Shinko Tires-no not another tire post!

[ghostler]

Let me know how it works for you, I had one on the front for a while and it gave me the wobble for about 2-3 miles then it was okay. I figured it just had to get some heat in it but it just didn't handle like the E3. I put that same tire on a different voyager and it seemed fine. The E3's may not look it but they work very well in the rain.

Will let all know how the tires perform and last. I looked at the tread pattern, it caught my eye, this one looked like it'd do the job. Actually if a tire could be, it actually looks sexy. I didn't find anything negative about the tire, some Harley riders like them.

[chevyman1]

Let me know how it works for you, I had one on the front for a while and it gave me the wobble for about 2-3 miles then it was okay. I figured it just had to get some heat in it but it just didn't handle like the E3. I put that same tire on a different voyager and it seemed fine. The E3's may not look it but they work very well in the rain.

Will let all know how the tires perform and last. I looked at the tread pattern, it caught my eye, this one looked like it'd do the job. Actually if a tire could be, it actually looks sexy. I didn't find anything negative about the tire, some Harley riders like them.

One thing I noticed when I went to the E3 from the Conti. was the sidewall was a lot thicker and stiffer on the E3.

[ghostler]

One thing I noticed when I went to the E3 from the Conti. was the sidewall was a lot thicker and stiffer on the E3.

Here may be the difference. The MT90B16 has a load rating of 74 = 827 lbs. The 30/90-16 has a load rating of 67 = 677 lbs. The MT will be a little sturdier.

Regarding tire stiffness, I don't think this will be a factor. Some tires are designed to have greater surface contact area and to provide this has slightly softer side walls.

[HawkeSHR]

My 2 cents worth:

A friend of mine recommended I try out the Michelin Commander II at the beginning of the season and it turned out to be a great tire. Replaced the rear, first and even near the end of season, it is still almost like new even after about 6k miles or so (lots of meat on it). Smoothed out the ride from the Dunlop 404s that I had on it when it was purchased (lots of wobble up front on the 404 that was there, of course, lousy tire...). I decided to replace the front with the Michelin Commander II, also, on the front, very minimal to no wobble at all. About $130 each. So far I'm pleased with them.

[Mr Jensee]

Good to know the weight rating of the Shinkos. Keep us informed of the mileage you get from them. I know I won't be trading off but it would be interesting to know how long they last.

[chevyman1]

My 2 cents worth:

A friend of mine recommended I try out the Michelin Commander II at the beginning of the season and it turned out to be a great tire. Replaced the rear, first and even near the end of season, it is still almost like new even after about 6k miles or so (lots of meat on it). Smoothed out the ride from the Dunlop 404s that I had on it when it was purchased (lots of wobble up front on the 404 that was there, of course, lousy tire...). I decided to replace the front with the Michelin Commander II, also, on the front, very minimal to no wobble at all. About $130 each. So far I'm pleased with them.

I had a Voyager I sold that had a Michelin Commander II on the front as vary impressed with the ride.
The next Tire I put on my Voyager I will be trying a Commander II

[bugawug61]

I will let everyone know how the Shinko works out. Then decide whether or not to switch to the E3 next time. Got my own tire machine for the garage so no big deal to swap.

[ghostler]

Now got the tires, 150/90-15 Duro HF296 Blvd and 130/90-16 Continental Milestone.



Duro is manufactured in Taiwan, load rating 79 or 963 lbs. The Conti under German leadership is LR 67 or 677 lbs., manufactured in Korea. Treads seem more or less complimentary. Conti tire has a nice smooth surface. The Duro has a leatherette like surface roughness. Of course these mean nothing as the tire surface wears in. Next is installation.

Next time, I'll opt with an MT90-16 front, as with the higher load rating of 74 or 827 lbs may be the secret into tire longevity at least for the front. The good in these deviations is further honing what works for people with better idea of different brands and model longevities.

[suzib6sw]

I have the Fullbore USA's on my '86 and have been pleased at their over all performance in rain and dry and on many surfaces..
The tread pattern is similar to the metzlers but the profile is more rounded (probably like the Shinkos') in comparison to the Elite 3's which I have also owned..

Tires are purely subjective and a personal thing.. as so many factors can affect the performance..
The bikes, over the 17 years of production, hardly changed with the exception of the '86 and very early '87s so what affects the handling and thus the "feel"? (Rhetorical)

1. Riders Weight.
2. Riding load (Passenger and luggage)
3. Road Surfaces
4. Road types (Slab, twisties)
5. Tire air pressure.
6. Suspension type and pressure
7. Combination of tires (not recommended)
8. Radial or Bias (not common but possible)
9. Tire compound construction.
10. Tread Pattern.
11. Steering head torque (95 INCH pounds as recommended by Carl)
12. Probably the most important .. BALANCED Correctly..

On the Balance, Static is probably the most common but dynamic has its virtues..

So.. the reason for this post?.. A friend over in Germany recently fitted Full Bore USA's to his 89. His were the white wall version , mine are black.
Pressure was correct, but he encountered a "tank slapper" at speed which I havent. Balance, by his own words may have had some part to play, but thats just it.. its a part..

We all have our "favorites" and all have heard and seen stories about others which is why there will never an end to the tire threads.. but the most important thing to remember is set them and the bike up correctly to minimize the bad side effects..

Cheers all..

JC motors seems to have good prices on some of the tires too..
Not a Plug, but here are my Full Bores..
https://www.jcmotors.com/full-bore-usa- ... re-20501-p" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ghostler]

Yes, I got to agree with you there, suzib6sw. Tires are a personal thing, just like all things with a motorcycle. There is a lot of freedom and latitude. Some like using a car tire for the back tire and will swear that they will never go back. Others prefer to stick to motorcycle tires even though they wear out quicker.

Big Mike's Bikes in Farwell, Texas has a really nice tire tools. I watched him mount and spin balance a rear tire. He had it done in nothing flat, may be 10 minutes max, would have taken me several hours. (I take my time.) I can understand particularly if one has a superwide tire, might be more advantageous (or travels beyond 75 mph) to spin balance. So far haven't run into static balance problems with our narrower motorcycle tires.

Regarding tank slap, (deviating off topic), I had an experience running an empty Harbor Freight 90153 Small Trailer Chassis Kit with car top cargo carrier http://www.harborfreight.com/1090-lb-ca ... 90153.html. Encountered serious trailer sway at speeds above 70 mph. Yet had no problem full.

Nice thing about doing your own work, is that labor costs don't enter in, so to try something outside the box is much easier. If I were paying a shop to put on new tires, then to invest more for the best is a best way to go, as it costs the same amount of labor to install the cheap tire as it does the most expensive one. The logical choice would be the Dunlop Elite 3.

[jre258 in SoDak]

I'm running the Duro Blvrds both front and rear and haven't had any issues with them. I don't ride a lot of grooved highways so the center groove on the front tire doesn't bother.
Jim

[ghostler]

So.. the reason for this post?.. A friend over in Germany recently fitted Full Bore USA's to his 89. His were the white wall version , mine are black. Pressure was correct, but he encountered a "tank slapper" at speed which I havent. Balance, by his own words may have had some part to play, but thats just it.. its a part..

Just wanted to add that I noticed Kawasaki has a label somewhere on my bike, I think it may be under the trunk lid that states not to exceed speeds beyond 85 mph because instability issues may occur. In Germany there is the Autoban with no upper speed limit (don't know if that is true now). Perhaps it is not a tire issue but a bike issue?

Regarding riding on grooved surfaces, the Pirelli MT66 Routes road well there, did not pull with the grooves but tracked straight. I can't wait to try on the Conti Milestone.

[kjsett]

Ok, I am wondering about the Avon Cobra tire for my '03 Voyager versus Michelin Commander II. I have had E3's on it for the last 50k(ish) and have appreciated them. Wet is the only time i have felt the back end get a little loose. Therefore, I thought I would try something else but have run into some questions on their load ratings. The Michelin in the size listed, 150/90-15 rear, and 130/90-16 front. Bias ply both of course. I guess the new ratings on the Dunlop E3's are MV85B15 (R), and MT90B16 (F).
Michelin has the 150/80-15 reinforced has an 77 rating whereas the 150/90-15 only has the 74 rating (can't find where they list that size reinforced). I am a big dude and pull a trailer quite a bit. The E3's are a load rating of 77 (R). Now I see where the Avon Cobra in the 150/90-15 is a 80 load rating (and the side wall is cool).
Anyway, going to have to do something as I think I might have a front tire issue (will inspect tomorrow). I have been riding regularly lately (Phoenix after all), sorry about that northern people (not that sorry).

Anyway, HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all!!!!!

UPDATE: On sale at JP Cycles the Avon Cobras were $264 for both with free shipping. The wet weather, and maybe longevity (hopefully close to the E3's), but the 80 load rating swung me over from the Michelin Commander II's as the rear only had a 74 rating in my size. We will see if I wind up changing them out sooner then the E3's (running over 20k). So Black Friday purchase, we will see...... Oh and, any opinion of the front bearings life on these bikes??? Pushing 70k and thought maybe a good time if they are maybe due. I will have them checked at least when the tires changed, but maybe just go ahead and do them. Just thinkin .

[bugawug61]

Ok I have about 150mi on the Shinko's and maybe its my imagination but they seem to be getting better with more miles. Here are my observations. Having ridden for 42+ years and this being my first Voyager, seems there is little to no ground clearance in turns so getting onto the edge of the tread is impossible, you will never lean over that far. I'm only using 3/4 of available tread before everything scrapes. As to the tires themselves, they don't fall into the corner, you have to countersteer the bike to make it turn as opposed to say a Michelin Pilot on a Goldwing would fall into the turn. This is not a bad thing depending on your riding style. As far as tracking, bike does seem to wander some but I'm not sure if its the tires or the suspension. Balance, smooth as silk using the beads and balance marks when mounting. No noise and seem to stick well. Haven't ridden in the rain yet so no update there.

Maybe someone can chime in, I have a bearing or gear type noise that occurs only at 60mph to 65mph and goes away at 70mph. Almost like the noise you would get from straight cut gears. I figure its either the front or rear wheel bearings or something internal in the trans. Bike has 9500mi and I changed all the fluids. ?

[ghostler]

I've got the same gear whine, too. There is an adjustment one can make involving two set screws held by a linked clamp by the right foot peg. It is described in the tech tips to reduce gear whine. I haven't tried that yet to see if it will reduce the noise you describe. Yes, from what I am told, the gears are straight cut.

[ekap1200]

Just when you thought you have read enough on tyres

You guessed it, tyres Avon's

this is just an update on today's current price's

For the front , Cobra MT 90B16 -74 H ( 827 LBS 130 MPH )
LIST is 176.95 Dealer 103.23

Rear Cobra , 150/90 -15- 80 H (992 LBS 130 MPH )
LIST is 233.95 Dealer 136.35
Both have a 15,000 mile wear warranty and for the first 1mm 0.039" have a accidental puncture warranty.

Good thing I can get these for dealer cost ....but I would still would purchase these as I personally get great mileage and service from them.
Just wanted to post these price's, not trying to sway anybody's opinion.....
And I just wanted to post this video,

https://youtu.be/Te0V71sGoxA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Gene Kap.

[ghostler]

Those are good prices on tires, Gene. Last week I installed Michelin Commander II's on a friend's 2012 Yamaha V-Star 1300. He went with the next up size for his rear since Michelin doesn't offer the OEM size. I'm impressed with the quality of the tires, only took an ounce to balance up front and 3/4 ounce on the rear. The rear was a bugger though, it was extremely stiff, Bridgestone was hard to get off. I ended up buying a Harbor Freight bead breaker. That was a worthwhile investment (used their 25% New Year coupon).

[randallar]

I had a Dunlop E3 on the front already, so a Dunlop E3 was the choice for replacement of the cupped Metzeler on the rear. I changed it myself and put in balancing beads on the front and back. I will never go static again! With static balancing it seems there is always a spot where the tires feel out of balance. With beads they are smooth at every speed. And it's so easy.

[ghostler]

Rather than start a new post, I thought it better to continue the continuity herein. I didn't get around to installing that new Duro Boulevard rear tire until last week Thursday. My Pirelli back was bald and in a short bit would have exposed cords. To save time, I removed the rear wheel and took the wheel with old tire and the new Duro to Gearz and Gadgets bike shop.
An hour and $37.50 later I had the old wheel back with new tire installed and balanced. The Duro only required a 1/4 oz. weight for balance. This is unusual for a normally considered "budget" tire.







Friday, I road 371 miles from Clovis, NM to Chama, NM near the Colorado border. Did some small loitering around Chama for the CMA NM State Rally. Then rode Sunday morning back to Clovis. Took me 8 hours going and 7 hours returning.
Unusual for this time of the year, ride was hot. Around 11am I left Santa Rosa NM in the mid 90's. It was up close to 100 F all the way from there until I was passing Abiquiu Lake about 30 miles south of Chama at around 4:30pm. Normally once I near the higher elevations near Las Vegas, NM on to Santa Fe, NM, it would be cooler at the higher elevations; not this time.

Here's a photo I took of a friend and his wife, both riders along with their children, Saturday afternoon. We took a slight trek north of Chama on CO-17 into Colorado. Richard, president of the Son Country Riders #319 of Hobbs NM rides a Harley bagger. His wife, Andrika, their chaplain rides a Can-Am Spider. You'll notice a bit of remaining unmelted snow in spots in the photo. A few riders tried some off rode trails riding Friday and ran into snow banks along the way. There was a hefty snow storm in the area several weeks ago. Love the way that lightly traveled road twists and turns.



Sunday was hot returning once I neared Las Vegas around 11:30am all the way to Clovis, temps again got up to 100 F, arriving around 2:30pm. Tire seemed grippier on the way home.
Also, most unpleasant locations to ride was the 18 mile stretch of I-40 from Santa Rosa to off ramp for US-84 north to Las Vegas, and I-25 from Las Vegas to Santa Fe. A few cars seem to have little respect for motorcyclists. i found it better to get behind a trucker, back off the speed a little and ride relaxed. Seems when I ride in all black and patched I get more respect than when I ride with my red paneled mesh gear.
I guess I've been spoiled too much riding the lightly traveled 2 lane rural roads around rural New Mexico, Arizona, Texas Panhandle, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri.