How do you fellas feel about the 712 versus the 230? The 712 I believe is marketed as more of a sport tire, but I was under the impression that they would get twice the mileage of the 230 Tour Master in the real world? Based on Brian's observations, he gets the same mileage out of both! He is substantially more sizable than myself, and his bike as well, but we both probably have a similar riding style from what I gathered of his years ago...
I don't commute on my bike, and don't do a ton of city riding, it is more of an escape vehicle to get out into the Southeast Ohio hills and into West Virginia and beyond as much as I can. It is a 45 minute or so ride to get to the edge of where the glaciers stopped, so I do get a good bit of upright riding in before the fun stuff where it seems like the bike is leaned over one way or the other far more than it is upright. I run the Shinko SR741 140/70-18 on the rear, which I believe is identical in compound to the 230 Tour Master 100/90-18 that I run in the front.
On the rear, I have not made it to 5000 miles yet! By 3800, they are looking like they need changed soon, and get worn flat down the middle. To re-appropriate a comment on Brian's riding style from years ago, I also ride like a flaming bat out of hell... I still keep buying them over and over again because I feel like they grip a lot better than the Avon roadriders do. I know people love the Avon AM26 Road Riders,, but I did not get as good of a feeling out of the front when pushing it hard, leaned over in tight turns on a substantially modified 467 lb GS750 +150lb rider, and I've had the back step out on me many times ( this is beyond what happens from me continually adding more horsepower to the engine)
When I give it a whole lot of throttle, I can get the big 140/70-18 Shinko to break loose as well, but it's a lot less scary and more predictable, and actually really fun...drifting! The AM26 did not feel sure-footed and would break loose in a way that would scare the **** out of me...
On the other hand, I always recommend the am26 roadrider to people who do a lot more city riding and long-distance highway riding than myself, because so many people still continually compliment the way they handle and corner.
Last season I stuck with a Shinko up front and put a Battlax BT45 V on the rear because they are supposedly a dual compound rear, but still supposedly wear out in about 5,000 miles. So far, it has not flatted across the rear, and I rode it out of state several times to the West Virginia mountains. I did not keep track of the mileage on this one though.
I have put Shinko 230's on two friends bikes who put some decent mileage on them, a GS550 & a GS750, and they are not experiencing the rear tire wear that I do! One is heavier than me on a 750, the other is similar weight on a GS550.
I'm out it up and identical set up as mine on a KZ1000 with the same size rims, 3.5 x 18 rear, 2.5 x 18 front. My buddy had come off of a CBR900RR previously, and purchased an RC engineering built KZ1000. The first time he rode these tires was on a trip to West Virginia several years back. He kept looking at me and looking at the tires and telling me how he couldn't get over how well the tires gripped, and he kept pushing it more and more, and the tires kept doing their job very well and were very predictable...
Basically all I will consider are Battlax BT45V from Bridgestone, these Shinko 230's front and rear & SR741 rears (230 doesn't come in bigger rears, the SR740 doesn't come in the right front size), and Pirelli Sport Demons. The Pirelli rear wears out just as fast as the Shinko and costs double! They do handle a little bit better than the others, but not once they get worn in a lot. I read some pretty good race track track day shootout comparisons between a couple of tires, and the Bridgestone came out on top, but the fastest lap times consistently were the fresh Pirellis, but once the Pirelli suffer from some noticeable wear, they were not as fast.
I don't commute on my bike, and don't do a ton of city riding, it is more of an escape vehicle to get out into the Southeast Ohio hills and into West Virginia and beyond as much as I can. It is a 45 minute or so ride to get to the edge of where the glaciers stopped, so I do get a good bit of upright riding in before the fun stuff where it seems like the bike is leaned over one way or the other far more than it is upright. I run the Shinko SR741 140/70-18 on the rear, which I believe is identical in compound to the 230 Tour Master 100/90-18 that I run in the front.
On the rear, I have not made it to 5000 miles yet! By 3800, they are looking like they need changed soon, and get worn flat down the middle. To re-appropriate a comment on Brian's riding style from years ago, I also ride like a flaming bat out of hell... I still keep buying them over and over again because I feel like they grip a lot better than the Avon roadriders do. I know people love the Avon AM26 Road Riders,, but I did not get as good of a feeling out of the front when pushing it hard, leaned over in tight turns on a substantially modified 467 lb GS750 +150lb rider, and I've had the back step out on me many times ( this is beyond what happens from me continually adding more horsepower to the engine)
When I give it a whole lot of throttle, I can get the big 140/70-18 Shinko to break loose as well, but it's a lot less scary and more predictable, and actually really fun...drifting! The AM26 did not feel sure-footed and would break loose in a way that would scare the **** out of me...
On the other hand, I always recommend the am26 roadrider to people who do a lot more city riding and long-distance highway riding than myself, because so many people still continually compliment the way they handle and corner.
Last season I stuck with a Shinko up front and put a Battlax BT45 V on the rear because they are supposedly a dual compound rear, but still supposedly wear out in about 5,000 miles. So far, it has not flatted across the rear, and I rode it out of state several times to the West Virginia mountains. I did not keep track of the mileage on this one though.
I have put Shinko 230's on two friends bikes who put some decent mileage on them, a GS550 & a GS750, and they are not experiencing the rear tire wear that I do! One is heavier than me on a 750, the other is similar weight on a GS550.
I'm out it up and identical set up as mine on a KZ1000 with the same size rims, 3.5 x 18 rear, 2.5 x 18 front. My buddy had come off of a CBR900RR previously, and purchased an RC engineering built KZ1000. The first time he rode these tires was on a trip to West Virginia several years back. He kept looking at me and looking at the tires and telling me how he couldn't get over how well the tires gripped, and he kept pushing it more and more, and the tires kept doing their job very well and were very predictable...
Basically all I will consider are Battlax BT45V from Bridgestone, these Shinko 230's front and rear & SR741 rears (230 doesn't come in bigger rears, the SR740 doesn't come in the right front size), and Pirelli Sport Demons. The Pirelli rear wears out just as fast as the Shinko and costs double! They do handle a little bit better than the others, but not once they get worn in a lot. I read some pretty good race track track day shootout comparisons between a couple of tires, and the Bridgestone came out on top, but the fastest lap times consistently were the fresh Pirellis, but once the Pirelli suffer from some noticeable wear, they were not as fast.
