Tire brand data shows widespread interest
ARI study unveils most searched tire brands
Seven different powersports vehicle segments, and six different tire brands are at the top of the heap in a recent study on tire brands based on website searches.
One thing that seems to be certain among consumers is that their interest is wide and varied when they research tires on dealership websites. According to data provided from the 50 Below/ARI Customer First Website Platform, visitors to powersports dealerships hardly favor a unanimous tire brand. Data shows that AMS (ATV), Kenda (cruiser/V-twin), Continental (dirt bike), Metzeler (dual sport), Bridgestone (scooter), Maxxis (side-by-side) and Metzeler (street bike) ranked first in the study of top 10 tire brands researched during the three months ended April 23.
Only Kenda (ATV) claimed at least four spots in any of the segments. ITP (ATV), ITC (dirt bike) and Dunlop (dirt bike) had three different tires searched among the top 10 in their respective segments. After that, the top tire brands had a maximum of two models searched in each segment.
Here’s a look at how consumers searched for tire products by segment.
ATV — The AMS Swamp Fox All-Season/All-Terrain ATV tire took the top spot, with ITP claiming the next two spots with its Mud Lite ATV Tires and AT 489/MS. Vee Rubber’s Venom II followed in fourth, with Kenda getting the first of its four most-searched ATV tires in at No. 5 with the K299 Bear Claw Aggressive Mud/Snow.
Cruiser/V-twin — Kenda’s K657 Challenger led the pack, with Dunlop (D404), Avon (AV45/AV46 Azaro-St Sport Touring Radial Tires) and Bridgestone (OEM replacement) each taking the first of their two spots in the top 10.
Dirt bike — Continental’s Gelande Sport (GS)-MX Intermediate Terrain came away with the popularity award among dirt bikes, with Pirelli’s Scorpion MXMS Soft to Mid-Hart Terrain MX Tires and XC MS Front/Rear following. IRC and Dunlop took three spots apiece among the seven following most searched tires.
Dual sport — Metzeler was the lone manufacturer to place two tires at the top of the most searched in any particular segment. Its Tourance Dual Sport Tires and Tourance EXP Dual Sport Tires — 95 percent On/5 percent Off brought home the 1-2 spot. Shinko and IRC also landed two tires in the top 10.
Side-by-side — The ever-popular Maxxis Bighorn tires have earned a solid following among UTV riders, as the company checks in at No. 1 among the top 10 most searched side-by-side tires. The Maxxis Bighorn 2.0 Radial Utility ATV Tires ranked No. 8. ITP’s Mud Lite XTR Tires (No. 2) and Terracross R/T XD (No. 4) held strong, with CST’s Ancla Multi-Terrain (No. 3) and Ambush Multi-Terrain (No. 6) landing both brands twice in the top 10.
Street bikes — No. 1 Metzeler, No. 2 Dunlop and No. 3 Michelin all had two tires among the top 10 most searched for street bikes. Metzeler’s Roadtec Z8 Interact Sport Touring took the top spot, with Dunlop’s D404 secod and Michelin’s Pilot Road 2 in third. Bridgestone’s OEM replacement was No. 8, and its Battlax BT-023 Sport Touring Replacement Radial
was 10th.
