Shinko 805. What does the collective know?

Sitting at 2500 miles on the rear (running a TKC80 on the front).


New



Sitting at about 8/32” tread depth on the center lugs at 2,500 miles.



I never checked the factory tread depth so I’m not 100% sure how to gauge the tread wear at this point. Probably an 80/20 mix of street/dirt.

Very impressed with the performance of this tire for the cost. Loaded up on the slab it handles well, and I've had no issues in wet weather. Offroad they’re predictable. I haven’t experienced any unusual side slip or lateral traction issues on dirt roads, only in the sloppy stuff.

-Jake

I just bought Kenda Big Blocks because they were considerably cheaper than the 805s. Hoping they last a decent while on a 250cc bike. If the mileage sucks I may end up with an 805 on the back eventually.

Charles.

I am so flipping intrigued.... I just purchased a regroover. The pics you showed were outstanding. Regrooving could transform the 805 into a legit off-road tire, regardless of conditions.

I'm smart enough to understand that paying attention to tread depth and never grooving deeper than that is critical for safety.

I've also got a whole set of tires on my pickup that are 70% worn and I am going to grove them to help with winter/snow traction.

Ideal Tire Groover Cutter With #4 Blades Grooving Iron IMCA
Total: $93.03

You linked to your personal order details, which we can't view.

the big block is a better tire in my opinion, I have not ran one on a 250cc bike, but on my boxer GS, the big block wins in every category over the 805. ( but they both suck on wet pavement)

... please forgive me if this has been asked too many times already; but during a 2-day BMW Gs offroad course in August the instructors told us not to worry about lowering your pressure. Now, after returning from a 6-day northern half CircumTas 75% on unsealed roads/tracks - I've experienced much improved ride/grip with pressures as low as 24 psi on rear (tkc70). I'm putting on the Shinko 804/805 pair this week. How much lower than 36psi (onroad) have you (or the collective settled on? Thanks for any info.

Considering a 705 for my next tire with significant grooving, until then Jeep tires could find new life haha. #2 blades move quickly without compromising stability

I honestly just run them at street pressure offroad. I may try to lower them but the bike handles well enough to where I haven't bothered yet. 38F/41R

-Jake

I never change from street pressures when I go off-road, and been on trails as well as some rock climbing with my 1090. I’d rather a wee bit of slippage than denting a rim.

Re: regrooving the rear... for side slip improvement would you not groove them the same way as the original... just add more grooves? just curious...

Nice home bar selection!

I bought this knobby knife and grover.
2 tools in 1 vs a dedicated grover only.
https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/hardline-tread-doctor-sniper-kit

Transformed a 1/2 worn out street tire on my Vstrom into a tire I did part if the COBDR on.
I can adjust the depth and take multiple cuts for more width.

I added life to my 606s on my WR with the knobby knife cutting tip too.

I would use the factory grooves and just cut them deeper and wider from day 1.
Side slide is the problem right, and they just need to be more pronounced.

So I've been running these on my DR-Z400S for the past year or so and thought I'd share a couple things I noticed.

First, these tires are wearing like iron on my 320 lb motorcycle. I have to have at least a thousand miles on them, most of that in the past month, and they still look like new. Even the edges are somewhat sharp. At the rate I'm going these tires are going to dry out and rot before I wear the tread down.

Second, they are a bit slick when cold, and it takes more miles than I expected to warm them up. But once warm, they grip very well. Had a nice ride on some local mountain roads this past weekend and I was quite happy about how well they dropped into turns and held the line.

Third, off road they took a little time to get used to because obviously they don't hook up as well as the knobbies I'm used to, but after a few miles I was able to get comfortable enough to enjoy the socal mountain trails (mostly loose rock, decomposed granite and sand over hand pack). I just had to take it slower than with aggressive knobbies.

Overall, I'm quite happy with these tires. I bought them mostly for road use, but I wanted to be able to take that off road detour when one presented itself. And for that, they are excellent.

To chime in here, I have almost 2000 miles on my Kenda Big blocks, on a 19hp 250 twin, and I doubt they'll make it to 3000 miles. I'll be putting some 805s on it next.

Charles.

Been running Shinko 804/805s for the past 2 years. Good on dry/wet road and not too shabby off road. Yes you have to tone it down off road a bit but still respectable performance. Did the Vermont PDR last fall with them and no issues. Front wears like iron. Rear's at about 50%. Will try to hit the MABDR with them in June if the border restriction eases. Not too much swearing when spooning on neither.

I put a set on my Tiger at the end of January to replace Mitas E07s, but then I got hurt and things started to go haywire, so they only have a handful of rides on them. Overall happy with them so far. The E07 is better performance wise, but price and ease of mounting definitely go to the 804/805. There have been a couple of moments where the back tire was like a cat chasing a laser pointer, but I'm not acting crazy on a big bike anyway. Street performance is pretty good. I've already tested them up to...never mind exactly how fast, but pretty fast.

I need to give it time before I decide if I will buy them again.

The only real issue I have run into with the 805 is the tire carcass isn't very puncture resistant.

It works quite well for the price.

I would have to agree. I noticed a small cut in the sidewall the other day, luckily it didn't go all the way through because the tires are still kinda new-ish! Used some high-quality silicone glue and it seems fine so far...

In all fairness I've been beating the crap out of these tires offroad and on including a 9-day stint in the Death Valley area. If they can survive that and my local riding here in Nevada they get two thumbs up!

The puncture issue is mostly a small one, as I've only had one flat in 30k miles on these tires, but a puncture was what led to me trying a different tire, as well as sealing my rear wheel to run tubeless.
So far I've been happy with both the tire change, and outcome of the rim sealing. The goal was ease of flat repair in the form of gummy worm style plugs as opposed to disassembling to patch a tube.
It's been about 4000 miles so far and I'm all smiles, although my Kenda Big Block rear is definitely wearing faster than my 805's did.