Kenda's new Big Block Tires

[RobertAmsterdam]

Me too

I am very curious how the tyre will perform on (wet) pavement! They certanly have the best looks ever!

If they perform good as a street tyre I will buy these.

[Motorman]

Due to their design, I suspect they might act a bit like the Conti TKCs and be a bit slippery on wet pavement. Anyone else?

[mouthfulloflake]

I will assume they will behave similar to the TKC80 on wet pavement.

which means that after about 500 miles on the tires, you can no longer use your rear brake without locking the rear tire.

Originally Posted by Motorman

Due to their design, I suspect they might act a bit like the Conti TKCs and be a bit slippery on wet pavement. Anyone else?

[ghostrider1964]

Originally Posted by mouthfulloflake

I will assume they will behave similar to the TKC80 on wet pavement.

which means that after about 500 miles on the tires, you can no longer use your rear brake without locking the rear tire.

I know that is right My TKC is down to nubbs now and I don't even touch my rear brake

[GapRunr]

I don't know about wet pavement yet, but on dry asphalt they are a little more loose than the TKC80's were. They certainly feel like much more of a knobby than the TKC's do when you are running 60 mph. The ride isn't as smooth and they seem a little noisier.

I also got a chance to try them in some loose dirt and slippery mud. This was the kind of mud that is hard to stand on and gets caked up in your wheels easily. They certainly had decent bite in this situation. The front felt almost like it had to much traction, and was reacting to every little rut and groove. It might also be that it was really dark out. Maybe if there had been some daylight I could have been looking further ahead.

If the weather cooperates then I should have a chance to try these out in the rain this week. We're expecting rain and wet snow over the next few days.

[slowoldguy]

What pressure were you running? I didn't notice any looseness on the front with the front at 30/rear at 32. And I ran it pretty much all the way out. Bags on, unloaded, maybe 6 gallons of gas, 247 lb rider. It looked to me that running the highest allowable psi (36) might make it "skittish" so I figured I'd run a little lower. ( I run Tourances at 32/34 or 34/36 for "everyday".) My usual ride has some gravel and some high speed street and I hate stopping and adjusting air 2 or 3 times a ride. Well, actually I don't hate it, 'cuz I don't do it. I try to find an acceptable balance point and just keep it there except on a dedicated dirt/street ride. Gravel/rock roads on max psi is just no fun at all.

[GapRunr]

Originally Posted by slowoldguy

What pressure were you running?

I've got them at 32 front / 36 rear. Bike weighs 580 and I'm about 240 with gear. I may play around with the air pressure a little.

Keep in mind that all of this was the first 50 miles on these tires. I also didn't get a chance to ride in much gravel with them. I went from asphalt to mud.

I'll see what they are like after a good heat cycle or two. I live a few miles from Deals Gap so I should be able to get them heated up a little.

Did you notice how quick the front steers with these? It felt like an oversteer situation with a car, where you turn in and then the front turns so quickly that you feel the back end rotating a little, kind of like carving on skis versus sliding sideways, if that analogy makes any sense.

I'm curious to see how these handle after they are broken in a little.

[More CowBell]

Man I would like to ride Deals Gap!

I just got a Kenda Big Block, Man it looks wide. Ill be mounting it up soon.

[slowoldguy]

The turn in was noticeably quicker than the Tourances, or Shinko's, or Anakees. Can't really compare to the TKC's as I don't have enough miles on them on a 12 GS Adventure. As I was in the first 50 miles, I didn't push them either. Looking forward to your report from the Dragon.

[Get_Bent]

Picking up my GS today from the dealer and have already been looking for different tires.

What do you suppose it would take to get a set of the new Kendas to "tsiklonaut"
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=480532

Those two seem to run the TKCs under all sorts of conditions and seem to be in the perfect spot to provide real world feedback on how the Kenda holds up.

[eakins]

Originally Posted by yellowbirdrs

looks great! Now can someone put some thousand miles on them to see how long they last

the baseline is gonna be mileage & price vrs tkc-80

[GapRunr]

I finally got a chance to ride in the rain with these. It's been raining and cold (38F) the last few days. Traction seems pretty good. Tuesday night after dark a car with no lights on pulled out in front of me when it was raining pretty hard. I grabbed a handful an the ABS didn't even kick in. Seems to be plenty of traction. I haven't had much chance to get them leaned over much more than half way but so far they grip pretty well.

[Motorman]

That's good news! On all fronts.
Hope you had a chance to give her a toot or a one-fingered salute.

[slowoldguy]

That's real good news and better than expected. My rear wheel is headed for a tune-up, so maybe I'll get to join you in a ride report soon. It's just k i l l i n g me .

[bigdave-gs]

I'll pick up your wheel from Ghost tonight and head to Austin Friday. Maybe if he's not too busy he can fix it while I'm in town.....hopefully.