Shinko Tires ??

[posplayr]

To be fair, and if judging from the reviews means anything, these Sinko Tires seem to have a very high "Bang for the Buck" factor

http://reviews.bikebandit.com/3400/13859/reviews.htm

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/viewcart.aspx?A=1&Item=54309&Style=6204&DivisionGroup=3&Division=31&Department=401

I just priced them out for 130/90-17 and 100/90-19 and they are $96 delivered.

[Bufallobiff]

I had a Shinko Tourmaster on the front of my GK when I sold it to TheCafeKid last year. It already had about 3,000 miles on it when delivery was made, and I can assure you this Shinko is one of the best values for the money. It worked great on the GK, which I rode rather briskly.

I have same type of Shinko on the front of my Venture right now. I got it from Motorcycle Superstore at http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/ . Incredible price, and only $9 for shipping. $58.99 plus shipping for my 120/90-18 front tire for the Yamaha Venture. $51.99 for the 100/90-19 or the 110/90-19 front tire most GS shafties use.

I've had the Shinko installed on my Venture for almost 1,000 miles now, and I'm again impressed with this tire. It works well on wet, on metal-grate bridges, on pavement being readied for a new top. The only thing missing is longevity. How long it will last -- that's the big question.

If I can get anywhere close to 10,000 miles out of the present Shinko front tire, and it still performs as well as it does now, it's the buy of the decade.

So, it's a "cheap" tire. I'm a cheap SOB, and proud of it. More $ doesn't assure better quality.

Nick Diaz
Middletown, MD

Put the Tourmaster on the rear of the GS850 and, so far, so good. I haven't had the bike (or tire) long enough to make any generalisations yet. I put Cheng Shins on the Moto-Guzzi (shaft drive) and got 10,000 out of the rear. Not much different than the Mich. Pilot Activ that preceeded it at less than half the cost. Unfortunately Cheng shin is'nt availabel any more so I'm hoping that the Shinko will be as good.

[noobie]

That reminds me, I need to find me a good helmet.

Fulmer AF-D4 (109$) have scored very well in an independent test, together with ZRP-1 ZR-1 (around 80 $ from what I know) and Icon Mainframe.

[cyclefvr2]

those tires really do look good!, and cheap, hell a set for the price of one dunlop,or bridgstone

[posplayr]

I was doing a search for these Shinko tires. Apparently it is a Japanese (Edit out Chinese) company that bought Yokohama tooling for tire production. No gaurantee the materials are teh same, but encouraging. These PODIUM RADIAL maybe of some interest as they come in the larger 18" size for 1st gen gixxer wheels. 160/60-18 and 170/60-18. I have not used them and have instead bought the Dunlop Streetsmart 170/60-18

http://www.shinkotireusa.com/product/product.php?id=6

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/402/116/Motorcycle-Article/Shinko-Stealth-Tire-Review.aspx

About Shinko

Established in 1946, the Shinko Group began as a manufacturer of bicycle tires and tubes in Osaka, Japan that today has become a burgeoning manufacture of rubber products.

In 1998 the Shinko Group purchased the motorcycle tire technology and molds from Yokohama Rubber Co., and began production of these products under the Shinko Tire brand. With manufacturing based in South Korea and design based in Japan, the company has seamlessly combined Japanese engineering and design principles with South Korean production and quality control standards. Today Shinko Tires produces approximately 200,000 motorcycle tires per month.

http://www.ridedirect.com/showCategory.php?id=46

[errorcauser]

I was doing a search for these Shinko tires. Apparently it is a Chinese company that bought Yokohama

Ouote:
"About Shinko

Established in 1946, the Shinko Group began as a manufacturer of bicycle tires and tubes in Osaka, Japan that today has become a burgeoning manufacture of rubber products.

In 1998 the Shinko Group purchased the motorcycle tire technology and molds from Yokohama Rubber Co., and began production of these products under the Shinko Tire brand. With manufacturing based in South Korea and design based in Japan, the company has seamlessly combined Japanese engineering and design principles with South Korean production and quality control standards. Today Shinko Tires produces approximately 200,000 motorcycle tires per month. "


Something about the above quote leads me to believe they're a Japanese company, having the tires manufactured in S. Korea. If that's the case, they'll be mounted on every new japanese motorcycle built and shipped to the showroom.

[Macmatic]

I was doing a search for these Shinko tires. Apparently it is a Chinese company that bought Yokohama tooling for tire production. No gaurantee the materials are teh same, but encouraging. These PODIUM RADIAL maybe of some interest as they come in the larger 18" size for 1st gen gixxer wheels. 160/60-18 and 170/60-18. I have not used them and have instead bought the Dunlop Streetsmart 170/60-18

Thanks, I've got a nice set of '86 GSXR rims and a set of '92 Katana rims that I'm been trying to figure out what to do with (which pair on which project) and was considering selling the GSXR's for a more common size. I think they'll look good on my '82 Kat project though.

/\/\ac

[posplayr]

My Bad, guess they are Japanese Co.

Thanks, I've got a nice set of '86 GSXR rims and a set of '92 Katana rims that I'm been trying to figure out what to do with (which pair on which project) and was considering selling the GSXR's for a more common size. I think they'll look good on my '82 Kat project though.

I have been doing loops looking for some 18" radial tires. I have the 88 1100 rear wheel which is 4.5x18" vs the 86 which would be 4.0x18".

I have a very old 170/60-18 Pirelli mounted on the rim I purchased (dated 1996) , so I went with the Dunlop Roadsmart 170/60-18 rear.

The Avon Av55 Strom 110/80-18 has a similar pattern so I matched it; should have my GSXR conversion done by end of August. My second choice would have been to just stick with Michelin road pilots 2 which come 110/80-18 and 160/60-18. There are a few other option in that size for sport touring v.s. sport tires. I think I read somewhere that the Road Pilots run a little larger. I have a RP 160/60-18 on a 4.0x18" rim I also bought and it is a little flat in profile (not desireable). The 150/60-18" might be the better match and is in fact how the rim is speced out b ySuzuki.

[errorcauser]

My Bad, guess they are Japanese Co.

You had me worried there for a minute, I quickly started searching for helmets again. I just don't trust anything made in China.

I've pretty much wore the molding agent off my tires, so I've been pushing them a little harder. They are a good riding and handling tire. They corner really well, to me anyway. Makes the bike feel real nimble and sure footed. Now if the mileage holds up as well as they ride and handle...we'll see I guess.

[loudest143]

I'm really pleased with my Shinkos. Of course you will get a scoff or two from some old schoolers who can't pull themselves out of their usual brands, but this tire is as advertised.

Sure, lots of great brands out there, but for the money, I'm very impressed. Holds me on the road just fine. We've got a variety of surfaces here in central ohio, too, and lots of climate change. About every 5 minutes some days. hahaha

Give 'em a try.

loudest143

[bakalorz]

You have a good method for balancing you can link to? When I did the Cheng Shins I think I played with weights until they didn't stop in the same quadrant four out of five spins.

Unless you have an electronic balancing machine like the tire shops, just put your axle through the wheel and support it on two jackstands. Rotate the wheel slowly, notice where it stops. Rotate it about 90 degrees, see where it stops. As you mentioned 4 out of 5 is pretty good.

Try this, it works MUCH better: (its hard to explain, but really easy to do)

Put the wheel/axle on the jackstands as above.
But instead of spinning it and seeing where it stops, leave the wheel stationary.
Now just put the tip of your finger on top of the bit of axle sticking out of the wheel and resting on the jackstand.
Now use your fingertip to roll the axle back and forth an inch or two on top of the jackstands ... back and forth, back and forth, back and forth ...
(go as far and fast as is easy/comfortable; half an inch to an inch, 1 or 2 times a second is good, the distance and rate don't matter within very wide margins)

The axle will be rotating as it goes back and forth, but the rotational inertia of the wheel keeps it stationary. So the wheel bearings are alternately transmitting very slight torque clockwise and anticlockwise to the wheel, regardless of if the wheel is turning very slowly or not. And these torques average out to zero, regardless of if the wheel is turning very slowly or not.

What this does is to reduce the (already low) friction of the wheel bearings to effectively almost zero.

So the tiniest bit of imbalance will cause the wheel to rotate to heavy spot down.

It seems like it couldn't work, or magic or something, but it really does work, and work well. If anyone really cared, its possible to prove it works using math and engineering, but thats way to much work for me ...
Just try it and see if it works for you.

Please note that when you are close to balanced, the wheel will only move very slowly because there is very little weight driving it.
Also, it should be obvious, but you have to keep rolling the axle back and forth the whole time you are balancing.

Using that method makes it easy to balance to within less than the smallest increment of wheel weight they sell (1/4 ounce I think)

[Macmatic]

Okay, that makes sense to me. Each little motion of the axle is going to encourage the heavy spot downwards. Or at least down when rolling one way and then the weight will resist motion when rolling the other way. I'll give that a shot!

/\/\ac

[gsgeezer]

Just got some from MotorcycleSuperstore.com
Hopefully they'll work out, I had Metzlers the last couple of tire changes.

[Roger P.]

A motorcycle journalist who posts on another site swears by Shinkos on his personal Bandit 1200.

[danmurphymn]

I have shinkos, not sure if they're 712's but I've put about 1500 miles on them. I bought them for the same reasons, cheap and they get good reviews by everyone but hard core racers. I've been extremely happy with them.