Ya'll's a bunch of tire snobs...
Shinko Tires
Road Master
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 946
Likes: 29
From: my house
Big difference between Shinko and Kenda!!!
This thread made me realise why you guys in the USA really don't rate the H-D branded Dunlop's yet I found them to be superb in the wet and you can get 10k miles out of a Shinko, whereas they go about 5k in NZ....it's all down to what your roads are made of, you have a lot of concrete roads and smooth black top and all ours are made of volcanic chip....which is ultra grippy and abrades tyres at a frightening rate.
This thread made me realise why you guys in the USA really don't rate the H-D branded Dunlop's yet I found them to be superb in the wet and you can get 10k miles out of a Shinko, whereas they go about 5k in NZ....it's all down to what your roads are made of, you have a lot of concrete roads and smooth black top and all ours are made of volcanic chip....which is ultra grippy and abrades tyres at a frightening rate.
Anytime someone complains about the roads here, my father in law who travels all over the world for work quickly tells them to be thankful, our roads are much better than most of the world's.
The thing I've always thought about tires is that no one is really in a position to do a decent A-B test anyway.
By the time you get around to replacing them, they're shagged. You've spent however many months getting accustomed to their gradual shaggedness.
Then you replace them with brand new ones. Well, of course the brand new ones feel better. They're brand new. Doesn't mean "Brand B" is better than "Brand A". It just means new tires feel better than worn out tires.
If I get a year out of a rear tire, I'm happy. We'll see how the Shinko holds up. If its shot by May, I'll probably go to Dunlops. But if it gets me through the year, I'll stick with them.
By the time you get around to replacing them, they're shagged. You've spent however many months getting accustomed to their gradual shaggedness.
Then you replace them with brand new ones. Well, of course the brand new ones feel better. They're brand new. Doesn't mean "Brand B" is better than "Brand A". It just means new tires feel better than worn out tires.
If I get a year out of a rear tire, I'm happy. We'll see how the Shinko holds up. If its shot by May, I'll probably go to Dunlops. But if it gets me through the year, I'll stick with them.
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
Likes: 2,898
From: Bedford UK
I have to disagree with you there 0maha! That may be the case for novice riders, but tyres tend to have their distinct characteristics which can easily be discerned. In the past I had Metzelers on a BMW, which were pretty mediocre for grip and stability, so they were never replaced with the same brand.
On the other hand a friend swore by them for his MZ stroker and I ran them exclusively on three MZs for many years. However at the same time I fitted a set to my Glide and they are the only set of tyres I have ever replaced before they had worn out - they were the worst tyres I have ever used, except perhaps for the Goodyears that came stock on my new FX. I should add that the three bikes all used different models within the Metzeler range and that was some while ago.
If it was feasible to assemble those three bikes today on the same tyres I reckon anyone would tell them apart!
On the other hand a friend swore by them for his MZ stroker and I ran them exclusively on three MZs for many years. However at the same time I fitted a set to my Glide and they are the only set of tyres I have ever replaced before they had worn out - they were the worst tyres I have ever used, except perhaps for the Goodyears that came stock on my new FX. I should add that the three bikes all used different models within the Metzeler range and that was some while ago.
If it was feasible to assemble those three bikes today on the same tyres I reckon anyone would tell them apart!
Road Master
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 946
Likes: 29
From: my house
The thing I've always thought about tires is that no one is really in a position to do a decent A-B test anyway.
By the time you get around to replacing them, they're shagged. You've spent however many months getting accustomed to their gradual shaggedness.
Then you replace them with brand new ones. Well, of course the brand new ones feel better. They're brand new. Doesn't mean "Brand B" is better than "Brand A". It just means new tires feel better than worn out tires.
If I get a year out of a rear tire, I'm happy. We'll see how the Shinko holds up. If its shot by May, I'll probably go to Dunlops. But if it gets me through the year, I'll stick with them.
By the time you get around to replacing them, they're shagged. You've spent however many months getting accustomed to their gradual shaggedness.
Then you replace them with brand new ones. Well, of course the brand new ones feel better. They're brand new. Doesn't mean "Brand B" is better than "Brand A". It just means new tires feel better than worn out tires.
If I get a year out of a rear tire, I'm happy. We'll see how the Shinko holds up. If its shot by May, I'll probably go to Dunlops. But if it gets me through the year, I'll stick with them.
Dirt don't hurt
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 21,065
Likes: 4,561
From: Haslet Texas
A lot of our back roads are chip seal, but the major highways and roads are mostly all asphalt. The Dunlop's I had were down right scary on wet pavement. I don't remember which model they were but they sucked.
Anytime someone complains about the roads here, my father in law who travels all over the world for work quickly tells them to be thankful, our roads are much better than most of the world's.
Anytime someone complains about the roads here, my father in law who travels all over the world for work quickly tells them to be thankful, our roads are much better than most of the world's.
Dirt don't hurt
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 21,065
Likes: 4,561
From: Haslet Texas
The thing I've always thought about tires is that no one is really in a position to do a decent A-B test anyway.
By the time you get around to replacing them, they're shagged. You've spent however many months getting accustomed to their gradual shaggedness.
Then you replace them with brand new ones. Well, of course the brand new ones feel better. They're brand new. Doesn't mean "Brand B" is better than "Brand A". It just means new tires feel better than worn out tires.
If I get a year out of a rear tire, I'm happy. We'll see how the Shinko holds up. If its shot by May, I'll probably go to Dunlops. But if it gets me through the year, I'll stick with them.
By the time you get around to replacing them, they're shagged. You've spent however many months getting accustomed to their gradual shaggedness.
Then you replace them with brand new ones. Well, of course the brand new ones feel better. They're brand new. Doesn't mean "Brand B" is better than "Brand A". It just means new tires feel better than worn out tires.
If I get a year out of a rear tire, I'm happy. We'll see how the Shinko holds up. If its shot by May, I'll probably go to Dunlops. But if it gets me through the year, I'll stick with them.
Stay away from the HD branded ones as they are crap.
Road Master
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 946
Likes: 29
From: my house
They may have been, I don't remember if they said HD on them or not. They weren't cheap and performed poorly so yeah, they probably were the HD branded Dunlops lol.
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Road Master
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 856
Likes: 9
From: North Carolina
LOL... I ride with some guys that have HD everything.. Talk about snobs. If your manipanties and socks don't have HD on them they will turn their nose up.