Dunlop Elite III’s were on my 95 Aspencade when I got it. Front tire was brand new and rear appeared to have well over half of original tread. This spring I really had to replace those E III’s. Not being wildly impressed with the Dunlops coupled with personal finances I decided to take my chances on a pair of Kenda Kruze tires. At approximately $180 from American Motorcycle Tire http://www.americanmototire.com including shipping for the pair it seemed worth the gamble.
First impressions when delivered was they appeared well made, lots of meat on the rear tire and likewise for the front. So I packed them into my pickup along with the wheels and headed to my brother’s place where the tire changer and balancer are. My biggest mistake was not getting two replacement valve stems from the local dealership before going the 70 miles to his place. It meant wasted hours driving back to Fargo (yeah, there’s a stupid movie by that name) and back to brother’s place. It won’t happen next time ‘cuz I bought two extras (painful at the dealership price). By the time we finished mounting and balancing it was getting late so brother and I did some serious beer drinking and I went home next day. Oh, guess it’s worth mentioning my brother also bought two to fit his ‘87 Venture Royale and so far our observations have been pretty much the same.
Between 800 and 1000 miles since putting the bike back together I have the following observations: the tires are accurately produced and provide smooth and comfortable highway performance. What are they like above the 100 MPH mark? Sorry, I ain’t the one to give you that information but nothing up to and a little above the 90 mark gave me reason for pause. Straight line riding is quiet and comfortable but in side to side leans the noise levels are similar to the E III’s. Gravel roads don’t feel any different with the Kendas than with Dunlops. Tar snakes feel somewhat spooky, especially in temperatures above 80° when the tar is soft. In curves I got a feeling of the front end wanting to come out from under me when negotiating the tar snakes even though not riding aggressively. OK, let’s not discount the possibility I’ve become a chicken shit at this stage of my life. While visiting our sister in Minneapolis, her next door neighbor verified he had the same feel on the street by their house and he was riding a much lighter bike with a more mainstream brand of tires so the chicken shit possibility still exists. Rain and wet conditions have been minimal but nothing unusual noted during non-aggressive driving.
Kenda seems to have made these not so much for the hard riding, foot peg dragging rider that tends to push the limits. The tires feel like Kenda uses a little stiffer compound that may provide more miles than the softer, stickier compounds you want for pushing the edge.
Comparing these to the Elite III’s one huge difference made itself immediately obvious. Much discussion goes on about the Goldwing 35 to 45 MPH wobble. From the time I picked up my Aspencade it had that wobble and it had a brand new Elite III on the front along with a near new Elite III on the rear. No such problem with the Kenda’s. That’s not something I can explain but it sure doesn’t do much to recommend the Dunlops. As miles pile up the Kenda’s may prove no different but from brand new the Dunlops exhibited this.
Budget allowing, when I gotta replace tires again I want to try a set of the Michelin Pilot GT’s but if finances won’t allow I’ll be OK with Kenda’s again unless their prices have gone bonkers.
