Can't get Shinkos here, so went for the nearest equivalent.
Years ago, I had the misfortune to ride a bike with a Chen Shin tyre fitted on the rear. Oh boy, that was lethal. Honestly, it was the only bike I've ridden with a tyre that would slide and squirm in the dry heat of summer, on a decent road - and that was a Z650, a fairly unpowerful thing that really shouldn't have given a decent tyre a hard time. On the bright side, it just didn't wear out - it was as slippy as nylon and as hard-wearing as iron. I'm only glad it never had a CS on the front, too.
So, when I ordered a pair of Maxxis Hi-Max tyres and was supplied with a pair of Chen Shins, C906 front and C907 rear, I wasn't very happy about it. However, I decided to give them a whirl because I'd heard CS had improved a lot.
They certainly have - that was over a year ago and the tyres have been through a summer, a winter and now another summer halfway through and the rear is nearly gone at 7000-ish miles of less than careful cornering and gassing it around the country back roads. The front is barely worn, so CS have managed to produce a front that grips well in the wet and cold and still wears great. This is on the '80 GS850, so front end weight might help to keep it planted, but if that were the case, I'd expect it to wear more. Whatever, CS have pulled off a good balancing act with this tyre and I'll definitely buy another C906. What helps even the wear out is the nature of the riding I do, a lot of left-right action, and very little straight-line mileage, so it's getting the most out of the tyre. It used to bug me a bit when my tyres just wore out in the middle, with plenty of tread on the sides.
The C907 rear had been absolutely excellent, too.
What I found (on my bike anyway) was the tyre pressure sweet spot - my combination of weight, running conditions, suspension and etc, etc, really hit it right with 32psi front and rear. Set at that, the lardy old barge could be hustled around the twisties like it was young again.
So, it's true - CS aren't as bad as they used to be, and that's likely why they had to re-market themselves as Maxxis to get away from the dreadful reputation they'd acquired.
Years ago, I had the misfortune to ride a bike with a Chen Shin tyre fitted on the rear. Oh boy, that was lethal. Honestly, it was the only bike I've ridden with a tyre that would slide and squirm in the dry heat of summer, on a decent road - and that was a Z650, a fairly unpowerful thing that really shouldn't have given a decent tyre a hard time. On the bright side, it just didn't wear out - it was as slippy as nylon and as hard-wearing as iron. I'm only glad it never had a CS on the front, too.
So, when I ordered a pair of Maxxis Hi-Max tyres and was supplied with a pair of Chen Shins, C906 front and C907 rear, I wasn't very happy about it. However, I decided to give them a whirl because I'd heard CS had improved a lot.
They certainly have - that was over a year ago and the tyres have been through a summer, a winter and now another summer halfway through and the rear is nearly gone at 7000-ish miles of less than careful cornering and gassing it around the country back roads. The front is barely worn, so CS have managed to produce a front that grips well in the wet and cold and still wears great. This is on the '80 GS850, so front end weight might help to keep it planted, but if that were the case, I'd expect it to wear more. Whatever, CS have pulled off a good balancing act with this tyre and I'll definitely buy another C906. What helps even the wear out is the nature of the riding I do, a lot of left-right action, and very little straight-line mileage, so it's getting the most out of the tyre. It used to bug me a bit when my tyres just wore out in the middle, with plenty of tread on the sides.
The C907 rear had been absolutely excellent, too.
What I found (on my bike anyway) was the tyre pressure sweet spot - my combination of weight, running conditions, suspension and etc, etc, really hit it right with 32psi front and rear. Set at that, the lardy old barge could be hustled around the twisties like it was young again.
So, it's true - CS aren't as bad as they used to be, and that's likely why they had to re-market themselves as Maxxis to get away from the dreadful reputation they'd acquired.
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