705 Radials on my 19/17 wheel equipped KTM 950 Adventure. Just mounted my second rear after 6600 miles...the front looks great. I like 'em!
244's, on my dr350. Front tire is ok, great on the slab, but marginal in the dirt. Not enough voids compared to rubber. Also wearing a little funny. The rears however are awesome. Will be getting a second rear for sure.
Well I got them last night and was impressed with how sticky they were new. I loaded them up and headed over to my little local shop to have them spooned on, the owner/mechanic laughed and shook his head saying under his breath, crap tires. So I don't think he likes them! I think he is just upset he didn't make a hundred dollars on mark up!
To add some balance to this thread, they're not my favorite tires. I bought my first set of Shinko 712s about a year ago, coming from several sets of Metzeler Tourance. They felt noticeably squishy. That is, when I leaned over, I think maybe the sidewalls were flexing slightly and I could feel the bike "slide" just a little bit. It never felt dangerous, but it was a little unnerving before I got used to it. I have to also add that the very day I installed the tires I had a puncture. I've had several punctures in other tires previously. The puncture in the Shinko would not seal with a sticky worm right away. Twice my repair failed when I got a few miles down the road and I had to stop again to fix it. After that set wore out (About 12,000 miles) I went back to Metzeler. Then I hit a financial crunch and I just installed another set of Shinko 712. The rear tire came with a flaw on the sidewall. I determined it to be harmless, but it concerned me at first. They have that squishy feeling again, but I'm used to it, and for the set I paid only a little more than $100 shipped. My conclusion is that given a better financial situation, I would not purchase these tires. But, for the price, they do the job. Jamie
Have used up two sets of Shinko 705 front and rear and liked them. The 705 tires lasted about 10K on the rear and changed the front about the same time. They were great on wet and dry pavement and pretty good on gravel roads. Mud... not so much. Decided to try the 244 front and rear for this winter. So far they are doing OK and no wear seen after 1500 miles. They do have the typical knobbie "corner walk" on tight pavement corners... but expected that from a knobby, so just ride it slower on the corners. Here's the Shinko 244 on the rear of the DR650se. Tire size 5.10"X17" and fits great. It was a wiggle to get past the brake calipers. Dave
I had a set of Shinko 009 ravens on my Versys and was very pleased with them. The original OE tires were replaced at 8500 miles and were completely shot, I replaced them with Shinko 009 Raven sport touring tires. I got over 10,000 miles on the rear tire when I replaced it a little prematurely with a Michelin on a road trip this summer. I probably could have gone another 500 miles on the Shinko, but didn't want to risk it far from home. The front is still on the bike and looks like it has plenty of life left. I suspect that when the rear is due again the front will have to be replaced. Overall, for the price I've been very happy with Shinko tires.
Well last night I road home from the bike shop (about 2 miles) and boy do these things feel different! Not good not bad just really different! I plan on putting my normal 100 mile day on them tomorrow and will let you guy's know what I think.
Yep, they do that. I went from Tourances to the 705's and to be honest, for the first 100 miles or so was thinking "I hope these don't last long". Now that I'm used to them, It's all good.
I put a set of Shinko 009 Ravens on my Kawasaki ZR-7. They took a couple of hundred miles to get used to but they were also on a new to me bike. 3,000 miles later and I know I would buy these tires again. <>< Fish
Well made it into work this morning so the first 50 miles are done. So far the feeling is still a little strange at slower speeds, but at hwy speeds things feel normal. Maybe I have just been riding around on a tire that had a flat middle profile for to long! New Tires make me Happy!
word on the skreet is that Shinko is just using the old molds and tech from Yokohama's old moto tire line. So, that's why they're cheap. No R/D cost. Older tread tech. Offshore manufacturing. Lots of riders using them around here with no failures.
