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I ran em on my 2000 Road King for awhile. The front is lasting forever, it seems like. The rear was done in about 4500 - 5000 miles. Excellent handling and traction in all conditions while they were in good condition. Running an Avon Cobra on the rear now. Also excellent traction, and it seems to be lasting a long time.
THe thing about wear is, once you're past the halfway point, seems like the handling and traction get worse rapidly, especially under bad conditions - rain, rough roads, etc.
The guys that slam Shinko's are the guys that have never run them.
They are the guys that will belly up to the Harley parts counter to buy an overpriced HD Dunlop and think they are getting the best because it costs the most.
Shinko's are not a "cheap" tire, they are a relatively inexpensive but decent quality tire. I've run a number of 777's and a couple of Tour Masters, they do everything well and have never needed excessive weight in order to balance them.
They are not a high mileage tire though. Tires are hard enough to change on a touring bike so I choose a longer lasting tire for my RK. If Shinko made a 777 or Tourmaster that fit my Honda PC I'd buy a set next time I needed them.
I'm currently running the 777HD on my 03 RK and have no gripes. Put them on last spring/summer tubeless with balancing beads and they run true. I've forced them into cracks and they don't wander and run straight over them. I especially like how sticky they are in the corners, I can lean the bike much more with these. Can't say the same for my experience running dunlops as they always felt like they'd let loose. In fact, I even ditched the dunlops when I was riding my Yamaha R1 for a stickier continental. I'm just not impressed with dunlops at all so anything is better in my opinion.
True these were a budget minded purchase but I found lots of good feedback on them including local riders I met who were running them or had run them previously on other bikes.
We'll see what mileage I get from them but for now I have positive real world feedback and can say I'd recommend them.
The guys that slam Shinko's are the guys that have never run them.
They are the guys that will belly up to the Harley parts counter to buy an overpriced HD Dunlop and think they are getting the best because it costs the most.
Shinko's are not a "cheap" tire, they are a relatively inexpensive but decent quality tire. I've run a number of 777's and a couple of Tour Masters, they do everything well and have never needed excessive weight in order to balance them.
They are not a high mileage tire though. Tires are hard enough to change on a touring bike so I choose a longer lasting tire for my RK. If Shinko made a 777 or Tourmaster that fit my Honda PC I'd buy a set next time I needed them.
The guys that slam Shinko's are the guys that have never run them.
They are the guys that will belly up to the Harley parts counter to buy an overpriced HD Dunlop and think they are getting the best because it costs the most ... Well now, aren't you an expert on what other people do. I'm on my 68th trip around the sun, been in 46 of the 50 states and have well over a half a million miles under my belt. My opinion, backed up with a picture of the last encounter by the way was based on facts, not from stories I heard while waiting to spend all my money at the HD Parts counter. I've seen several Shenko's come apart. No thanks. No way.
I see lots of guys trash Dunlops but they never say what ones as there are several models and there not all created equal. I'm guessing most arn't referring to the American Elites , more like the 401's or 402's .
I see lots of guys trash Dunlops but they never say what ones as there are several models and there not all created equal. I'm guessing most arn't referring to the American Elites , more like the 401's or 402's .
for me yes youre correct with the 401s and 402s and whatever came stock on my 05 R1 back then. Only knew I didnt like them and looked for a stickier outer for cornering.
When I bought my Road King it had American Elites on it, the front was toast at about 6K and a belt in the rear broke not too long after that. put Metzlers on after that and wasn't really as happy with them as I remember being in the past on lighter bikes. I traded it in on the Road Glide before it needed the Metzlers replaced. The Glide came with factory tires, when I needed tires a buddy had won a set that he couldn't use/didn't need so he gave me those. I wouldn't say I'm unhappy with them, but I wouldn't pay the well over 300 a piece Harley is asking.
When the listing for the wheels said with tires, I figured it would be the American Elites or some other major brand, so I didn't factor into the budget (which I'm already well over) another set of tires. I've never known anyone who's run a Shinko, and never even really had them on the radar until they wound up on my front porch...hence the question.
Last edited by paddywagon; Mar 5, 2018 at 09:49 PM.
Reason: Mistakes
A Harley dealer is the last place I would buy tires , they are always the highest priced by a big difference when I price tires , the also sell special HD branded Dunlops and Michelins for big money.
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