Anyone tried the Shenko raven tires?

[bandit]

I eat up tires pretty quickly . I saw these on Ebay for $168 shipped. Though if I could get 6K miles out of thenm I would be good to go. Anyhow I bought a set and mounted them, They seem to ride pretty well. Taking a 1500 + mile trip ext week so I will give a report on them. They are supposed top be touring (long wear tires) We will see.

 

[thompsonian]

I'm sure that HaulinAshe has run 'em. He's the resident tire burner I believe. Do a search and you should find something he has posted

 

[v65]

Here is a good place to find that kind of info.

 

[FJRSTAR]

I've got them on the FJR now with about a 1,000 miles on them. Cannot tell much difference compared to the BT-020s or BT-021s that they replaced.

The Bridgestone BTs lasted about 8,000 miles but showed a flat spot in the rear tire early on and the fronts cupped and got the shakes.

Too early to tell if the Shinko rear will show a premature flat spot like the BTs did or if the front will cup as bad.

I hope to match or exceed that mileage with these Shinkos. I am running them at around 40-42 psi.

They used to be Yokohama's motorcycle tire division so trusting them is not a problem.

 

[HaulinAshe]

I would recommend keeping the air pressure low on the Shinko (Ravens I assume). They are a fairly hard compound tire, which is where the tread life comes from. If you run them 40/42, you'll get good mileage from them, but you'd better watch out in cold conditions.

I recall settling on 36/38 to be happy with the Shinko. There's no doubt it won't last that long under such psi conditions.

 

[FJRocket]

I ran the Ravens for one set. Went to WFO and ran them about 7000+ miles. They aren't the grippiest tires in the world. If you're doing more long distance touring and less hard core sporting, it's a very viable tire. Not my first choice in tires, but if you gave them to me, I'd run them. Better choices out there for grip, wet or cold, but still a pretty darn good bang for the buck. Unless we learn in that other thread that the 40K mile auto tires work out like a sport touring motorcycle tire.

 

[Zorlac]

I've got 1600 miles on a rear with no visible signs of wear yet, so far it seems as good as the Z6 that it replaced.

 

[FJRSTAR]

I would recommend keeping the air pressure low on the Shinko (Ravens I assume). They are a fairly hard compound tire, which is where the tread life comes from. If you run them 40/42, you'll get good mileage from them, but you'd better watch out in cold conditions.
I recall settling on 36/38 to be happy with the Shinko. There's no doubt it won't last that long under such psi conditions.

Living here south of Houston with mostly flat roads and very little curvy roads and not so cold temperatures the Shinkos should last a good while then (hopefully).

I should be heading to the Hill Country and maybe Eureka Springs again with these Shinkos and that would be a really good test for them.

If they last and perform for me on the FJR fully loaded up, I may buy another set but I am curious about the Avons enough to give them a shot as well later.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Be careful in Eureka Springs....

 

[FJRSTAR]

Be careful in Eureka Springs....

I was there earlier this year on BT-021s and they performed great. I was following a very careful, experienced rider (MGMMike) and we were very far from home.

I would not have any doubts or concerns riding with these Shinkos on the FJR (fully loaded up-solo) come next April following Mike again in Eureka Springs or solo or even in the Hill Country here in Texas.

I do not ride aggressive-like in the twisties anymore. I've gotten older and hopefully wiser.

 

[HaulinAshe]

...I do not ride aggressive-like in the twisties anymore. I've gotten older and hopefully wiser.

You need to make up your mind about which part of that statement is true. Because as compiled, it does not compute!



Grumpy is older, wiser, and still spanks your butt in the twisties.

 

[madmike2]

Here is a good place to find that kind of info.

Learn the alternate search function for the FJR Forum......

Using Google: Shinko Raven site:fjrforum.com

That should provide you with some interesting reading......

 

[FJRSTAR]

...I do not ride aggressive-like in the twisties anymore. I've gotten older and hopefully wiser.

You need to make up your mind about which part of that statement is true. Because as compiled, it does not compute!



Grumpy is older, wiser, and still spanks your butt in the twisties.

I meant I do not ride as aggressive (aggressive-like) in the twisties like I used to. I guess I should go back to grammar school...not!!

I love the twisties but respect them very much and know what can happen if I do not. The Shinkos do not keep me from riding in the twisties aggressively, the voices in my aged head do.

 

[FJRay]

I took the Shinko off the rear at 6k with a fair bit of life left in it but not enough for NAFO. Going to put it back on in the spring and finish it off. I would buy another one without any problem.

 

[bandit]

I took the Shinko off the rear at 6k with a fair bit of life left in it but not enough for NAFO. Going to put it back on in the spring and finish it off. I would buy another one without any problem.

Well I put almost 2K miles on them, They are just as smooth as the tires they replaced. Grip fine, I drug a peg a few times on my trip. For $168 delivered to my door, I cannot complain at all.

 

[luvtoride]

I've got them on the FJR now with about a 1,000 miles on them. Cannot tell much difference compared to the BT-020s or BT-021s that they replaced.

I expect that it's comments like this that will keep me from ever trying BT-020, BT-021 or Z6 tires. I am not super aggressive but I ride twisties a lot. I want to KNOW that I have "stick" there.

 

[Judd]

Levered a 180 Raven 009 on the rear wheel and a 120 Advance 005 front on my FJR right before heading for Mexico. They now have right around 5K miles on them and I'm pleased. They went on easy {as compared to most other tires} didn't require much weight to balance, they held up fine to Baja's dirt road {lots of nasty rocks} and the rear looks to have at least another 4K miles left on it. The front is relatively unfazed.

Get this straight though,,,, no real railing so I do not know about the stick in the curves. I'll find out about that shortly. I do know this though, a fully loaded FJR with rider is one heavy pig and when your running at speeds of 80-95mph for hours on end it tends to wear the center out bad. That FJR also has around 100ftlbs of torque and it absolutely eats rear tires when daily driving or touring and it eats fronts when playing in the mountains. As a comparison, I normally get around 7-8K miles outa my rear Stradas. Should be a good test for em and as of right now,,, I'm very happy with em. Especially for the heady sum of 80$ for the rear!!!!!!!!!!:up:

I'm also running some 50/50 dual sport Shinkos on my DR650. I think they were something like 244s and the actual name was a really dorky "Golden Boy" or something like that. Once again, they mounted up fine, seem to be round and not too outa balance {I don't balance the DR tires} and seem to be working just fine as long as I'm not in the mud. Price for a front and rear?? A whoppin 60$!!!!!:thumbup:

Now to the folks that refuse to even think about Shinko tires, cool........ low demand should keep those prices down!

 

[n2osx]

I ride 2 up, and I have about 1500+ on my Shenkos. I had a used Diablo Super Cora (race tire, I know). The Shenko sure don't stick as well. I noticed that I scape peg alot because I have to lean it harder and have to slow down about 5 mph in the fun twisties. These tires do ride well, but you do have to be careful when riding in the rain, you twist the throttle too hard and you will easily spin. Good tire, just remember it's not the stickiest tire, so be careful and don't over due it.

Carl

 

[Zorlac]

"I'm very happy with em. Especially for the heady sum of 80$ for the rear!!"

Where'd you find the 009 for that price lately?