Shinko Tires ??

[bwringer]

If it makes anyone feel better about their quality, Shinkos are made in S. Korea, not China.

Shinko recently came out with a new dual-sport tire that is earning rave reviews from the V-Strom folks, and they're about a third the cost of the usual Metzeler, Michelin, or Avon replacements. I put one on the back of my VX800, and it's fantastic. Saved me $90, too.

Shinko makes good tires.

[Rkt-Rch]

Thanks all !! I hate to remove the Metzler I just put on but for the price of these tires and from what I've heard so far I just might.

I did put a 120/80-90-16 in the front and it fits very well and handles great, but again this was what was on there when I got the bike and before I joined this GS site. Again thanks for the input and info.

[dirtyfingers]

Let me tell you a little story about Shinko's.

I work at a motorcycle shop. A few days ago a customer came in with a partially assembeled sport bike (no bodywork, it was getting painted), and complained of a wobbly front wheel. He had just gotten the wheels chromed, and new Shinko Stealth's put on. I took it for a ride, and you could really feel it, especially around turns. Later, I took off the wheel and put it on the balancer, gave it a spin, Wow. You could see the tire shift laterally 17mm, and the rim was straight as it should be. This thing was molded all wrong. Quality control was on break when that one rolled down the line. I don't know where he got them from, but they said "too bad" and wouldn't warranty it. He wound up buying another Shinko tire anyways. He got it through us this time. The new tire came today, I mounted it and... no more wobbles, no more shifty tire.

[chef1366]

Does Skanko stand for "crash and burn" in Chinese?

[Rkt-Rch]

S. Korea not CHINA and if they use a Red dot for the balance spot I bet it has lead in it...

[errorcauser]

Does Skanko stand for "crash and burn" in Chinese?

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

[cyclefvr2]

you get what you pay for when it comes to tires, i always say spend the money on good tires, there the only thing keeping you safe

[Mysuzyq]

Thanks all !! I hate to remove the Metzler I just put on but for the price of these tires and from what I've heard so far I just might....

There is absolutely no need to remove the new Metz Lazer.....it will work fine with a rear tire from another manufacturer. IIRC, that is one of it's marketing attributes, as mentioned by Metzeler. Change it if you must, but I can tell you I ran a Lazer front with a Sport Demon rear, with absolutely no issues. Followed with a rather unlikely Cheng Shin Hi Max front/ Pirelli rear combo, and coming soon, an Avon Road Rider/ Cheng Shin combo on the 1100E.

Tony.

[Grandpa]

you get what you pay for when it comes to tires, i always say spend the money on good tires, there the only thing keeping you safe

That's why I bought front Shinkos. One for my GK a year ago, the other for my Venture. On both applications the Shinko has proved itself to be a very good tire. I'm referring to the Shinko Roadmaster 230.

Shinko is a good tire. The only factor missing is how long it will last. If I can get close to 10,000 miles out of this tire, it will be an excellent tire.

Mixing tires is no big deal. I've been doing that for 39 years and 500,000 miles on all my bikes. On my Venture I have a Michelin Commander on the rear, and the Shinko Roadmaster on the front. As long as the tire is the correct size and application, any combination should work (granted that some work better than others).

[TheCafeKid]

If it makes anyone feel better about their quality, Shinkos are made in S. Korea, not China.

Shinko recently came out with a new dual-sport tire that is earning rave reviews from the V-Strom folks, and they're about a third the cost of the usual Metzeler, Michelin, or Avon replacements. I put one on the back of my VX800, and it's fantastic. Saved me $90, too.

Shinko makes good tires.

That settles it, If they're good enough for Brian to go burnin on...they're good enough for my 1000G!

[Grandpa]

Josh, the GK had a Shinko up front when I sold it to you, so you've ridden on Shinkos before. It was a Roadmaster 230.

It had a couple of thousand miles by the time I arrived at your house 11 months ago. I may not be as crazy a rider as Brian Wringer, but I'm no slowpoke either.

[TheCafeKid]

Josh, the GK had a Shinko up front when I sold it to you, so you've ridden on Shinkos before. It was a Roadmaster 230.

It had a couple of thousand miles by the time I arrived at your house 11 months ago. I may not be as crazy a rider as Brian Wringer, but I'm no slowpoke either.

Sorry Nick, I hadnt even paid attention. It got new tires (well, a new one up front, and that other wheel you gave me on the back) pretty quick, so i dunno how many more miles I put on it. I ran a Shinko on the back of my 1100G for a little while I think. Actually I might have had that on there at RRR, Do they make one called a Street Shark? Thats what was on it. Not bad, sticky enough, but it saw toothed REALLY quick.

My 1000G will NOT be the corner carving maniac bike that the ES is, so some DECENT tires will be just fine. I will be looking to these when i go to get em!

[TheCafeKid]

I just got a set of the Avons Pos posted for my GS750, 110/90/16F 130/90/17R for about $180 shipped. I would have bought another set of Cheng Shin Hi-Max in the same sizes but they are discontinued and I couldn't find both front and rear at the same outlet. They were and excellent tire for the money! Can't wait to get these Avons mounted up and balanced though.

...as soon as I can figure out where the light spot on the tire is. Mine aren't marked at all, must have been training day at the factory.

/\/\ac

No Mac, Avons BOAST that their tires are PERFECTLY Balanced from the factory. So they have no "dot" on them. Put em on the rims, then balance from there. BTW, watch diving into that first corner on those babies...they WILL quicken up your steering if you're used to Hi Max's. Also, you will need to run higher pressure than Zooks pressure chart tells you. I run 36-38 front, and about 42 in the rear.

[Macmatic]

No Mac, Avons BOAST that their tires are PERFECTLY Balanced from the factory. So they have no "dot" on them. Put em on the rims, then balance from there. BTW, watch diving into that first corner on those babies...they WILL quicken up your steering if you're used to Hi Max's. Also, you will need to run higher pressure than Zooks pressure chart tells you. I run 36-38 front, and about 42 in the rear.

Thanks for the tip on the cornering, mang. I'll take it easy until I've got the mold release off for sure... then its all rt 51 to Illion, rinse and repeat. I'm going to balance the rim and then mount up the tire and recheck. 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.

[edit] Yep, axle across leveled jackstands is how I did it. I'll probably drop $50 on the HF balancing stand by the time I do my next set. I think found the dead heavy spot and started off trying a few different weights across from it until the stops got more random and then dialed it in from there. Never had any problems I felt for the life of the tires but my rear does have no center tread in one area and about 1-2mm left in the center the rest of the way around. Probably bad production tolerances.[/edit]

/\/\ac

[Steve]

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.

/\/\ac

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.

.