pen your Parts Unlimited catalogs and flip to the Kenda tire pages. You’ll be there a while. Kenda Tires has some pretty interesting offerings, and the prices, well; you’ll have a hard time beating them. Founded in 1962, Kenda has delivered quality, innovation and service to a wide variety of industrial customers for decades, and that same commitment shows up here. Kenda’s U.S. design team for the motorcycle market, located in Phoenix, Arizona, and headed by longtime industry vet Frank Stacy, continuously studies what riders want and responds to those needs. This is a hands-on R&D team, too. Working with pro racers like Steve Hatch/Throttlehead.com and Joe and Heather Byrd, and with talented grass-roots amateurs like Jeff Stoess and Michael Hall, Kenda takes every bit of input it gets and pours it straight into its production tires. It’s a unique approach, and it’s real world. Kenda’s tires are designed, developed and produced especially for everyday riders looking for performance, reliability, durability and a great price.
     The Kenda motorcycle division has something for everyone, too. There are street tires, sport tires, cruising bike tires, ATV tires, scooter tires and there are even tires for trailers. What Kenda really hangs its hat on, though, is the whole lineup of off-road and motocross tires. Tires like the Southwick, the Millville and the Carlsbad put this company on the map. There are two new ones now, too, the Budds Creek and the Washougal, and that’s just the start of what’s new with Kenda. At this year’s Indy Expo Kenda unveiled almost 20 new tires, each one coming with features and innovations available nowhere else. Take a look through those catalogs; it’s worth the time.
     Picking the right Kenda tire is easy, too. These off-road tires are all named after well-known tracks where their specific design works best. The Millville, for example, is for loam to loose-dirt conditions, similar to those found at Millville. Same thing for the Southwick and its tall knobs that dig into the sand or the mud, or the Carlsbad that is designed for that kind of hard-pack terrain. You can add the Budds Creek and Washougal to that list now, too.
     Here’s something else brand-new from Kenda. Every one of those off-road tires–with the sole exception of the soft-terrain Southwick which wouldn’t need it anyway–is now available in a choice of compounds. You can get the standard Kenda compound or a new, sticky compound that grabs tight the warmer it gets. Think about it. That sticky compound will work great on hard-packed or icy trails, and anywhere there’s a cement starting pad the tire will hook up and launch. No one needs to tell you the advantages of a big jump at the start. Kenda’s sticky compounds will prove their worth at tracks developing a “blue line” through a corner or two, as well. It’ll give riders that extra edge going in and coming out. That option of a sticky compound in an off-road tire is a Kenda exclusive, and it’s the best of both worlds. These tires will work great anywhere on the track because of their basic design, and there’s the added advantage of also working great in situations needing just that little bit more traction.
     Kenda off-road tires are available in all the sizes riders need, and there are plenty of tires sized for the youth market, too. Each one carries a price that’s hard to ignore. As a rule, you’ll find Kenda’s off-road tires to be $20 or $30 less expensive than other brands in comparable sizes.
     Kenda has plenty for ATV riders, too. There are racing, cross-country and radial-design tires all available. The Kenda MX Klaw is an especially popular model. It’s a great mixed-terrain racing tire, and this year there are new compounds and designs here, too. The same applies to the Kenda ATV Knarly, a beefy tire focused on Baja-like conditions.      There are three versions of it available now, hard terrain, soft terrain and cross-country–HT, ST and XC. And there are Kenda ATV radials. The Bounty Hunter radial is great for the steering and stability of any ATV. Arctic Cat and Polaris use this one as OE, if that tells you anything. Kenda’s second-generation Bear Claw EXs, the 573s, are available now, too. They’re lightweight tires that work in a variety of situations, and there are half a dozen OE replacement tires available, as well, tires like the Dominator, Viper and Scorpion to name a few. And definitely take a look at the new 575 rear and 574 fronts from Kenda. These ATV tires are priced to sell. The suggested retail is around $65 for a big 25 x 11-12.
     As all encompassing as this off-road and ATV lineup is, take a look at some of the Kenda street tires, too. The K673 KRUZ, for example, is a bias-ply cruising tire focused right on the metric cruiser market. It’s a good-performing all-around tire, and for the money it can’t be beat. There are Sport Challengers and more aggressive cruiser-bike tires, too, and without much exaggeration it’s safe to say you could put a set of these Kendas on a bike for about what you’d pay for just one rear tire bought somewhere else.
     All this should make it pretty clear that stocking and selling Kenda is a win/win/win situation. The tires work great, they last as long or longer than anything on the market, and they generally cost $20 to $30 less than other tires in comparable sizes. What’s not to like? Go ahead and add one more “Win” to that Kenda list, too. Those off-road tires, remember, are the only ones on the market available in that “sticky” compound. You can get them all through Parts Unlimited, so call your rep for more info today.

The Bounty Hunter radial from Kenda is a great choice for any ATV, and comes as OE on the Polaris and Arctic Cat.

Kenda’s ATV Knarly is built tough for Baja-like conditions. This one’s available in three versions: hard terrain, soft terrain and cross-country.