Shinko Tire Evaluation

back in January I put a Shinko Stealth 190/50/17 on my bike with the
swingarm swap unfortunately I didnt record the miles but am guessing
only about 1500-2000 miles so far very little if any noticable wear

My suspenion was too soft and I have put minor cuts the tire but no broblems so far


This is a softer compound tire so it stands to reason tread life
would be shorter than a touring tire

09/20/12 I installed a Shinko 712 100/90/19 with new Tube tire tube and ballanced
for 80.04 with tax




seems it took quite afew weghts ro balance it but its a 34 year old rim and
i'm running a tube (seems to be common according to other reviews from the net) of

132 reviews of the 712 on one site there were about 10 that leaned more negative than
positive of those 10 2 were trashing the product The rest have ratings from 4 to 5
stars for various caracterisitics.

1 review gives it 5 stars for dry grip and 2 stars for wet pavement the next review
gives it 5 stars for both The common 2 to 3 stars seem to be tread life. the old you
get what you pay for statement.

2 stars from a guy who has 9000 miles on his front with plenty of tread left
and 3 star from a guy who has 3000 miles and says his are shot

researching the reviews has proved as everything else in motorcycling everyone has
a different experience with the same product

I remember one review says he can feel every groove in the road and just below it
another reviev says its the smoothest tire he has ever had on his bike

These tires get a bad rap because they are inexpensive. & as we all agree Tires are
something you dont skimp on.

While I havent looked into the Bridgestone or Dunlop advertising budget or dealer
incentive programs I do know they have a far larger one than Shinko and here in the
States there was a day you got what you paid for but with NAFDA and The US liability
laws allot of what we are paying for is an outsourced product with extreme insurance
& advertising and incintive rates so they can compete in our designer jean world.

I am going to document as best I can my experience with the inexpensive Shinko brand

REAR TIRE
somewhere around 1500 miles as a guess before i start tracking mileage
General experience upto this point

Awesome feel grip is crazy sticky allows for peg dragging turns other than my damaging
the tire no visible wear wet pavement awesome grip even with limited tread

FRONT TIRE
took a lot of weights to balance with tube
60 miles in initial feel a little hard
country roads 2 up feels solid takes transition from blacktop to gravel well

Keep us updated, especially about the rear. I picked up one for my 'Stripfighter 900 because a lot of the ProStreet guys used to use them when they came out.

Later, Doug

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationNo eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationNo eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationJust wanted to add a few things I have been told and some obsevations

Bike Shop owner who mounted my rear tire back in January after I purchased it
off ebay gave me some advice on ordering tires. from internet etc...

Most Tire resellers (not Dealerships) Can generally sell a Tire for what you can order one for
after shipping. His shop charges 20.00 for mounting a tire someone carries in and installs tire for free if purchased from him. (as do a lot of smaller shops) if you mount it yourself makes no difference except if there is a problem with the tire he can stand behid it if he mounts it.

Observation
example cheapest 712 on ebay with 24 negative feedback in last 30 days mostly shipping related
didnt have product backorder etc...

avg price on ebay 68.00

Least expensive Tube 2 negative non tube related feedback

avg 14.00


Wheel weights no negative feedback

avg 8.00

After waiting at minimum a few day upto ?? tire dealer doesnt always have product
Average price for 712 front tire ordered from ebay with tube and wheel weights
for the do it yourselfer
$90.00

Local Bike Shop
Ordered Monday after 3:00 installed by 12:30pm wednesday
$80.04 including 7% sales tax

Rear tire was ordered online
$142.00 I think waited a week to get and 20.00 to have mounted

While talking to him about tires Shinko does not have much markup to use his phrase
hardly any mark up.

Most dealers would rather sell a tire with plenty of room for profit and mor importantly
dealer incentive.

This is starting to sound like an Ad for Shinko which is not my intetion
my observation and evaluation is un biased if these tires turn out to be junk I want it documented so we as enthusiasts dont waste our money

my other conclusion being challenged is to buy locally when possible because sometimes
its cost effective to do so.

Small bike shops are getting to be scarce and if I can put a few dollars of operating capital
in there pocket to keep his service available I will you cant walk into an advance Auto parts and get sprockets nuts for a couple bucks or at any price

Shopping smart may have saved me 20.00 on parts but i was unable to mount my rear by myself
and my luck would've pinched the tube if I had done the front and I dont have a balancer
let alone a spin balancer so in the case of this Particular tire purchase

I saved time and money

Small bike shops are getting to be scarce and if I can put a few dollars of operating capital
in there pocket to keep his service available I will you cant walk into an advance Auto parts and get sprockets nuts for a couple bucks or at any price

Amen. It's hard to find a decent bike shop. And anytime I've walked into an autozone for bike stuff, it's a complete crapshoot (You should have seen their faces when I told them I just wanted some 7mm spark plug wires, but not for a particular car model). If the cost at a local place is fair, I go there before I buy online. I like to keep the helpful businesses running. If they're unfair I buy online, and take my business elsewhere. But guys running internet stores rarely know as much as some old guy who's been running a shop for 50 years.

Del_Herring wrote:

Small bike shops are getting to be scarce and if I can put a few dollars of operating capital
in there pocket to keep his service available I will you cant walk into an advance Auto parts and get sprockets nuts for a couple bucks or at any price

Amen. It's hard to find a decent bike shop. And anytime I've walked into an autozone for bike stuff, it's a complete crapshoot (You should have seen their faces when I told them I just wanted some 7mm spark plug wires, but not for a particular car model). If the cost at a local place is fair, I go there before I buy online. I like to keep the helpful businesses running. If they're unfair I buy online, and take my business elsewhere. But guys running internet stores rarely know as much as some old guy who's been running a shop for 50 years.

Evansville is a good size city and they have several bike dealerships and more than its share of Harley Gods. but only a handfull of of old school japanese oriented shops and most of these guys get too big for their britches after a few years. It's nice to find a small shop that makes his money on service.

ordered my rear tire online 01/2012 tire mfg date is 05/2011
purchased frony tire locally 09/19/12 tire mfg date 07/2012

The rear is more of a specialty tire I would think but i was suprised the front was rhat fresh
it's still warm :laugh: :laugh:

I put the shinko 003 on the front of mine and when you hit blacktop type roads it makes noise. I first thought the guy I was riding with was honking his horn. :laugh: It was that bad, sounded like a bike horn at a distance. So far I have no complaints with it other than the noise but sure I'll either get used to it or it'll go away but it only has a couple hundred miles on it.

Les

I couldnt get the stealth in a 19 thats what my rear is and it's a gripper I'd ne interested in knowing how a stealth rear hooks up given your bikes propensity for breaking the back tre loose during spirited shifting :ohmy:

I went with the Michelin Power One on the back. Ryan Schnitz went 6.907 at 204 mph on one and they claim they last longer. It spun pretty easy for the first couple hundred miles then it got silly sticky.

Les

just an update 648.9 miles on the 712 front tire

still not sure if I like it obviously no visible signs of wear yet

didnt measure the actual tread depth when I purchased it but will put a guage on it
at 1000 mile intervals the first 648 miles were mostly highway type riding avg speed
around 55 70-90 on interstate and some in town riding cant put my finger on it
may check the balance again when I pull it off in a few weeks
when I do the front end swap I will see if it still feels off

first impression it's not a tire I will buy again but my front end is wore out with
leaking fork seals and shot springs I'm sure.

Stuff I didnt notice with the 10 year old dry rotted tire I had on there

good read here mate, i picked up a set of Stealth's a while ago for "project new/oldskool"
the guy i got them off had only done 50 laps on them so they are nicely scrubbed in with
near 99% tread and i only gave the guy $100 AUD.

cant wait to get them rolling.