Shinko Tires

[bigfoot5x]

For my birthday this week I traded my 2013 Street Glide with 121,000 miles on it for a 2016 Street Glide Special with 2,233 miles. It came with brand new Shinko tires front and rear. I don't know anything about Shinko but I looked them up on J&P Cycles. The rear tire is $100 cheaper than my preferred Dunlop American Elites. Should I expect any handling problems or will they just wear out real fast?

[Ohio HD]

The original owner replaced the Dunlop tires with less than 2,500 miles with Shinko tires? Something seems fishy. 

They won't last as long as the factory Dunlop tires, that's for certain.

[kd]

There is tons of info out there like Ohio says, about the faster wear with Shinko tires.  I don't know if that is all  models but it is much talked about.  Now the interesting thing is softer tires wear faster but also give superior grip.  Many use Shinko tires at the drag strip and on the street to gain that traction they seem to provide.  They actually market their tires for drag racing.  I wouldn't be afraid of them as long as they are rated for the heavier touring bike and not maxxed out with the cruiser weight class which is at least 200# lighter.  Pay attention to how they handle and let us know.  When they wear out, if you change brands let us know how they compare too.

[guido4198]

The original owner replaced the Dunlop tires with less than 2,500 miles with Shinko tires? Something seems fishy.

They won't last as long as the factory Dunlop tires, that's for certain.

Unless your "2233" is a typo...then like Ohio said, I'd be more concerned WHY a bike that supposedly has 2233 mi. got a new set of tires.

[Breeze]

Maybe the "why" of new tires at such low mileage is because he/they read a Harley forum that said 6 yr. old tires are death waiting to happen.

[Hossamania]

Maybe the "why" of new tires at such low mileage is because he/they read a Harley forum that said 6 yr. old tires are death waiting to happen.

That was my thought too.
The seller may have thought it would make the bike even more sellable as well.
Unless the bike exhibits evidence of having been crashed and rebuilt, or signs of excess mileage not consistent with the odometer, I wouldn't lose sleep over it.

[bigfoot5x]

I bought the bike from a dealer. I traded the old one in. I'm thinking they wanted new tires on the bike but didn't want to spend much money on it. One of my concerns was the age of  the tires on the bike. I took a quick look and saw the tires were new but didn't look closely at the brand. The tread is similar to the Dunlop Elites.
J & P cycles shows that it is a suitable replacement tire for my Street Glide Special.

I have a new Dunlop American Elite in the garage. We are taking a 3000 mile trip in a week and was going to put the new tire on the old bike but decided to replace the bike instead. So when the Shinko wears out, I'll buy a new front Dunlop also. My average mileage per year is 15,000 miles so I should be getting new tires by Christmas.

[No Problem]

i ran them on my 97 elec glide an front an rearhad no problem great in the rain

[Hossamania]

Since it was sold by a dealer, that explains the new tires.

[calif phil]

Availability could have been a reason they installed Shinko's.  Wear them out and then get your American Elites on. 

[sfmichael]

Most (not all) dealers will tell the parts or service dept to put the least expensive tires on they can get.
150-200 dollars makes a difference on a deal, especially to the numbers guys / sales managers.
Most are super tightasses...

[fidel]

i ran shinko on my 2000 rk 98 ci  dont last long  but like the grip    traction 
 k
lollll
 

[tomboyjr]

The original owner replaced the Dunlop tires with less than 2,500 miles with Shinko tires? Something seems fishy.

They won't last as long as the factory Dunlop tires, that's for certain.

Unless your "2233" is a typo...then like Ohio said, I'd be more concerned WHY a bike that supposedly has 2233 mi. got a new set of tires.

Maybe the original tire had a plug in it? I'm not sure if a dealer can legally sell a bike like that.

A few times I have gotten a nail in a brand new tire, and if it was in the tread I'd plug it. Never had a problem actually.

I have a front Shinko 705 80/20 on my Triumph Tiger 800xc, no complaints. However the rear only lasted 4500 miles, replaced that with a Motoz Tractionator GPS and loving it so far

[tbird]

Last August I changed both tires on 2 of my bikes the same week. 00 r-king, 07 ultra, Put Michelin commander 2's on the king and shinko 777 on the ultra. The shinko's out perform the Michelins in every aspect. Shinko seem to be wearing faster so I won't get the mileage out of them. I change my own tires so I'll take grip over mileage any time.

[Oclaf]

Harley dealer or independent dealer? regardless, sounds like cheap/low cost tire to save money to me, although i myself would have a hard time believing a Harley dealer would put anything but a branded tire on, regardless of cost, they will get it back somehow. another story to be hashed over...either the owner did it due to age or if an independent dealer, same reason. In summary, i would ride it and enjoy it and when its time for a new one, put on what you want.

[chopper]

I rolled the dice some years back and bought Shinko tires.
I love em!  Reasonably priced and last as well, if not longer than most. I ran Metzlers till they started making them in Brazil. A lot of folks bad-mouthing Shinko have never had any first hand experience with them. I've bought several sets and will buy them again.

[Hossamania]

Delete

[misfitJason]

I bought a 19 inch Sportster rim and it came with a in date Shinko. I was shocked to see that max pressure rating was only 34 psi. It was grippy and ran ok but I assume due to the low tire pressure, it was more susceptible to weaving and rad imperfections.

[stro1965]

Shinko tires are super popular on the competition/rodeo circuit. I love them!

[Norton Commando]

Shinko tires are super popular on the competition/rodeo circuit. I love them!

Me, too!

Jason

[CarlosGGodfrog]

Anyone have experiencewith the Shinko 240 Classic model ?

[motorplex88]

I run the 240 classics on a '76 FL. Nothing really out of the ordinary till I hit some sawed concrete (i.e. road construction). It was hard to hang on as it got pretty wild. As soon as I got back on asphalt it was fine.You cannot see attachments on this board.

[CarlosGGodfrog]

Thanks, do you have a traction or wear issue ?

[motorplex88]

I can say about the wear as they don't have many miles on them. Grip seams adequate for that type of tire.

[76shuvlinoff]

The original owner replaced the Dunlop tires with less than 2,500 miles with Shinko tires? Something seems fishy.

They won't last as long as the factory Dunlop tires, that's for certain.

 As I found out on my shovel some 20 years ago. I don't know anything about their current offerings because I have no intention of trying them again.  At the time the 76 was my only bike and it ate those tires up quickly.