Korean tires?

[China Greg]

Well, in line with the economic slump, I took a chance and bought some cheap Korean tires on Ebay that looked interesting.

I didn't have the $400 needed to go back to Bridgestone BT-021's.. so I opted to risk $165  and try a set of SHINKO "Raven" sport-tour tires. The pattern looked good in the photos, as did the compound, (visually, anyway).

Delivery from a Midwest dealer was prompt.. a few days. I peeled off the horribly-worn Bridgestones (my third set this Summer.. I did a lot of miles). Since I was going On The Cheap, I popped the beads myself using 2x4 levers (against my Jeep rim), and sweated it out with small tire irons. I MAY have tweaked the front bead to the point of damage... maybe not. Anyway, they were on and I paid the shop for balancing them. Slap it all together...Cool enough.

Results after 200 miles:
Tires immediately seemed a little TALL... and fell into a corner surprisingly QUICKLY. I realized that they had a rounder profile than the Bridgestones (maybe more of a sporting profile?).. after a lot of cautious leaning I found them to be pretty stable at high lean angles. So far I've had them leaned pretty far over without musg drama, although the large-sipe blocking pattern allows a little bit of squirm. Still, fairly stable.

There's a slight wiggle around 50 mph, especially when tires are cold.. but that may be due to my heavy-levering during mounting. ?? Also, the tall profile (sidewalls are about 1/4" taller than the BT's) may have affected my rake/trail slightly.

Overall, after 200-300 miles, the tires seem CREDIBLE. They should suffice long enough for me to save up for Springtime replacements.. and actually may last a lot longer than the Bridgestones.

These tires should be good for burning-off on a long trip, or as end-of-season fill-ins. So far so good.

[txbanditrydr]

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...

[PitterB4]

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

[Geoffwhite18]

Yup. I'm another Shinko fan, for the money that is. Personally I like how easily the bike falls into the corners. I have over 3k miles on mine and it has hardly any wear on it. They have a pretty deep tread on them. I had a problem getting mine ballanced, but it might have just been my tires.

[txbanditrydr]

I had a problem getting mine ballanced, but it might have just been my tires.

Same here....  not really a problem but I use more weight with some Shinkos than others...  My last Raven took 2 (very good IMHO) and the most recent Advance took 6.  Since I do my own changes it's easy to try different locations by spinning the wheel within the tire...  that will cut the weight in half usually.

[China Greg]

Wow... surprising that so many know about this brand! I never HEARD of Shinko's before this.

I spent ten years in China working Quality Assurance for a US ball-bearing company (there is just about ZERO bearing production in the US nowadays, sadly). When I was over there, I eventually tried a number of Asian products (flat-screen TV, surround-sound system, tools, etc.), and found that generally the quality was DECENT in most cases. This is what enticed me to try the Shinko's.

My one complaint with the Ravens is a nagging 55-mph wiggle, especially when cold. I don't know if this is -
A)a tire defect
B) glitchy mounting (mine.. heavy-handed with the irons)
C) The tire definitely is taller than the Bridgestones, and I wonder if this isn't changing my geometry enough to cause an over-steer.

Anyone?

[txbanditrydr]

The Raven front tire has a groove down the center IIRC.... that groove has been reportedly the cause of many steering wobbles in all different brands of tires.  The other things to check would be steering head bearing tightness, tire balance, tire pressure and fork pre-load.  A lot of stuff to check out I know but it honestly could be any one of those or a combination.  I have not run a 009 Raven front... I have run the 005 Advance front and found it caused a 45 mph steering wobble but only when you took your hands off the bars.

[terrebandit]

The Raven front tire has a groove down the center IIRC.... that groove has been reportedly the cause of many steering wobbles in all different brands of tires.  The other things to check would be steering head bearing tightness, tire balance, tire pressure and fork pre-load.  A lot of stuff to check out I know but it honestly could be any one of those or a combination.  I have not run a 009 Raven front... I have run the 005 Advance front and found it caused a 45 mph steering wobble but only when you took your hands off the bars.

Jay turned me on to them and they are great tires for the money.  I've got about 3 in my back stock     I have the front tire too and I get no wobbles on a 1G B-12.  My steering head bearing are new and properly adjusted.

[China Greg]

Okay....
WHAT is the proper stearing bearing adjustment?  I recently replaced my head bearings,.. a job I have done a few times before.

[txbanditrydr]

Start by CLICKING HERE then come back with additional questions.

[Red01]

Wow... surprising that so many know about this brand! I never HEARD of Shinko's before this.

Something else you may find interesting about Shinkos then... Remember Yokohama motorcycle tires?  Well, they decided to get out of the m/c biz and sold their tooling and tech to Shinko in 1998. Shinko has been making bicycle tires & tubes since 1946 and is based in Japan.  Currently, their m/c tire engineering is in Japan and the production is carried out in S. Korea.

[Slider]

I notice that no one talks about how they perform when wet, (white knuckle time ). Comments, any of you guys?

Nothing but rain up here in soggyland, but the kelp, clam and sea enema crop is doing fine... just be careful of the latter.

[mwheat308]

I'm on my 2nd set of Shinkos and they are good in the rain for me. I am in Texas so we don't have a huge amount of rain.
I'm going to put a Shinko on the Sportster soon. I need the extra grip since I try to throw it into corners like my Bandit.

[PitterB4]

I notice that no one talks about how they perform when wet, (white knuckle time ). Comments, any of you guys?

Nothing but rain up here in soggyland, but the kelp, clam and sea enema crop is doing fine... just be careful of the latter.

You don't have snow flying up there yet????     How did the Walleye hit up there this year?

[Slider]

I notice that no one talks about how they perform when wet, (white knuckle time ). Comments, any of you guys?

Nothing but rain up here in soggyland, but the kelp, clam and sea enema crop is doing fine... just be careful of the latter.

You don't have snow flying up there yet????     How did the Walleye hit up there this year?

We had a bit that mostly melted on contact -now long gone. It is an anomaly that southern Ontario is south of quite a few parts of U.S.A. One of the stangest phenomenom happens in Detoit. If you cross the bridge to Windsor Canada... you go South! Take a look at a map sometime for shts and giggles.

Don't know about the Walley, (we call 'em pickeral for some reason). I haven't chased 'em for years, though LOTS do and they get 'em too. I've been chasing their big brother, Muskie's. This year family problems followed by a funeral of a previous generation, put the kybosh on my fishing. I usually go northeast, though, and get about one a night... out of a canoe, no lessl. We fish at dusk and continue well into total darkness. They can put a lot of water into the canoe when you land 'em... taste good too.