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My Shinko Experiment


SpiralGray

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That is a lot of weights for me but then I try to keep from adding any weight(Yes...Anal). The mounter could have broke the bead on the tires and spun them around to get fewer weights most likely. I doubt any dealer is willing to go to the extra hassle. I also like to put the weights just inside the spoke opening so they aren't very obvious. Turn in will initially feel slower due to the flatter profile of the tire but after a while you should adjust to it.

Now get out there and ride. :fing02:

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I retired from conti-general tire I pay $45 for the above tires :fing02: ,and the wheel weights on the rear tire question is the red dot located at the valve stem?That is where it should be.I have seen several michelin rears that have had the same.

But about the generals, Falken tires are a better performance tire.

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Try different tires and find many sets that you like...I have many options and am not brand specific...yes, I really like the michelin PP 2ct thats on the rear now but I paid $215 installed as was on the road and cords showing. I buy tires on ebay, my goal is $200 per set f and r and I have a stack in the garage. Strange stuff like a BT-056 and bt-057...guess what, these are great tires, oem on a busa, I will buy another set and conti road attacks, great tires at a great price..,..I have sets of bt-20s that people hate, well are fine by me at $150 per set is better than that $215 rear PP I bought. I would try shinkos, unless you live in TN/5 miles from the gap or in a riding mecca then these supersoft tires hit your wallet hard...buy an extra wheel, put a PP on it and swap out when are in the twisties. The VFRS sss is ideal for that quick change. Just burning up money $$$ running soft compound tires in a straight line IMO.

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Wow, thats a lot of weights on those wheels....are you sure the changer is good? I would be pretty upset with my wheels back and that much lead...and I dont think its the shinkos either.

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Wow, thats a lot of weights on those wheels....are you sure the changer is good?

The shop is a well-respected race tuning shop in the area that comes highly recommended by a number of people. <shrug>

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If one were doing it himself, one would try balancing the bare wheels alone and see how far out they were, then try balancing the wheels WITH tires, mounting dot correctly aligned as per the tiremaker's spec.

IF they were needing a bunch of weight, debead the tire, rotate as required on the rim, reinflate and rebalance.

Lather, rinse, repeat until you have the least amount of weight possible to acheive proper balance.

BUT, in today's "You want Fries with that?" world, you ain't gonna get that level of service from any shop, period.

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When I change my tires, I can't ever remember the mileage I had on them, so I started writing the mileage on the inside of the tire(usually the rear) with a white paint marker pen

I prefer using an excel spreadsheet where I keep all my maintenance info updated.

Interesting...... I keep a log on my computer, so all my bike info is in one place IE; Tyre milage/pressure ; Torque #s ;Suspention setting ; Maintenance Record ; Do's/don'ts ; How to's ; Etc.

:blink:

I have NO idea how long anything lasts on my bike, apart from gas. I figure I have to replace the tyres every 18 months or so, and the chain'n'sprockets every three years.

As for Shinkos, my VFR750 had them fitted when I bought it in 1999, and while they weren't bad, they didn't inspire confidence either (unlike the Storms fitted to the VFR800). So far, those Shinkos were the worst tyres I've used in the last 10 years, with BT020s being the next worst.

For me, it's not worth the risk swapping to an untried tyre. Thank goodness for forums like VFRD, where you can find out stuff like "what's a good tire?" before you buy! :cool:

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If one were doing it himself, one would try balancing the bare wheels alone and see how far out they were, then try balancing the wheels WITH tires, mounting dot correctly aligned as per the tiremaker's spec.

IF they were needing a bunch of weight, debead the tire, rotate as required on the rim, reinflate and rebalance.

Lather, rinse, repeat until you have the least amount of weight possible to acheive proper balance.

BUT, in today's "You want Fries with that?" world, you ain't gonna get that level of service from any shop, period.

I'd do that for you in my shop! I do it for my own tires...when I have time!!

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I've received a couple of inquiries about tread depth of the tires. I don't have a tread depth measuring do-hickey, and as you may recall from the first post on this thread, I'm a cheap S.O.B., so buying one just to use this once is not an option.

I did take some pictures with a penny in the tread at various spots though.

Front tire, center groove...

DSC_0761.JPG

Front tire, side (not edge) tread...

DSC_0762.JPG

Rear tire, center-most tread...

DSC_0763.JPG

Rear tire, halfway to edge...

DSC_0764.JPG

Rear tire, tread closest to the edge...

DSC_0765.JPG

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I've received a couple of inquiries about tread depth of the tires. I don't have a tread depth measuring do-hickey, and as you may recall from the first post on this thread, I'm a cheap S.O.B., so buying one just to use this once is not an option.

I did take some pictures with a penny in the tread at various spots though.

A penny is the perfect tread measuring device! The tread depth looks good. :laugh:

And with that many weights on the rear, it's obvious he didn't line the heavy spot on the tire up with the heavy spot on the rim correctly, you'd have to break the bead and spin the tire, then rebalance to fix it, but why bother?

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Just my .02, but I had set of Shinko Ravens mounted on my VFR about a month ago. Since then I've put around 500 miles on them and haven't noticed any difference from my Conti's.

In that 500 miles I've ridden some Southern Ohio twisties, straight-up slab, and wet rainy weather. I've not noticed any slipping or loss of traction. I've taken the rear from edge to edge and it felt comfortable. One difference I've noticed is that I have to try a little harder to roll into a turn. My previous tires were a little more oval whereas these are rounder.

So far great tires...and it cost me $155 for a front and rear.

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I have now been looking at the shinkos just for curiosity sake and have my eye on the slicks....thinking about using them every other saturday when I ride with the Ducati guys here. I know they are not "legal" but as long as it's not raining what is the chance of a LEO actually noticing that there are no grooves. Besides they loud exhaust laws here are completely forgotten about wink.gif Everyone has loud pipes!

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Wow, thats a lot of weights on those wheels....are you sure the changer is good?

The shop is a well-respected race tuning shop in the area that comes highly recommended by a number of people. <shrug>

If the installer is good than that is a sign of a poorly built/quality controlled tire IMO. :blink:

Where as Michelin tires need little to no weight when installed. :laugh:

Would like to get your long term report of these tires! :laugh:

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And with that many weights on the rear, it's obvious he didn't line the heavy spot on the tire up with the heavy spot on the rim correctly

I double-checked and it looks like the spot on the tire is not lined up with the valve stem. I suppose I should take the wheel back and have them do it again, but I've not noticed any vibration or other problems, so they seem to be properly balanced.

If the installer is good than that is a sign of a poorly built/quality controlled tire IMO. :laugh:

Where as Michelin tires need little to no weight when installed. :laugh:

For $160 (vs $320) I'll take a few weights on the rim.

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Wow, thats a lot of weights on those wheels....are you sure the changer is good?

The shop is a well-respected race tuning shop in the area that comes highly recommended by a number of people. <shrug>

If the installer is good than that is a sign of a poorly built/quality controlled tire IMO. :huh:

Where as Michelin tires need little to no weight when installed. :cool:

Would like to get your long term report of these tires! :dry:

I think the only way we will ever know is for Baileyrock to put on a set, then run his infamous 400 mile route at his usual warp speed. If Kevin comes back alive and not banged up, they're good tires. If he doesn't come back....well, bad idea.....nevermind.... :laugh: :wheel:

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Went for a 225 mile ride today that covered sweepers, 20 mph corners, and some straight stuff.

Just to summarize:

  • old guy (47)
  • crashed once, it hurt, don't want to do it again
  • never touched down a peg feeler, let alone a knee
  • cheap

Started out the day very tentative as the tires are new and I keep hearing stories like, "those new tires slipped out on me before I knew what was happening and I wasn't going fast or leaned over that far or nothin'." With each corner I'd lean over a little farther than the last one. By about 30 minutes into the ride I wasn't babying it anymore. The tires never slipped or gave me any cause for concern the entire day.

One section we did was this bit of highway heading towards the coast. It doesn't look like much on the map, but it's a series of mostly 20 mph corners that are banked just perfectly. I was going through them at about 35 - 40 (which I know is nothing compared to what some of you probably ride, but that's my normal pace through this section) and I wasn't worried at all, the tires stuck to the pavement just fine.

We're heading out on a ~1300 mile trip on Thursday, so I'll have another report when we get back from that. Heading through northern Washington state, up into the B.C. Okanagan, across to Vancouver and then back around the Olympic Peninsula.

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I have 7k miles on my 009 ravens so far. The rear looks like it is about 50% wore so far and the front still looks fairly new. About 1500 miles ago I noticed the front did start to cup a little bit, so now I have the 45 to 55 head shake. Since about 50 to 75% of my riding is hwy they did flatten out a bit. They handle good in the rain and even when there is 2"+ on the road. If I am tight for cash when these are finished I would probably buy another set. If I can afford it I would try a different set just to see the difference, probably a power/road2 set up. I have had the rear slip 2 times, both times it was from too much throttle on a exit of a turn. They slid maybe a inch and only for a second. I did not have to do anything to stop the slide or even really worry about it it was gentle and slow and they recovered nicely on their own.

Love to hear how long yours last and handle after some wear on them.

Up until about 6k mine looked new you could not tell they had that many miles, I rode with the wife a couple times one weekend and after wards that is when it looked like they were at 50% so not sure how well they can handle the extra weight when they start getting some miles on them. Does not look like it has wore any more since then and that was 1000 miles ago.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just a quick update...

A couple of weeks ago some buddies and I did a trip through Washington and B.C. Over four-and-a-bit days we covered 1600 miles that included freeway, hairpins, sweepers, and everything in between. The pavement we encountered went from fresh, black asphalt to tar-snaked old stuff to pitted and shaled ancient stuff. Temperatures ranged (according to the bike's dash) from mid-60s to just over 100. You can read about the trip here if you want.

The tires didn't falter or slip once. They still look like new. I was able to ride at the limit of what I'm comfortable riding (see post #1 for a bit about how I ride). Some folks have reported head shake during deceleration, but I didn't notice it a bit (although, to be fair, most of those reports are after the tires have a few thousand miles on them).

Obviously I won't know for sure until the tires have a few thousand more miles on them, but at this point I'd definitely buy another set. I think they offer a great balance of price and performance for my needs.

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Very well written and reasoned thread. Enjoyed reading it. I remember when I too went to great lengths to get the most value out of every dollar I spent and not to waste it on overpriced products that don't fit my personal requirements.

My biggest gripes against sport touring tires Macadams, D-205, B-020 and Strada have been uneven wear, cupping and road feed back. I found the bridgestones by far the best of this lot for sport riding/commuting. Less likely to flatten as long as you flogged them in the canyons every weekend or so. Mac were truck tires, dunlops lasted but grip diminished at about 50% of tread wear. Strada gripped well but wore out after about 2k miles. Biggest gripes against sport tires is they wear out so fast. Gets expensive.

I've been running mostly sport and track day left overs lately and am reluctant to buy a set of sport touring tires for no good reason apparently. I'm sure they offer all the performance I need for real world riding but once you sample the roll in quality, hard braking feel, and side grip of a good sport tire it's hard to mentally go back.

Then comes the next delema. I don't want to waste good sport rubber on the fwy and certainly not on a long trip.

My solution is to buy a complete extra set of wheels for the canyons/track and a set for the sport touring. Cheaper than buying two complete bikes. Guess I'm still a cheap bastard afterall.

Better yet, I could try the Pilot Road 2/pilot 2ct combo and see if that is as good as some (BR) says.

post some pictures of the tires as they wear. I'd be interested to see some visual clues as to what they look like after a hard canyon ride.

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Wow, thats a lot of weights on those wheels....are you sure the changer is good?

The shop is a well-respected race tuning shop in the area that comes highly recommended by a number of people. <shrug>

None of the automated balancers do a good job , I always static balance the front on my own. The rear they always double dose the weight, I remove half, works great.

The best in the business and an auto mated balancer , can not provide the post 100 smoothness I can get with a simple static balance

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Sounds like they're decent tires. At least if you're not burning up the back roads or doing a track day.

I better keep with the Pilot Powers. I want something pretty sticky. Must. Open. Throttle. Wide. :laugh:

Expensive, but I've got better mileage than with the sporting Dunlops and Pirellis.

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my current PR2 has about the same amount of weight. no biggie.

i'm pretty sure when this set of tires is toast i'll be just shy of 15,000 kilometres.

glad you're posting info about these tires. i'll certainly give them a try next time.

Wow, thats a lot of weights on those wheels....are you sure the changer is good?

The shop is a well-respected race tuning shop in the area that comes highly recommended by a number of people. <shrug>

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my current PR2 has about the same amount of weight. no biggie.

i'm pretty sure when this set of tires is toast i'll be just shy of 15,000 kilometres.

glad you're posting info about these tires. i'll certainly give them a try next time.

Wow, thats a lot of weights on those wheels....are you sure the changer is good?

The shop is a well-respected race tuning shop in the area that comes highly recommended by a number of people. <shrug>

I associate a carefully manufactured tire with a decreased need for balancing lead. I have fun, but am not a racer, don't often push the limits of traction. Rate of wear would be more important to me. I am noticing that my Dunlops are starting to look like they are flattened in the center.

RB

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Wow, thats a lot of weights on those wheels....are you sure the changer is good?

The shop is a well-respected race tuning shop in the area that comes highly recommended by a number of people. <shrug>

None of the automated balancers do a good job , I always static balance the front on my own. The rear they always double dose the weight, I remove half, works great.

The best in the business and an auto mated balancer , can not provide the post 100 smoothness I can get with a simple static balance

Hi. I was just wondering why you aren't balancing your rear as well if you have a balancer?? Sounds like you need an adapter! :cool: There is a harbor freight version for about $10 works great for a static balancer with a 1/2 rod!

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...temnumber=65079

:wheel:

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