Korean tires?

[Geoffwhite18]

Riding a motorcycle in the rain isn't the smartest thing to do in the first place. Sometimes it's unavoidable, and the one time I couldn't avoid rain the tires seemed to do fine. They have a pretty dang good tread pattern!

[PaulVS]

I was one of the biggest advocates of Shinko tires.  I got a set of the 005 Ravens (sport-touring) for $144 and free shipping a couple years ago.  Money really wasn't a determining factor for me... I'm not real harsh on tires and they last me a long time...  but I was curious about all the good press they received, and I like bargains.

At that time, it seemed that not many Bandit owners (In the USA anyway) had experience with them... and at that price, I thought they were unquestionably the best-bang-for-the-buck for the 90% of us 'mere mortal' riders.

The wet & dry grip of the Shinkos completely transformed the bike.  I thought my ten year absence from riding was the cause of my handling woes, but I went from a pussy-footer-rider with the stock Macadam 100's... to being MUCH more confident in the curvy stuff again.

However.... the price has gone up on them to around $180 a set PLUS shipping... and although I think they are still good and underrated tires, that's just too close in price to other brands that I would like to try... like the Pirelli Diablo Strada, Conti RA's, or a few others.

[txbanditrydr]

I was one of the biggest advocates of Shinko tires.  I got a set of the 005 Ravens (sport-touring) ........

Hmmm... must be a hybrid   

005 Advance or 009 Raven.... I prefer the Raven for sport-touring and the Michelin Pilot Power for hard cornering. 

[PaulVS]

Ooops... yeah... 005 Advance.   

[China Greg]

2000-mile review on the Raven sport-tourers

Still have a slight "wiggle" at lower speeds (30-50)... don't know if that is due to my rough mounting methods or tire deformity. But it has gotten slightly better.
I dropped the steering head about 1/4 on an inch, and that helped the "tall" feeling.. also tightened-up the front suspension about 1/2 a turn... now handling is better and stable enough. I'm not afraid to lean the bike over moderately hard or quickly. Wear so far (2000 miles) is minimal. No rain experience yet.

So far, my feeling is that they don't feel as performance nice as, say, Bridgestone BT021's... but a LOT cheaper (cost me $170, including shipping), and seem decent enough all around.

Maybe a great tire for burining-off on long-trips, or if you're strapped for cash.

[Geoffwhite18]

I defenently agree with that.

[gyrogearcrunch]

Yup.... Shinkos rock for the price with reasonable expectations.  We have a long running thread around here with several other's opinions - the vast majority are positive.  Good mileage life and decent grip for such long life - not to say you can't break them loose...  use common sense.  I have a spare rear wheel set up with the Raven for work commute - the other has a Pilot Power for the weekend twisties.

Glad your liking them...

Had to replace a badly worn rear tire last week. All I could get on such short notice was a used "Shinko Advance" ($20). It seems to have a little more than half ite tread left. A ride today left a positive impression with regard to road feel and handling. What's the difference between the "Advance" and the "Raven" models of this brand?

[gyrogearcrunch]

Yeah.... click here for lots of feedback on Shinko.  We have a bunch of fans here.

Either the link to the Shinkos in your post ("here") doesn't work or my confuser is timing out looking for it.

[China Greg]

Had the B12 out today here in New York... an unusually warm December day, (about 60 degrees), with a fair amount of snow-melt water on the roads.
 
I find the rear tire to be a little skittish on the wet patches. Like, it would kick out slightly.. an inch or two... occasionally, but nothing scary or dramatic. Just a little twitch. Seems like the compound is a little bit hard or "plastic-y".

Wear so far (about 3000 miles) is very good; better than Bridgestones or other expensive tires. Strengthens my hard compound theory.

The front "wiggle" I have experienced from the beginning is still there, but not so pronounced. If I lean out over the front of my bike at speed I can see the center-line of the tire moving back and forth slightly, so I'm guessing the tire itself is out of true,  (not damage resulting from my heavy-handed mounting method). And yes, the balancing was done professionally.

The tires are TALL. The front sidewall is about 1/2 an inch taller than those on my old Bridgestone BT-020's. I wonder if these are REALLY "-70-" s as they claim... seems more like an "-80-" height.

Still, I'm having fun beating the zhit out of the things, and they wear and hold DECENTLY enough so far. For $179 a pair, they are doing the job.

But when these wear out, I'll probably go back to ($$) Bridgestone's for the Summer.

More later as they wear!

[PaulVS]

The Shinko Advance 005 is a sport-touring tire.
The Shinko Raven 009 is a touring-sport tire.

Comparing the Raven 009 to the Bridgestones isn't really a fair comparison.  You're going to get about twice as much life out of the Ravens... at the expense of some grip and handling capabilities.

The Advance 005 would be a better comparison.

Personally, Bridgestone & Dunlop would be last on my list.  Pirelli, Metzeler, and Michelin all have better offerings that seem to give much longer wear with similar or better grip.

Just my $.02 worth.

[txbanditrydr]

Either the link to the Shinkos in your post ("here") doesn't work or my confuser is timing out looking for it.

Link fixed and HERE IT IS AGAIN for those too lazy to go back a page....   

[China Greg]

Paul -

WHICH Pirelli's, Metzler's etc. would you recommend? 

(PS.. from the things I read about the Raven's, I expected I WAS buying a "sport-touring" tire. Oh well... saves me a little money in these tough times to have the extra mileage!)

[PaulVS]

Paul -

WHICH Pirelli's, Metzler's etc. would you recommend? 

First off... a couple of caveats....

1. I'm very anti-Bridgestone/Dunlop.  I never have heard of a tire that either company has made that gives both good grip and long life.  Seems that I mostly hear things like "My Dunlops were toast at 1800 miles".  Or, "My Bridgestones got slippery after 2000 miles."

2.  My opinion on tires is not based on first-hand experience in most cases.  I have, however, done a ton of tire research on various motorcycle forums, and found a lot of common opinions about most of the various tires that are available.

So that being said, my 'short list' of tires would be:

Pirelli Diablo Strada
Metzeler Z6
Continental Road Attacks
Michelin Pilot Road 2
Avon Storms
Shinko Advance 005

The best (streetable) handling tire from what I've heard is the Michelin Pilot Power... at the expense of longevity.  Still... it'll grip better than anything Bridgestone has to offer... and will probably last as long or longer.

[China Greg]

Interesting. Can I see some more Bouncies, please?

[PitterB4]

Yeah.... click here for lots of feedback on Shinko.  We have a bunch of fans here.

Either the link to the Shinkos in your post ("here") doesn't work or my confuser is timing out looking for it.

Uh yeah...  That didn't work so well, did it?  Sorry!  (MUST stop drinking and posting!)