Shinko 705's - Any thoughts or experience?

[salty_monk]

Has anyone used the 705's? They get great reviews..... (obviously on other bikes not GS from BMW, KTM, KLR etc)

They only have a 110 80 19 front.... I think that might be a bit wide on the 1.85" rims maybe ok on the 2.15 later rims.

Anyway have any experience or thoughts on them?

[Larry D]

I have 712's on the 750 and Tourmasters on the GK. I just changed the rear on the 750 with about 6,000 miles on it. Sorry never had a set of 705's, but, I would guess they would be good as well.

[waterman]

Is that a Radial design? Just did a quick search on Tires Unlimited site and it appears as a Radial tire. Not sure how that would fair on our bikes. I have ran Avons, Duros and Kendas on a dual sport and can comment on those, if you like.

Are you looking for a on/off road tire or simply a more rugged street tire? I am running a 230 shinko rear which seems alright, grips okay but I am not an extreme rider like others so I can't really comment on handling qualities.

[bwringer]

I'm on my third set of Shinko 705s on my V-Strom. That tell you anything?

They're an excellent dual-sport tire -- plenty of grip on the road to drag parts and knees, with enough tread to work well in gravel, dirt, etc. They fill a nice in-between niche -- most D/S tires are more street-oriented or full knobbies that wear out quickly.

I've also found that they have surprisingly good grip in the wet, at low temps, and even in snow and ice. Some tires seem to turn into hard plastic at low temperatures and get very squirrelly, but the Shinko 705 continues to grip well in extreme conditions.

The current 110/80-18 front and 150/70-17 rear sizes (intended for the BMW GS, V-Strom, and Yamaha Super Tenere) are indeed radials, which may factor into things for you. I believe all other 705 sizes are bias-ply. With that said, mixing radial and bias tires is simply not a big deal on motorcycles. There's a lot of incorrect information and downright magical thinking out there, and lots of people convinced you'll die for reasons they can't explain. As long as the tires are somewhere near the correct size for the rims, you'll be fine.

Also, V-Stroms have 2.5" wide front rims.

Edit: The Kenda 761 is available in a 100/90-19 (these are front/rear tires that can be used on either end, so you might need to look under rear tires to find them.)

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/29/393/15130/ITEM/Kenda-K761-Dual-Sport-Rear-Tire.aspx

[cmn1771]

i had shinkos 705's on my vstrom too. they were not very good. rear was peeling at 3500 miles. actually the front wasnt too bad.

[bwringer]

i had shinkos 705's on my vstrom too. they were not very good. rear was peeling at 3500 miles. actually the front wasnt too bad.

You had the old bias-ply version.

Shinko acknowledged the defects and refunded these with no arguments if you contacted the retailer. I had one that started to separate, contacted Motorcyclesuperstore, sent a few digital photos, and had the money back in a few days.

The 705 in V-Strom sizes is now radial, and I haven't seen any problems reported.

[salty_monk]

I'd be looking at the 110-80-19 front & the 130 80 or 90 (they do both) 17 rear.

Should I be avoiding 705's in that case? (Separation issues still a problem?)

I want to make my GS1000 Fire road capable for a coming trip to Baja.

I've heard the Kenda 761's are meant to be ok too so that was my other choice....