The Tire That No One Wants To Test Ride

[edweird]

The Mystery Tire: Shinko 005 "Advance" radial.

Searches far and wide across every corner of the internet yielded nothing about these things, except for a number of complaints that "searches far and wide across every corner of the internet yielded nothing."

Enter me, the cheap/mildly impoverished guinea pig whose monthly Happybusa payments eat up most of the discretionary monies which would otherwise have been used to buy a pair of new Pilot Powers, after having come away from work last week with a nasty drywall screw in the front tread and wear-bars fully exposed on the rearmost of these stock Bridgestone Battle-Axes, as they are rather melodramatically called.

Does anyone else out there think Bridgestone shouldn't have delegated the task of naming tires to adolescent online medieval role-playing gamer types?

A visit to ye olde cycle-highway-robbery-shoppe gave the first impression. The Korean-made tires felt distinctly "stickier" and more pliant to the touch than the stockers which came with the bike about 4800 miles ago. I couldn't determine for sure whether this was partly due to the possibility that old tires lose their pliability, like many of the parts of my 51-year-old body.

Note To Those Who May Be Too Trusting: I do not know diddly-squat about tires, apart from what I've read on the internet. Therefore, do not take anything I say as gospel, but rather simply observations and perceptions from a low-intermediate-level rider astride a midlife-crisis-induced sportbike.

Anyway... the tires were relatively cheap, and looked cool, and I think I'm of insufficient skill level to perceive what would probably be subtle variations in handling, so off we went, the new rubbers and me. The following Sunday, after much use of colorful metaphors and blackening of thumbnails, along with one or two minor lacerations, the skins were finally fitted to the bike. I opted for the 200/50 rear, which is one size larger than stock, but after installing it, there's no visible difference in width.

I've noticed this same phenomenon with car & truck tires, and am left wondering if tire manufacturers use the same kind of abysmally sloppy sizing standards as their brethren in the international footwear industry.

First impression: Wowie! The twisties will have to wait for another day off, but even the five-mile ride to and from work was surprisingly pleasant. I, in my perennial absentminded hamfistedness, could actually feel the improvement in adhesion and cornering competence. Thirty years of owning mostly old crap-bikes had left me with the belief that such subtle issues as tire adhesion were meant to be discussed by those possessing far keener senses than I. Boy, was I wrong.

Shinko (formerly Yokohama?) new tire behavior, day one:

Noticeably less wheel-hop accelerating out of corners. Instead, the energy is transmitted in a manner which makes the front end go all light and threatens to part company with terra firma, like it should on this kind of bike.

Lane changes, ordinary 90-degree corners and other prosaic maneuvers are distinctly more pleasurable. The tires seem to invite leaning and swooping through turns at every excuse.

The tread pattern is kind of cool-looking, but not eclectic to the point of being pretentious. Wear bars seem shallower/thinner in the bottom of the grooves, as if the manufacturer intends these tires to be ridden closer to the threshold of their eventual demise.

Installing the tires and doing a crude hanging-axle-spin-balance yielded no indication of meaningful heavy spots at either end. However, the rear wheel never had a balance weight to begin with. Yerztrewly will be buying a proper spin-balancer at the next economic opportunity.

If it's true that sticky tires wear out a lot faster than hard ones, then these cheapies may not be around for as long as their harder predecessors, but then, neither would a really expensive sticky tire, either. Could I tell the difference between these and a pair of high-end Pirellis? Last week, I would have said "hell no." At this point, I'm not so sure.

Conclusion: perhaps a few months down the road, I may be crying a different tune - but at the present time, the Shinkos seem really nice compared to what I'm used to, and for $175.00 a set, that's an unexpected bonus. I would have been happy if they were only as good as the last set.

Happy Trails, all!

-ed

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[DR Motard]

I had the opposite experience with Shinkos. I ran the 003RR


The tires felt ok at a moderate pace. Anything beyond a moderate pace had the rear tire breaking loose from midcorner off. This occurred after the tires were both scrubbed in and up to temperature. I tried varying tire pressure in small increments from 32psi down to 22psi to see if the level of grip would improve. Unfortunately, it did not. Once down to 22psi it felt like the sidewall was folding. The wear bars on the edges showed up at 300 miles due to the spinning on a bike with 40HP.


BTW.. The 003s run a size large. The 150 is more like a 160 and the 190 is more like a 200.

[bosozoku]

Originally Posted by edweird

The Mystery Tire: Shinko 005 "Advance" radial.
I opted for the 200/50 rear, which is one size larger than stock, but after installing it, there's no visible difference in width.

I've noticed this same phenomenon with car & truck tires, and am left wondering if tire manufacturers use the same kind of abysmally sloppy sizing standards as their brethren in the international footwear industry.

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You won't see a wider tires' increased width unless it's mounted on the proper (ie wider) wheel that it was designed for. Bigger, all by itself, is not necessarily a better thing, unless all the players are up to the game.

What's the designed rim width/measuring rim width for the 200 mm rear?.

Let us know how the tires hold up long-term.

[flying_hun]

Yow! Scary photo!

[Fastfar]

Where are Shinko tires made?... is there a warranty?

I will not support our trade deficit with China any longer...besides, cheaper is not better, just cheaper...let us know when they wear out and what mileage you get from them...

[the mad otter]

tire quality issues aside...great writing style...I'm chuckling even though I just got HOSED by a local dealer for a rear tire...$272.00 which included (big whoop inserted here) tire disposal fee $40, install $60 (its a beemer...four lug nuts and you're done), valve fee $12, oh, and the tire price $189 for a pilot road. I limped out to the bike after purging the platinum card's guts on the counter, and tried to mount up and ride...couldn't do it without some adjustments...the seat was very uncomfortable (seems the clerk had left the hose inserted which created the discomfort)

[phobos512]

Not sure what the policy here on linking other sites is but there's some info here I found from Google:

http://www.cbr1100xx.org/forums/inde...howtopic=30919

Seems most people that commented on them liked them.

[DR Motard]

Originally Posted by the mad otter

tire quality issues aside...great writing style...I'm chuckling even though I just got HOSED by a local dealer for a rear tire...$272.00 which included (big whoop inserted here) tire disposal fee $40, install $60 (its a beemer...four lug nuts and you're done), valve fee $12, oh, and the tire price $189 for a pilot road. I limped out to the bike after purging the platinum card's guts on the counter, and tried to mount up and ride...couldn't do it without some adjustments...the seat was very uncomfortable (seems the clerk had left the hose inserted which created the discomfort)

A $40 tire disposal fee? The fee around here is ~$4. What is a valve fee?

[zx-greg]

Originally Posted by DR Motard

A $40 tire disposal fee? The fee around here is ~$4. What is a valve fee?

Y'know -- those valves are really options. Nice shiny new rubber. How much air do they really need in them? I think all the air falls out without a valve.

$272 for a rear tire? Aren't they supposed to give you an estimate first? Unlike some other folks here, I've done several tire changes at dealerships without undue pain to my hindquarters. Tires are usually about 10% more than on-line (+8% tax). Wheels off -- mount and balance is free. Wheels on -- mount and balance is $60 for the PAIR. I even had a tire put on at Santa Cruz Yamaha when I hit the wear bars 500 miles into a 1500+ mile trip. Unscheduled. Middle of a trip. Cost me < $200 OTD while I waited.

Now I have an independent mechanic who does it wheels on the bike for $40 labor while I wait (he has no storage space) AND he adjusts the chain when he puts the wheels back on the bike (almost a freebie when you re-install the wheel). His tire prices are about 10% higher than internet, but I'm glad I can give my business to a local independent mechanic just a few miles from my house.

In fact I needed a rear tire when I ran out of tread, but I was leaving for a 6000+ mile trip a month later and needed new tires just a few weeks later. His solution? For $40 installed he put a race take-off lying in the shop on the bike. New center tread and no side tread so I could commute to work. Looking like a racer!

[Fastfar]

From the text of the Law:
42885. Disposal fee; seller reimbursement retention; California Tire
Recycling Management Fund; Reimbursement of board. (a) For
purposes of this section, ‘‘California tire fee’’ means the fee imposed
pursuant to this section.
(b) (1) (A) On and before December 31, 2006, every person who
purchases a new tire, as defined in subdivision (g), shall pay a California tire
fee of one dollar ($1.00) per tire.
(B) On and after January 1, 2007, every person who purchases a new tire,
as defined in subdivision (g), shall pay a California tire fee of seventy-five
cents ($0.75) per tire.

Anything more than a buck is padding the profit margin on the part of the stealer...my local guy charges a buck...
Somebody is ripping their customers...