainly capable of building a better tire. The Kanines are a step above the original OEM offerings for sure. I do think it's suspicious that BRP refers to them as XPS tires instead of what they are, which is simply another iteration from Kenda.

You have to remember that all of the OEM tires are made to BRP specs. I'm not going to put 100% of the blame on Kenda.
 
BajaRon said:
The directional arrows are stylized, but they are there. Looking at the tread should tell you that they are directional. Looks like someone got them on going the wrong direction.

View attachment 256959
Click to expand...
Front left looks like this. My front Right looks the opposite way around.

So does this mean my front left tire was mounted the wrong way around from the factory?

Front LEFT:

tires - 1.jpeg

Front RIGHT:

tires - 2.jpeg

Sorry the images are crap, but I think you can see enough to tell.

I didn't take the wheels off to see what is embossed on the other side.

That's scary if the factory are installing them backwards on one side?

I suppose it all depends upon whether the other side of the tire I cannot see is a mirror image or not....
 
I'm not that familiar with the XPS tires. I've seen them, but I did not memorize the tread pattern. Seemed to me that they were directional. I need to see the tread pattern.
 
Well, it appears that I have spoken out of turn here. Should have kept my mouth shut. Those are not directional tires. I think the factory is mounting them the way they do so the blocks match as the inside blocks look to be larger than the outside blocks.

So, please disregard what I said. My bad!
 
BajaRon said:
Well, it appears that I have spoken out of turn here. Should have kept my mouth shut. Those are not directional tires. I think the factory is mounting them the way they do so the blocks match as the inside blocks look to be larger than the outside blocks.

So, please disregard what I said. My bad!
Click to expand...
Soooo, back to what I was thinking, we should be able to rotate the wheels if we wanted to. The manual probably hasn't been looked at too close to catch the error?

An Ron, thanks for all your input!
 
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