SHINKO F005 / R005 Tyres

[rave]

i noticed today that the shinko 005 is only rated to 270kph

[Astro]

3500km Update.

Boring. (But good boring)

Negligible wear. Been riding all through winter in both wet and dry conditions.

The only comment I'd make : I got slack and didn't check them for a while - noticed more under-steer. They were both about 5psi down. Brought them back up to recommended pressure and 'Hey presto!' - but thats my slackness, not really a fault in the tyre.

Like I said in the last update - there's nothing noteworthy to report. They just do what they were intended to do. Handling is great under any conditions (Within sane limits. I've not been anywhere near 10/10ths on these). Solid, planted, controlled, predictable.

[Astro]

4800km Update.

Impressed with the wear. Front starting to feather slightly on the shoulders, but that's probably because with the warmer weather I'm pushing harder and I do tend to try to carry as much speed through the corner as possible. Rear shows no appreciable wear on centre or shoulders. Centre strip on front - again, no appreciable wear.

Did some hard charging this past weekend following 3 Ducati Monsters through some very twisty runs at... errr... shall we just say... a "reasonable" pace. No problems tracking with them - but, I was working harder than they were, especially with tip in's and left/right/left tight sequences. Where I was concentrating on pre-corner set-up, gear selection, weight transfer, picking apex (yadda yadda) they seemed to be just skimming through with a minimum of fuss.

Admittedly, they have a weight advantage on me but I'd set out with the intent to track with them through the corners as much as possible rather than rely on superior horsepower to make up any gaps that developed as a result of the mechanics of cornering (make sense??). In other words... I wanted to test the tyres and suspension, not the ponies. All up, I'd have to say I was well pleased with the result and my companions were suitably impressed. Mind you... on the way home I let the ponies run free and the words 'no contest' spring to mind. LOL.

These tyres do have a shallow, rounded profile and require more rider input than most sports oriented rubber - especially on tip-in. Lifting out is easier provided you're under power but if you're under brakes can be just as demanding of input as tip-in. The bike is about 208kg dry and I started out with an almost full tank so lets assume around 245kg. The bike has standard suspension, set pretty close to factory settings (I'm pretty light so they suit me). Tyre pressures really do make a difference with this rubber if you're going to play in the twisties. At factory recommended pressures -3psi (cold) you really notice it. I'm using factory recommended settings +2 psi (cold) and checking before each ride.

They feel grippy and confidence inspiring. When you're keeled over, they don't tend to react to wet patches or crap on the road - except for gravel (as you'd expect). It something does break the contact patch, recovery is almost immediate and fuss free.

Still happy with them. I'm interested to see how Bruce's Shinko's fare on the long trip with Heidi and Simmo.

[BUSGO]

quote Astro "I'm interested to see how Bruce's Shinko's fare on the long trip with Heidi and Simmo"

Didn't get past the 6000 k mark Rob. Either did Simmo's Bridg 015s. Heidi's Pilot Roads soldiered on.

[BLACKZOOK]

Astro like you I highly recommend the shinko's they are an unbeatable bargain. I run them on the road on the turbo and was also delighted with their performance on the K8, she held everyone thru the corners so no issues with grip, longevity - well they only lasted 5 days or so but that equated to 6-7 thousand k's all at speed and in high heat. They outlasted the bridgestone tourers that cost 50% more.

Both the bridgestone and shinko tore themselves to pieces when they overheated, wear was incredibly fast - they were fine in the morning and virtually bald that afternoon. Again they outlasted the bridgestones so all good.

The revelation of the trip was the Michelin road 2's they did not overheat and are still going strong with plenty of tread, more than double the life of either the bridgestones or the shinko's under the same conditions. I have already called ahead and reserved two sets of Michilins one for the turbo and one for the K8.

[Astro]

5,500km

Starting to see wear now. Like Bruce mentioned above, they seem to deteriorate more when they get heat into them.

Front : Has started feathering and steering isn't as precise. No balling up, but I'm not a speedster. Tread depth on sides about 60% of tread depth in centre. Even with attention to pressures, there's more frequent squirming and chirping associated with road surface irregularities and debris - not to mention mid-corner 'pushing' effects from the rear (more on this later). I've entered that 'phase' where I'm now more conscious of the stresses I exert on the front tyre and am acutely aware of feedback - especially on corner exits. I had expected I'd get another 2,000km out of them before that happened, but still, I can't complain - and I'm not.

Rear : Barely any feathering - but remember that the profile of these tyres is quite shallow and cornering stresses seem to be shared across a broader transition patch - off the centre and onto a shallow shoulder. Tread depth seems virtually unchanged - all over - although grip seems to be coming off slightly with more chirping and a couple of small side-steps lately. All very controllable and predictable. Rear is wearing better than the front.

I suspect that the deterioration in the front is partially being caused by the grip characteristics of the rear - as in - as I gas up on apex, you can feel that the rear is 'pushing' the front and I am starting to detect a lineal squirm in the front when this happens (English version - the power creates a minor 'under-steer' condition as the front is pushed forward, slightly extending the cornering arc).

I think there's another 2,000km left in the front and around 3,500km in the rear. Nothing to complain about.

[Astro]

The revelation of the trip was the Michelin road 2's they did not overheat and are still going strong with plenty of tread, more than double the life of either the bridgestones or the shinko's under the same conditions. I have already called ahead and reserved two sets of Michilins one for the turbo and one for the K8.

Bruce... I'm going to have to start looking, so can I ask... where and how much?

[Astro]

Last Update

Ok... replaced the Shinko 005's on August 26th. They had covered a total of 10,469km. Can't say I loved 'em, but they did the job. Must admit tho... now I've got the Pilot Roads.... man, what a difference.

By the way... Mick from Whites Racing fitted the tyres for me (they do Michelin as well these days). I'd ordered a set of Pilot Road 2's, but they sent him a set of Pilot Roads by accident (the originals... with the unusual horizontal tread pattern). Manufacture date was 2009 so I decided to go with them.

In case other members are interested... he still does the original Pilot Roads, fitted for $400. That's $130 cheaper than the Road 2's. That is a pretty awesome tyre for not a lot of cash.

The Pilot Road has very different turn-in characteristics to the Shinko. The Pilots have a steady and progressive rounded profile with no discernible 'step' onto the shoulder - basically its more 'cup shaped' than the Shinko which has (comparatively) flatter central profile with a distinct (and relatively narrow) shoulder that you need to get used to "transitioning onto" and then "lifting out of".

I'm not going to compare them for grip etc because my memory of the Shinko's was in their last few thousand k's and the Pilot is brand spankers... so it wouldn't be a fair comparison.

Have to say tho... extremely happy with the new tyres. I'll be sticking with the Pilots (but probably a new set of Road 2's) when I head off over to WA in March next year.

[big kev]

just got a quote for pilot 2's for my beast $430 if i take the rims to the shop if i take the bike its an extra $77