Author Topic: Kenda tires good and what's the best tire?  (Read 6291 times)

gregspeople250

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Kenda tires good and what's the best tire?
« on: October 21, 2010, 06:04:26 PM »
My used '06 People 250 came with Kendas on it.  They have plenty of rubber and seem okay for the conservative way that I ride.  However, when they are worn out or if the general consensus is that Kendas are not very good, I plan to replace them with the best tires I can find.
Are Kendas good? 
What's the best tire for dry traction that's available in the right size for this scoot'?
Honda Elite 80 - SOLD
Yamaha Vino 125 - SOLD
Kymco People 250 - SOLD
Kymco Like 200i - SOLD
Vespa 250 GTS - SOLD
Piaggio BV350 - FUN! - SOLD
Buddy 170i - FUN! - SOLD
Honda Silverwing - SOLD
Yamaha TMAX - OUTSTANDING! - SOLD
Honda SH150 - SOLD
Yamaha SMAX - SOLD
Kymco AK550

TechGuy

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Re: Kenda tires good and what's the best tire?
« Reply #1 on: October 21, 2010, 07:11:06 PM »
I replaced my Kendas with Shinkos. I have been real happy with the results. 

I had nasty bad head shake and I have not had any since the new front tire. I changed the rear first (about 10,000 km ago). I wanted a front tire that the center groove crossed the center line of the tire. I felt the center groove allowed the tire to track  on grooved roads and it may have aggravated the head shake tendencies.  The Shinkos tires were what many of the race bike riders were using as track day tires or as street/track  compatible tires.  Many of the racer boys said they were really grippy tires and were cost effective (not cheap).  Cheap tires are hard and last forever but slip when wet. I have not had any slips that I have noticed and I am a heavy guy and ride pretty aggressively.

juice

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Re: Kenda tires good and what's the best tire?
« Reply #2 on: October 21, 2010, 07:34:22 PM »
The motorcycle superstore has rider reviews for most of the tires , they also usually have good prices . Good luck .

gregspeople250

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Re: Kenda tires good and what's the best tire?
« Reply #3 on: October 21, 2010, 10:13:19 PM »
I found a Metzler called a FeelFree that is a radial that should be a high quality tire.  Has anyone tried this or another of the major brand tires on their People 250?
Honda Elite 80 - SOLD
Yamaha Vino 125 - SOLD
Kymco People 250 - SOLD
Kymco Like 200i - SOLD
Vespa 250 GTS - SOLD
Piaggio BV350 - FUN! - SOLD
Buddy 170i - FUN! - SOLD
Honda Silverwing - SOLD
Yamaha TMAX - OUTSTANDING! - SOLD
Honda SH150 - SOLD
Yamaha SMAX - SOLD
Kymco AK550

lankeeyankee

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Re: Kenda tires good and what's the best tire?
« Reply #4 on: October 21, 2010, 10:36:14 PM »
I dont care for Kenda tires. I have great luck with Shinkos, and Vee Rubber, But you can you can never beat the quality of the Michelin Bopper if you dont mind digging a lil deeper in that pocket.

scosgt

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Re: Kenda tires good and what's the best tire?
« Reply #5 on: October 22, 2010, 01:30:00 AM »
I dont care for Kenda tires. I have great luck with Shinkos, and Vee Rubber, But you can you can never beat the quality of the Michelin Bopper if you dont mind digging a lil deeper in that pocket.

But how well do they work on a 50hp 200 MPH 50cc scooter?

wordslinger

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Re: Kenda tires good and what's the best tire?
« Reply #6 on: October 22, 2010, 01:36:08 AM »
..i'm gonna chime in again with Avon Viper Strykes...

 ;)

..run mine at @ 38-40 psi on my a50..

..they stick like glue even in the rain...

..on dry, hot pavement, it's like your scoot is riding on a rail...

..they are ..relatively speaking, the best tire i've ever bought for ANY vehicle...


..i reckon...   :D
« Last Edit: October 22, 2010, 01:38:01 AM by wordslinger »
..every mod (action) necessitates a (reaction) mod..

scosgt

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Re: Kenda tires good and what's the best tire?
« Reply #7 on: October 22, 2010, 02:34:16 AM »
I have the same AVON tires on both bikes, the SYM and the KYMCO.
I use factory recommended pressure, 25 front/28 rear
They are much smoother than the OEM tires (the ones on the S 200 really sucked) and lean into curves very nicely. I have not experienced any slip on them at all.
But I avoid wet roads like the plague. Call me yellow. Ever since I kissed the pavement in January. On Avon tires. Turns out they are not that good on black ice.
 ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)

wordslinger

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Re: Kenda tires good and what's the best tire?
« Reply #8 on: October 22, 2010, 02:38:04 AM »
Turns out they are not that good on black ice.


..however..i DID have a frikin BLAST in a cold 4 inch snow!!!!
..every mod (action) necessitates a (reaction) mod..

lankeeyankee

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Re: Kenda tires good and what's the best tire?
« Reply #9 on: October 22, 2010, 10:24:58 AM »
But how well do they work on a 50hp 200 MPH 50cc scooter?

Ok until the CVT upshifts around 120 mph then they will start to spin :P

Punk052

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Re: Kenda tires good and what's the best tire?
« Reply #10 on: February 15, 2011, 08:12:23 PM »
I put shinkos on my 250 in a size up in both the front and back. 130/90 120/70. they were only about 115 for the set. they work great in all weather.

Syl

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Re: Kenda tires good and what's the best tire?
« Reply #11 on: April 04, 2011, 11:08:07 PM »
I know I brought this question up some time ago on a different post but will ask it in a different way. I am a lay-man so..... I still have this thing in my head about the type of rubber tire's come with. Ok, year's ago I purchase winter tread's for an auto and in the cold winter they were as hard as rock. I didn't know the difference but I know they were not that good with traction even though they had deep tread's. This is how I heard this, a person asked about my tire's and I told him mine seemed like rock's! He asked me what rating are they (rubber soft or hard) listed something like A to or D rubber, D being the hard rubber with longer wear and the worst traction. Hmmm, I knew nothing about this but was told at that time that there were tire's that were A rated or B rated that are softer rubber, better traction but not wearing. Is there someone on this forum that ever heard this or know's about this and could it relate to Scooter Tire's? Duh me so thank's...

axy

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Re: Kenda tires good and what's the best tire?
« Reply #12 on: April 05, 2011, 08:25:54 AM »
I know I brought this question up some time ago on a different post but will ask it in a different way. I am a lay-man so..... I still have this thing in my head about the type of rubber tire's come with. Ok, year's ago I purchase winter tread's for an auto and in the cold winter they were as hard as rock.

Car winter tires are SOFTER than summer tires.
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Kymco People GT300i 2017 ABS Euro4
Kymco Agility 125 2008

(Past: Kymco People 250S, Piaggio Beverly 200, Kawasaki ZR-7S, Yamaha TW125, Kymco Cobra Cross 50, Peugeot Zenith 50, Piaggio NRG 50 mc2 72 cc Naraku kit)

Syl

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Re: Kenda tires good and what's the best tire?
« Reply #13 on: April 05, 2011, 09:08:12 AM »
Used to have soft summer tires for traction/not wear on a Porshe. Hard rubber tire's were no good for rally's.

axy

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Re: Kenda tires good and what's the best tire?
« Reply #14 on: April 05, 2011, 09:26:53 AM »
Used to have soft summer tires for traction/not wear on a Porshe. Hard rubber tire's were no good for rally's.

One more thing, hard does not necessarily mean "more resistant to wear" and therefore "less traction/worse grip" and vice versa, soft compound does not necessarily mean "less resistant to wear" and therefore "more traction/better grip". These are some of common misconceptions and approximations often heard online/in everyday discussions.

The science of vehicle tires is very, very complex, both from physical and chemical/compositional point of view.
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Kymco People GT300i 2017 ABS Euro4
Kymco Agility 125 2008

(Past: Kymco People 250S, Piaggio Beverly 200, Kawasaki ZR-7S, Yamaha TW125, Kymco Cobra Cross 50, Peugeot Zenith 50, Piaggio NRG 50 mc2 72 cc Naraku kit)

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