on-road tires for lightweight dualsport

I wouldn't call the Shinko 705 a 50/50 tire...

I never know what to call them. I used my Kenda K761's for 50/50 street/dirt, and my Pirelli Scorp Trails for 75/25 street/dirt. I'm now using the D606/MT21 combo for 5/95 street/dirt.

I guess I rarely use products for what they were intended......I'm stubborn that way.

Nowhere close.....

"Shinko 705 Series Dual Sport Rear Tire

Designed for 80% street and 20% off road, the 705 Series by Shinko gives the long distance adventure dual sport rider a true performance bargain. With an aggressive tread pattern, the 705 rear tire balances superb all weather street handling ability with competent off road capability."

....but I still say a very good tire!

for comparision to above IRC....


Kenda K270............................................................Shinko 244

Kenda^^^^^^^^..................................................SHinko^^^^^^^


I've been running Shinko244s on the front for years, and ChengShin C858 on the rear....I'm going to do Shinko 244 on the rear when i run out of C858s....

The 244's are my "road" tires. The rear is ok in the dirt. The front is terrible.

I run kenda trackmasters in the rear (but I will be trying something else next do not like the "paddle design), and perielli scorp rally pros in the front.

Have put about 1000 miles on these tires so far (550 of them yesterday). Pretty happy with this 705. Gonna order another one for the rear.

kenda k761

So you're a fan of the 761's? Most of the reviews I read on here were negative, especially with regards to performance in wet weather and we're heading into wintertime...

What size Shinko is that on the rear?

IIRC, of Kenda, Shinko, or IRC, one of the three of these has a softer rubber compound and feel squirelly on the road. I think it was the Kenda. The harder one wears better too. If I'm not mistaken it's the IRC that's the better tire of this pattern. Which BTW isn't supposed be all that great on or off pavement. And they aren't cheap like a shinko either.

Also seems to me that they are for sub-650 bikes or they shred pretty fast and just don't provide enough traction. Max size is a 4.60-18 which is fine for anything sub-650. I always wanted to try one on the TE630 but always opt for a more dirt-oriented tire. That bike isn't that great on the hiway anyway, much preferring dirt roads and trails. I will truck it if it's over a hundred or more miles so knobs suit better.

For a guy commuting or mostly road I would still recommend the M41/40 or 705, and frankly, the FB's are a nicer tire, especially the large rear radial with V-rating.

ran a rear on a dr650 & got the best mileage vs. shinko 705 & a couple others. now i have 761s on both my bikes' front wheels, soon to be rear on the dr350. its a meatier tread for commuting.

About time for a new rear tire and have been pretty happy with the Shinko 705 front, so was going to order a rear. Does anyone have any actual dimensions for the 140/80/17 and 150/70/17? Can't find any specs anywhere online.

Ask and you shall receive my friend.

Here is a new Shinko 705 in a 140/80-17 mounted on my DR650 with a 2.5" wide rear wheel.

The width of the tire is 5.5" as mounted.

The height of the sidewall is 4.25" from the bead of the rim to the crown of the tire at the very top. These figures are actual, as-mounted on my bike.

I hope that helps you out. I'm not sure if the pictures show it, but this is a "meaty" tire for the rear of the DR for a street-oriented tire. I like this size of tire because it, IMO, evens out the asthetics of the tires front rear with the large 21" front and much smaller 17" rear

Thanks. An overall diameter might be a little easier to measure than height from the rim though. Running the numbers on a metric tire converter, looks like the 150/70 is about a 1/4" fatter and a little bit shorter. Can anyone confirm that?

If you are using a rim like what's on my DR (2.5" width) I wouldn't advise using a 150/70-17. I think the 140/80 is pushing it, as in the rim draws the bead of the tire in pretty far, and makes the tire's contact patch a little more rounded than it probably is intended to be?

As far as diameter goes; 140mm is 5.51 inches. 150mm is 5.9 inches.

5.51 X .80 (aspect ratio) = 4.4 inch sidewall

5.90 x .70 (aspect ratio)= 4.13 inch sidewall

17" rim with 8.8 inches of sidewall (top/bottom) gives the diameter of the wheel/tire combo.

Youi are right the kendas were the squirly ones on pavement. Not sure if it was due to softer rubber. But the pugs are much smaller. Compare the two, shinko/kenda side by side and you will notice that the kenda has much larger voids and smaller knobs. Better in the dirt but worse on the pavement.

Thanks. I understand how the tire size thing works, but a lot of tires deviate from their stated sizes. That's why I was asking about actual measurements. And I'm mounting these tires on a set of dedicated street wheels with a 4.25 rim on the back. Have a 150/70 on there right now, but would prefer something a little bit taller (gearing). Narrower wouldn't be a bad thing either. And the 140 is about $30 cheaper. Ah, but I didn't think about that rim actually being too wide for a 140/80.