Kumho Ecsta AST Tire Question

[007james]

Installed Khumo rear tire

Hi Mike & All, well, I finally installed another Khumo rear tire on my 2012 RT Limited yesterday. Actual miles of my last Khumo at installation was 14,673 miles. Not bad, I'd say. I'd post a photo if I could figure out how, from my iPad where I have the photo of the old Khumo with just over 14,000 miles on it. I know I could have gotten over 15,000 on it, as the wear marks were not yet gone, but I had oil and service, and Spark Plugs changed, so took advantage of having my Dealer change the Khumo. I am a die hard Fan of the Khumo rear tire for my Spyder.,I agree that BRP should deli ver all new Spyders with Khumo tires,...along with proper Alignment of tires. By the way, my Spyder clocked 32,300 miles at rear tire installation, so this is the 4 th rear tire. Two OEM Kendra's, and now the 2nd Khumo. I had my Dealer slightly adjust the Toe Out of one of my front tires, that is wearing, to correct my wear problem on the inside of my right front. I have a new pair of Bridgestones ready to install when I change out the Kendra's.

......Not a dreamer........But if you follow the MONEY you will learn why BRP and KENDA are in BED :roflblack::roflblack::roflblack::roflblack::roflblack::roflblack::roflblack::roflblack::roflblack::roflblack::roflblack::roflblack::roflblack:.......:agree:......Mike :thumbup:

 

[AeroPilot]

Replaced the wifes Kenda last Spring with a Kumho...

Just put 2 Kumhos on the front so now she has an all Kumho ride. Fronts balanced up better with the Kumho Solus KH16 and roll very nice. Also ordered 2 Kumho Ecsta ASTs for the rears on our bikes, since we both have about 6,000 on the rears again. Very happy with the ride and longevity of the Kumhos. Only have 6,000 miles on the front 15" Kendas, and they are starting to feather like the wifes OEM set. Both bikes were aligned, different dealers/alignment, so it must be the Kendas. Had the OEM tires flipped (remounted) and rebalanced and hope to get another 6K out of the fronts before I try something else.... Looking forward to more miles and smiles this weekend!!

 

[Koop]

+1 for Kumho on the Spyder. I have Kumho Solus 175/65R14 on front and the Kumho Ecsta 225/55R15 on the rear. Whoever said the Ecsta was being discontinued in an older post was incorrect. The DOT code shows my Kumho Ecsta was made late in 2015. I have no complaints about handling or traction with this set up.

BTW - Kenda tires are made in China where they specialize in such high performance applications as golf carts, wheel barrels and dollies. BRP is with them for the money. The only reason I can come up with for the sidewall markings calling them special motorcycle tires is to prevent anyone from mounting them on a car - they cannot meet the load requirement for a car.

 

[Gasman129]

Would love to put these on my ryde and have done my research. Issue is. The only dealer remotely close to me that laser aligns will touch my ryde unless factory tires are put on.

 

[AeroPilot]

Get your alignment done with the old skins, then put your choice of tires on Uself

Would love to put these on my ryde and have done my research. Issue is. The only dealer remotely close to me that laser aligns will touch my ryde unless factory tires are put on.

OR catch Squared Away or Precisyon sometime when they're coming East and get a top notch alignment!! Or schedule a trip to Springfield MO and have Pitbull or Lamonster set you straight.

May not be the most convenient to you, but I like to have choices to meet what I think a tire should ride and wear like!!
Check out some of the Spyder tire change you tube tutorials to see if they fit your toolset and skills. A smooth ride is your reward:clap:

 

[Peter Aawen]

.......The only dealer remotely close to me that laser aligns will touch my ryde unless factory tires are put on.

Im not 100% on this but still 'pretty sure' that in this country (Aus) so long as you are proposing running a tire that matches the necessary bead profile (in this instance, passenger car profile) & meets or exceeds the load & speed ratings specified, then any dealer AND any manufacturer who does the above could be charged with & fined massively for colluding to create a monopoly & restrictive trade practices as well as being ordered to cease said practices immediately.... & I thought that our laws on this sort of stuff were closely modelled on the US laws.

There are very few Passenger Car tires made that don't significantly exceed the speed & load ratings of the Kenda & as specified by BRP; the bead profile on the Spyder rims & the Kenda tires is identical to the mandated passenger car profile; and there is NO way that the crappy Kenda tires match or even get close to most passenger car tires in terms of the ride, handling, wear, or traction ratings they get awarded by independent authorities! :shocked:

As for those who haven't yet tried passenger car tires on their Spyder's for whatever reason, they simply don't realise yet how much better all round their Spyder could be with 'real' tires fitted instead of the Kenda crap - and their Nanny would just lurve having tires to deal with that didn't wear, ride, slip, or have such limited traction as the Kenda's do!! The only reason I can see for BRP &/or dealers to insist on running/fitting such sub-standard tires is to gouge Spyder owners &/or collude in the practices described above - & the prices they charge people for these crappy tires & any associated fitting/alignment work seems to support this assumption....

 

[Gasman129]

Thanks for the replys. My other issue is finding a dealer that would put non-stock on. The two dealers I have here won't tough my ryde unless I buy stock tires. The ryde actually tracks really well so not sure if I would need it aligned.

Sent from my STV100-2 using Tapatalk

 

[coz]

Hey Gasman

If you have a good Indy mc shop in your area, they could easily mount your new tire. Probably much cheaper than any dealer. I use a local Indy shop. He did tires, brake fluid, clutch fluid on my Spyder . He now works on my HD when I need something done.:thumbup:

 

[Gasman129]

Thanks Coz. I am actually in the northern portion of the state. 10 mi from Michigan. Just new at the Spyder and was just concerned about taking it to a non Can Am shop.

Sent from my STV100-2 using Tapatalk

 

[Reginald]

My son has installed these on several spyders and has never had a traction complaint. It will soon be a mute issue though, cause as the toyo proxes went by by so are the kumho's. They stopped making these a while back, in fact this size is disappearing except in a race tire.

Went to the Kumho USA web site and couldn't find a bulletin confirming that this tire was discontinued. They did have other models they discontinued, but not the Kumho Ecsta AST. In fact they were advertising it's availability under the tire sizes chart for the Kumho Ecsta AST 225/50 R15. Not saying it's not true, but where did you get this information? :dontknow: