Shinko, again...

[fiddle mike]

I just read a handful of posts from Oct.2010 concerning Shinko tires.  The reviews were mostly negative, but I gathered that they handn't been producing Valk tires for very long.  Does anyone have recent experience with them?

[BIG--T]

I just read a handful of posts from Oct.2010 concerning Shinko tires.  The reviews were mostly negative, but I gathered that they handn't been producing Valk tires for very long.  Does anyone have recent experience with them?

I bought  a 230 for the front and had great reviews although I haven't put it on yet. I think there was trouble and a recall with the 747 and 757.

[fiddle mike]

I bought  a 230 for the front and had great reviews although I haven't put it on yet. I think there was trouble and a recall with the 747 and 757.

I read positive reviews on a couple of sport bike forums.

[Jack]

I have a rear Shinko mounted on the front of my Valk.  Handles well.  Been on there a year.

[fiddle mike]

I have a rear Shinko mounted on the front of my Valk.  Handles well.  Been on there a year.

Where did you buy it, Jack?

[Ricky-D]

I had been running a Shinko 727 or 747 on the front, I can't recall which one, and got a puncture in the front and plugged it.  The tire was a 150/80/17  front tire.

About a week or less later I noticed a couple of ply separations (large Bubbles) 180 degrees from where I plugged the tire so I do not think the plugging exercise had anything to do with it.
I would not, out of hand, say the plugging was not the fault and caused the ply separation because it is surely possible.

The tire had accumulated about 6ooo to 7000 miles and looked to still have that much left on it.

***

[Tropic traveler]

Bought a Shinko for the front from JP Cycles. Before I put it on Shinko recalled it & JP gave me a Metzler 880 to replace it. Said they would pay to have the Shinko taken off & the Metz put back on if I had installed it. Finally installed the Metz on Labor day. 
Must have been pretty important to get them back if they were willing to go to the lengths they stated to retrieve the Shinkos! 

[fiddle mike]

Bought a Shinko for the front from JP Cycles. Before I put it on Shinko recalled it & JP gave me a Metzler 880 to replace it. ...

That's all I need to hear. Thanks for the info.

[tybme]

Shinko had a voluntary recall on a model that had a size to fit the front of the Valkyrie - I am drawing a blank on the model number but pretty sure it was in the 700's

I have not yet run Shinkos on my Valk (I have a front and rear ready to mount this winter) but here is my story and what I know.

I buy my tires from a shop in Topeka KS that does repair work and does not do bike sales. I buy from them because the owner believes in passing on. Dunlop gives it sellers a discount of 15-20% if their sales hit a certain number. This owner passes that savings on to the buyer instead of pocketing it like most dealers. I have had friends come 120 miles to get tires from him because he is so much cheaper than anywhere else (at least when it comes to Dunlop and e3's).
6 months before I bought my Valk I was riding a '86 goldwing. The shop owner is used to me coming in for E3's at least once a year so when I showed up and asked him what he recommended he was a bit taken back. He asked me how aggressive a rider I am. We talked about it for a bit and he told me to sit down. He then said - you should try Shinko out. You know I do allot of sport bike work and 75% of my sport bike customers SWEAR by Shinko. I gave it some thought, went home did some more research, gave it some more thought. Funny thing about my research, allot of naysayers against Shinko but every single nayayer had never actually tried Shinko. The people who reviewed them and had actually tried them gave them good marks. So I gave it a shot. I bought a set of Shinkos for what just the rear E3 cost me. I put them on and drove a whole 15 miles before I sold the wing for the Valk. So I too can't give much of a personal review, but I and the guy I sold the wing to keep in touch. He has raved about them. Best tire he has ever run. No issues and loves how they handle in the rain. Labor day weekend we ended up at the same rally. I was looking at the tires and asked him if he had replaced them with new Shinkos. He said no that was the same set. I couldn't believe it - he had 50-75% tread left and had put on 14k miles.
I'll giving them a shot next year and I'll post my personal experiences then.

[Tropic traveler]

I had not heard anything bad about Shinko either. It was the 757 series. I never got to try it out before they sent me the notice so I can't comment on ride quality. The tread left on the Dunlop I wanted to replace was decent so I wasn't in a rush to swap it out, just wanted to replace it because of unknown age. It was on the '99 when I bought the bike.
The prices of the Shinko Valk size tires was very good & since the '99 was an extra bike I decided to give it a go. Since I bought the Shinko I have upgraded my equipment to be able to change tires myself. I have found that Jake Wilson has Avons, Metzlers etc., brands I am familiar with for great prices & no shipping charges so I'll stick with them from now on! 

 

[Farther]

These look like a good option, anybody know who sells them?  http://www.shinkotireusa.com/product/product.php?id=72

[fiddle mike]

These look like a good option, anybody know who sells them?  http://www.shinkotireusa.com/product/product.php?id=72

American Motorcycle Tire has some.
http://www.americanmototire.com/catalog/index.php?manufacturers_id=697&osCsid=46a66181d82ed9fc4fc8d2b3532b385e

http://www.americanmototire.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=5143

[Jack]

FM, just checked the thread.  I bought the tire on-line.  Have forgotten where.  It is shorter than stock and I am at work so don't have the size readily available.  Sorry.  Handles fine and I watch it like I woould any tire to be sure of possible defects.  None so far.  I'm happy with it.  Think I paid like $75 delivered.

[98valk]

good thread about rear tire on front including shinko

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,12541.40.html

see pics of my Conti-go in thread. motorcyclesuperstore had it for $99.

I installed the continental Conti-Go rear tire 130/90-17 V-rated tire on the front.
tread depth is .223".  Tire installed OD @ 42psi is 26" which is less than the advertised 26.85".
Actually this turned out to be OK for my std, as the ODO is spot on now and the speedo is approx 5mph fast, put the needle on 75mph and actually doing 70mph.
This tire handles very nice after putting 500 miles on it. I like it better than the metzler I took off. Always a nice smooth transition thru the curves, holds the line and doesn't all of a sudden fall over more than one was expecting like the metzler did sometimes. Running E-3 on the back already for about 1k miles.
With both tires the handling is much more confidence inspiring than ever before.

 

[PAVALKER]

I had a set of Shinko 747's as shelf spares, and a year after I got em they were recalled for delamination and replaced with Shinko 757's.  I liked the compound of the 757s and thought they would be a good tire.  Again the 757's were sitting on the shelf for a year as shelf spares and those were also recalled due to delamination issues and replaced with Metzler Me880's.  I sold the VTX and now just have the Valk (and my antique CL350) so I now have the ME880's mounted on spare Valk wheels for when they are needed......  before they could have went on either the Valk or VTX.

No use experience other than recall, but I did hear/read of some good reviews from the sport bike community regarding those tires.   

[Prairie Dog]

I bought a set of 747's from Motorcycle Superstore in the spring of '09 for my '98 Tourer. They have over 8000 miles on them and are about 40% worn. They have performed well in wet and off-pavement touring up here in Canada. I will put on a set of their new SE890's when it's time for replacement.
Prairie Dog
#29422