Shinko 230 Torture Test

[Buffalo Bill]

Cruiser tires... Good for cruisin' & the look. Not high performance though. The 712 & 230 are awesome budget high performance street tires... Like the Bridgestone BT45 Battlax.

I agree, some Spitfires came on a couple Yamaha SECAs I bought, 550 & 750, no stick scary!
I started the Shinko 712 love club in 2010 after watching my rear BT45 square off flat in 4-5000 miles. Tried the 1/3 priced Shinko 712 and even took my GS1100G on the track-once!
Been buying them since, and am waiting to hear about something mo betta.

 

[bwringer]

I agree, some Spitfires came on a couple Yamaha SECAs I bought, 550 & 750, no stick scary!
I started the Shinko 712 love club in 2010 after watching my rear BT45 square off flat in 4-5000 miles. Tried the 1/3 priced Shinko 712 and even took my GS1100G on the track-once!
Been buying them since, and am waiting to hear about something mo betta.

So it sounds like you'd place the Shinkos above the BT45 in terms of performance, not just price.

Good to know!

 

[Gorminrider]

@ Boriqua- no no the hose goes' round the car rim a la what Chuck is saying

Oh man the hose is a perfect idea and not only sounds better than the slippery plastic things I ordered but I have a hose ready for sacrifice

use cut- up oil bottles or margarine containers for rim protectors when you give up on the motion-pro ones- BUT- I'm assuming the motion pro ones are these that I got I had no luck with these-maybe I used 'em wrong -maybe intended for spoked rim dirtbikes? I can't say about others

 

[Chuck78]

I actually have been running a Bridgestone BT45V Battlax on the rear the past 2 seasons, and a Shinko 230 on the front, as my Shinko SR741 rear 140/70-18 would wear down to a very flat, squared-off pattern by 3700 miles, and putting on a fresh tire made me realize what I was missing in terms of smooth cornering transition!

It didn't really bother me before, riding on the squared-off flat top tire, but was significantly improved with a new Shinko or Bridgestone rear that was actually around, and felt awesome leaning into corners. I have about 45 minutes of straight road riding to get to the edge of the Appalachian hills here, so I do get quite a bit of upright riding time to wear them down before getting into the twisties. I do not commute on my bike, and I don't ride it in the city very much, as people don't know how to drive, especially in big cities! Especially with the advent of smartphones...


Perhaps Bridgestone has changed the rubber composition some since you have tried them, Buffalo Bill. I was able to get my Bridgestone Battlax BT45V to square off at the end of its tread life, but it was already past the tread wear indicators, and I had to enter a burnout competition @ the Saturday Night Corner Party via Kentucky Kick Down @ AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days weekend 2018 to get it to this point!!!!

So yes, the BT45V v-rated Battlax DEFINITELY stayed a fairly round profile significantly better than the Shinko tires which would definitely leave a more noticeable sharp transition edge from the flat to the radiused tread crown area. I have mounted the 230 on many friends' bikes, and the SR741 seems to be the same rubber compound. It grips awesome. Honestly I think the Shinko grips better than the Battlax's, but I can deal with that on the rear in order not to have it squaring off after 3700 miles or so. I like to do some long-distance rides, and if I am clocking in 600 or 1200 miles on a trip, that is some considerable treadwear for these types of tires, I like to keep it nice to the end if possible, and I don't always plan on just replacing tires with 2,800 or 3,000 miles on them if I am going on a road trip through mountains and Appalachian twisties...

 

[Chuck78]

The Avon AM26 Road Riders that I got with 100 miles on them on a nice set of aftermarket GS 3.50-18 & 2.50-18 alloy rims, 150/70-18 rear 110/90-18 front, I was honestly terrified of, when I would ride really aggressively. They were about 2.5 years old at the time, but I couldn't wait to get them off of my bike, they scared me several times. They never made me crash, but they were not confidence-inspiring. So many people swear by them and say they are amazing handling, one good buddy who rides at least as aggressively and fast cornering as I do, says he will never run shinkos again, and he is scared of them! So to each their own, but I will attest that the Shinko 230/712/SR741 rubber is definitely grippier, the only place I would be more scared of them is if you are out on a 90 degree day with the sun beating down late June thru August when sun is highest in the sky, making the blacktop incredibly hot. That is the only time that I really am concerned much about the grip on the Shinko, that and any tire in cold weather...


I suppose my Avon AM26 experience could be due to the fact that they were 2.5 years old at that point in time, but that could also be another argument against them, that if you don't rack up 5000 miles a year on your bike, that you may as well go with the Shinko anyway, because the rubber on the Avon tires does not age well!

I still advocate the Avon AM26 Road Rider tires to people that do a lot of city riding or want to do long road trips. They were a good tire, but they were not a high-performance tire that met my demands.

& about the previous Kenda Challenger comment, those tires don't even make sense, the rubber is so soft, but they don't grip AT ALL!

I would never recommend a tire like that, or the Bridgestone Spitfires, or any Harley-Davidson type cruiser tire to anyone unless they were just riding a big overweight morbidly obese cruiser down the highways, and still at that, your front tire rubber compound dictates how much braking you have available. It doesn't matter how good your brakes are, the tire is the limiting factor if it locks up and skids because it cannot grip the road good enough.

I would say to anyone that wants a white lettered tire, to get something that grips good, and get some tire paint like a hot rod guys do when they want raised white letter sidewalls. You already have the raised rubber letters, just highlight them with white tire paint and you are good to go, now you can run a Shinko 712 and benefit from having 8 times as much grip as a Bridgestone Spitfire, but then you will still have the white letters that you are looking for. it's so much safer, and so much more fun to ride a bike that gives you confidence when you are cornering on twisty roads. I would not be into motorcycles anywhere near as much as I am if it were not for the thrills that I get from riding twisty rural roads...

 

[Boriqua]

Just got my rear tire .. i dont know about you guys .. but seeing new rubber for the bike is quite the exciting event .. I even like that new rubber smell.Cant wait to get it on and go for a spin.

So I have tools, tire and limited knowledge. I will report back on how it went and how the tools worked tomorrow or sunday after install tomorrow.

 

[Chuck78]

Be very careful not to pinch the inner tube with the tire levers!!!!

Also, if you have wire spoke steel rims, plan on an extra day, as you will find that they are very rusted on the inside from soapy water used to install tires. I always wire brush them extensively (wire brush wheel mounted to drill or angle grinder), wash them down with dish detergent and/or acetone (or lacquer thinner), let them dry out really REALLY thoroughly (as in, use a hair dryer or heat gun even, in order to get all moisture out), usually will apply some phosphoric acid to the inside bare rusted areas for a half hour via a spray bottle application (Klean Strip Metal Etch & Prep or Behr Concrete Etch & Stain Remover, then wash off with soapy water), and then paint the inside of the rims to protect them from rusting for a while longer (a small can of silver POR-15 works GREAT here, but any paint is better than rust). Let that sit a day to cure, and then I put the rim strips in and mount the tires using Murphy's Oil soap, or using a proper tire lubricant.


FYI A lot of dish soaps will contain ammonia, and that is very bad on aluminum, if you have alloy rims or alloy mags, therefore do not use something like that as a tire install lubricant.

I made my buddy use talc powder as a lubricant on his shops tire machine when I was still having a shop do my tires, he said it worked, but it was noticeably harder than using a liquid soap base lubricant.

 

[Buffalo Bill]

So it sounds like you'd place the Shinkos above the BT45 in terms of performance, not just price.

Good to know!

Anecdotal experience: equal performance on street in moderate conditions. Not truly tested in all conditions, never road BT45s on the track.
To state clearly; I felt no slip front or rear on a very technical (scary) track with negative camber and hairpin corners and a 3000' straightaway. (Grattan Raceway, Michigan)
If I was gonna ride a GS1000-1100 on the track with OEM rims, I'd go with Avon DOT racing tires. If I updated the rims to 17 x 4" rear, 17 x 3" front, any brand is possible.

 

[Boriqua]

alright ran into a couple of issues but .. I am still in it to win it. So the bead breaker thing worked wonderfully. First shot and pop. WIth the spoon ends was able to get the front side of the tire off the rim fairly easily. The back was a bit more of a pain but done
but

The instructions on the sticker on the tire say to align the "red Dot" with the valve stem. I had seen something similar on a video. Of course .... THERE IS NO RED DOT!!

Could it be the little circle that I have pointed to in the pic below?

http://www.boriqualeather.com/Suzi tech/newtire.jpg

I ordered a tube but the rear doesnt have one and I bought a tubless tire. Is there any harm in putting in the tube?

 

[Chuck78]

no that is not it, flip the tire over and look on the other side, it is not molded into the tire, it is an ink dot that they put on after the tire is manufactured and they weigh it to see where the heaviest spot is vs lightest spot.

 

[Chuck78]

For the record, once leaned over quite a bit, the Battlax tires grip significantly better than the Avon Roadrider AM26, and probably nearly as good as the Shinko. But since the Shinko are a single compound, and the Battlax BT45 are a rear-tire-only "Sport SACT" (i.e. Bridgestone dual compound rear tire construction), the harder rubber in the center of the rears on the Bridgestone definitely does not grip as good as the Shinko, and this is noticeable when really getting on the throttle when going through a turn without being leaned over significantly - but hey you can really induce a good drift this way! That is how I felt at ANY lean angle with the Avon AM26, however, and i could smoke the tires a lot easier from a stop with the Avons.

 

[Boriqua]

no that is not it, flip the tire over and look on the other side, it is not molded into the tire, it is an ink dot that they put on after the tire is manufactured and they weigh it to see where the heaviest spot is vs lightest spot.

I checked it out very carefully. The only after manufacture mark on it seems to be the Q2 on the tire

http://www.boriqualeather.com/Suzi tech/tire4.jpg

Every other mark on the tire is molded in.

The shop installed a tube in my front even though it was a tubeless tire on a mag rim so I am assuming its ok for the back. I bought a tube with balance beads already installed and would like to use it if I can .

 

[Chuck78]

Tubes are fine, but tubeless is better. You are only supposed to run tubeless if your rim has a safety bead lip. A little lip that keeps the tire bead from dropping down into the center of the rim in the event of a flat, that is a safety bead. The mag wheels will usually say "MT" along with the size designation if it is a safety bead rim.

 

[Chuck78]

And yes, there should be a noticeable ink dot that is usually a red or yellow I believe, on the sidewall of the tire. About a centimeter in diameter. Either they forgot to mark it, or perhaps you have a perfectly balanced tire?!

 

[Boriqua]

I will go with the white Q2 in the pic above as the mark since it's the only ink mark on either side. Maybe it's a Chinese thing?

 

[Chuck78]

No it's not a Chinese thing, they are not made in China! I have mounted over a dozen of these tires, they always have marks on them, not sure why yours do not.

It won't really hurt you regardless, the suggestion is just so that you will have to use less wheel balance weights when balancing them.

You do need to get some adhesive-backed stick-on motorcycle tire balance weights and learn how to do a DIY balancing job, by the way. Otherwise it could vibrate badly at higher speeds and wear the tire very unevenly

 

[Boriqua]

Opps Korea!

Nope only after manufacture mark is that white Q2. I will go with it.

 

[Steve]

Time to follow the advice in Nessism's signature:

To measure is to know.

Get the tire mounted. I use the axle in the wheel, supported by a couple of jack stands as my balancing rig. Spin the tire vigorously to warm up the bearings just a bit, then slow it down so it will stop before next weekend. Note when it stops, especially if it reverses direction. Rotate the wheel about 90? to see if it falls to the same spot. Try this several times. If there is consistency on the low spot, add some weight to the top of the rim and try again. Repeat until it stops at random points when spun.

.

 

[Boriqua]

Alright so for anyone following along .. the tools are plenty sturdy as the narrow tire is a pain since it wont flex as much as a wider one. I leaned all over the tools and they didnt bend. At one point I lifted my wife standing on the other side of the tire with an iron and it held up fine. I would have like a third iron so I may buy a single for finesse work.

The motion pro rim protectors worked like a dream. Snapped in place and stayed there. Glad I bought 4. 2 would not have been enough.

I got the tire on with a bit of effort and some how mangled the tube. Sucks but I am not going to patch it. So the tire I took off did NOT have a tube so I figured I would just go tubeless since I have a tubeless rim and tire.

Alright take off the tire from one side and pull the tube reinstall the valve that was there before and .... I cant figure out how to set the bead. I am old and my body hurts and I am calling it a day. The tire is on and once I figure out how to set the bead I should be golden.

So far I am only down 24 bucks for the tube I destroyed but .. its a learning experience .. Right??

Oh one more bit of info .. cleaning fix a flat from the inside of your aluminum rim .... SUCKS!!!!

 

[Steve]

... I cant figure out how to set the bead. I am old and my body hurts and I am calling it a day. The tire is on and once I figure out how to set the bead I should be golden.

Make sure the edges of the tire bead are lubricated. Inflate tire. When you hear the "POP", stop inflating. Actually, there should be TWO "pops", one for each side, but sometimes they slip into place silently. You can check for proper seating by observing the line. The line in question is the one just under the DOT information in your picture. It should be about 1/8" away from the rim, and should be the same distance all the way around the rim. On both sides. If it dips down to the level of the rim, break down that area, re-lube it and re-seat it.

.