Shinko 705 Tires

[honline]

Hi all,

I've done quite a bit of digging into tire fitment options on the GS500, as I'm planning to get some new rubber for mine. I realize that there are a LOT of posts in regards to which sizes will and will not fit (especially from the very helpful gsJack's posts), but nobody seems to have tried Shinko 705's (albeit it was mentioned and considered quite a few times). Wondering if anyone has tried to fit some on and how it went.

I saw that the 705s come in both ply and radial options. The available sizes are listed below:
PLY: Front 120/90-17 and Rear 140/80-17 or 150/70-17
RADIAL: Front 120/70R17 and Rear 150/70R17

http://www.shinkotirecanada.com/product/id=63.php

From what I've read, one should never mix and match radial and ply tires. Also that radial seems to be the way to go, as it's got longer life, better traction etc.

The general consensus seems to be that it's okay to run a 120/70 for front and a 140/80 for rear. 150/70 doesn't seem recommended (as it could be very tight without bending the brake arm). It also seems that a 120/90 won't fit the front without swapping forks.

With that knowledge in mind, it seems my only option is to run the radials and bend the brake arm. Is that correct? Could someone confirm that?

I love the look of the Shinko 705s and I saw a photo of a GS500 with them on, so it seems possible. Just wondering the size and the amount of work. I'm not opposed to ply tires. Just that with the sizes available, it seems radial is the least amount of modifications required.

Any help/advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

[EdChen]

Looking at Shinko's site, aren't all of them Bias Ply except for the 110/80R19 (the one with the asterisk)?

You could do the 120/70 front and 130/80 or 140/80 rear, all bias ply.

[honline]

Hmmm... Good catch Ed, but I was under the impression that whenever the tire sizes have an R in them, it means that they're Radial. I think Shinko's own website has a mistake..

Just to make sure I wasn't going crazy, I double-checked on Bike Bandit, which seems to be selling all the sizes Shinko has available, and the 120/70's are only available in radial.

http://www.bikebandit.com/tires-tubes/motorcycle-tires/shinko-705-motorcycle-tire

[EdChen]

Ah yeah. That's weird, I only noticed that they called out he one radial.

Running the 150/70 might be the best option. You'll need to check if it will fit on the GS500's narrow rear wheel though. Some manufacturers don't approve 150/70 on a 3.5" wide wheel.

I don't know how attached you are to those tires specifically, but there are other manufacturers that probably make a similar style, like these avons: http://www.avon-tyres.co.uk/motorcycle/trailrider

[twocool]

Just the brand name "Shinko" gives me the "willies"...

Seems like a cross between shi-t, scank, and gecko...

Anyway...a tire that sells for 1/2 the price off all the reputable brands...what could possibly go wring?  I mean tires are considered to be among the top safety related items on a motorcycle...so why not go cheap?

Back in my bicycle days, our shop sold a low cost tire brand called "Chen Shin"...

We called them C-S for short..no CS did not stand for Chen Shin...it stood for Cheap Sh-it....


cookie

[gsJack]

You called them C-S because you couldn't spell Cheng Shin? 

[akapellen17]

I agree with twocool. It's not the tire "name" exactly. It's just that I have heard so many horror stories about Shinko's. My friend with a cbr600 and years of riding experience hoped on his friends bike the other day, not knowing the tires were Shinko's. He ended up crashing because of a failure and insane loss of grip from the Shinko's. It was 90 degrees, after riding for 20 minutes, almost brand new tires. He was saying through the entire ride that he felt like the grip wasn't there. We weren't riding fast at all. Just crazy and it backs up my reasoning on not liking Shinko's. But like twocool said. It's kinda a big safety feature of a bike. Brakes and tires are two things I will never go cheap on.

[honline]

Ah, I didn't know they were a cheap brand... I suppose that's why nobody's really slapped them on. I just saw the 705's, they looked different and they looked really nice as dual sport tires. But I guess with all the sizing and fitting research I did, I forgot to do research on the most important part – safety.

Thanks for all the tips and advice, guys. And thanks for the suggestion on Avon, Ed. I've seen that suggestion before, but the Shinko's didn't look like street tires, and I wanted something unique or different. Got caught up on the aesthetics. I'll have to check out other dual-sport tires and look at other options.

[EdChen]

Shinko is definitely one of the lower tier tire makers, but they aren't all bad, I think they're a little more common for long distance riding, from what I've seen.  Aesthetically though, the big chunky blocks do look pretty badass, better than the Avon tires. But if you keep looking, I think you'll find something close that looks good - from a better known reputable manufacturer.

[gsJack]

Last tire I put on my 02 GS was a rear 150/60 Shinko 006 radial. I had tried 9 of the 10 sizes of tires I considered suitable for the stock GS wheels except a 150/60 so I picked up the inexpensive Shinko to try on for size.  I liked the handling, with it's very rounded shape it fell nicely into corners but it's compound was about a decade outdated.  About on par with the B'stones put on my 97 and 02 GSs by Suzuki before the went to the BT45.

Took a quick look at the similar tires from Avon and Metzelar and the 705 has them both beat for looks, never bought a tire for tread pattern looks but might consider rear tire width looks.    The most important safety item on a bike sits on the seat.