Kawasaki Vulcan Forum banner

Michelin vs. Shinko

18K views 42 replies 24 participants last post by  irving 
#1 ·
General consensus of the usual suspects at various local bike-nights (and probably a majority of riders who contribute to this forum) are that Shinko (S. Korean) and Kenda (“mostly” Chinese from what I can gather) and IRC (Japanese) are low end, cheapo tires not to be taken seriously by the I-ride-hard crowd. Based on the many recommendations on this forum, I just replaced my OEM front with a Michelin Commander. Country of manufacture – Thailand . Am sure the significant, extra cost of the Michelin is due to the superior engineering, choice of components, and company’s manufacturing standards…Right??? I see more and more riders going with Shinko tires on some very expensive scoots and it makes me wonder if they know something I don’t. I experienced the most consistent tire wear with Dunlop Elite III’s on my Wing but the longest wearing tires I’ve ever had were IRC’s on my Boulevard. There’s an average price swing of $45 between the “comparable” Shinko and Michelin fronts. IF you do the math AND you get 20% LESS tread life with the Shinko, you’re still $$ ahead with the Shinko by the 3rd tire change. With the exception of the IRC’s, I’ve always used one of the Big 3 on my bikes – Dunlop, Bridgestone or Michelin (maybe with a Pirelli OEM thrown in for good measure). But I think the times they are a changing as Mr. Dylan observed.
 
#3 ·
I had a kenda on my Nomad and they are made of hard rubber seemed like it would last forever but i got a screw in tire so replaced with shinko.kenda tire was very noisey. Also the kenda was taller then stock. The shinko I got about 7000 miles out of it with stock size and much quieter ride.
 
#4 ·
Unless you got that tire for about $50 and don't mind changing tires that often, the Michelin Commander II is a much better deal. It will last at least three times the miles of the Shinko. I paid $180 + $20 for mounting and balancing the tire, doing the install myself, and it lasted 22000 miles. It would take three Shinko tires to get close to that. Three mount/balance charges for $60 will leave you $140 to pay for three Shinko tires. Good luck with that.
 
#6 ·
I am running a Shinko Tourmaster on the front and I have no issues with it. Just went over 12,400 miles with it last week. Looks like at least another 5k left on it. Yep... looks like it is a cheapo no mileage tire that is good for nothing.....

I tried the C II's on another large scoot and did not care for them or the price. Used the Avon's for a while. (on front) then been using Shinko for quite a while. I have Shinko on my other Yamaha scoots. Good mileage on them also.

When it comes to tires, oil, antifreeze, Dark Side.... or any other subject, no matter what does well for you, others cannot tolerate.... so take everything with a grain of salt.

Other than a car tire, the best tire I have seen for the rear on a Voyager is the Metzler 888.... trying out one now. Over 5k miles and does not look worn any. Still has the nibs on it. Good but pricey too....
 
#7 ·
I am running a Shinko Tourmaster on the front and I have no issues with it. Just went over 12,400 miles with it last week. Looks like at least another 5k left on it. Yep... looks like it is a cheapo no mileage tire that is good for nothing.....

I tried the C II's on another large scoot and did not care for them or the price. Used the Avon's for a while. (on front) then been using Shinko for quite a while. I have Shinko on my other Yamaha scoots. Good mileage on them also.

When it comes to tires, oil, antifreeze, Dark Side.... or any other subject, no matter what does well for you, others cannot tolerate.... so take everything with a grain of salt.

Other than a car tire, the best tire I have seen for the rear on a Voyager is the Metzler 888.... trying out one now. Over 5k miles and does not look worn any. Still has the nibs on it. Good but pricey too....[/QUOTE

There you go again Bubba, comparing front apples with rear oranges, LOL!! The other guy said his REAR Shinko lasted 7k miles. I said the rear Commander II lasted 22k miles for me. Why didn't you put a Shinko on the rear? Things that make you go "hmmmmmm".
 
#8 · (Edited)
Because I had a CT on it after the stock tire was bald at 4000 miles..... Then the 888 came out and I wanted to try it. I will go back to a CT when the 888 goes away... that.s why.... no more... no less... I am still trying it....

No apples... no oranges.... normally no wiase ass comments.... like some....

Most know I am a Car Tire Dark Side rider..... but I do try other things from time to time. Then go back to CT. When this 888 wears out I will put the CT back on that was on it when I put the 88 on....

I do know people with the Shinko rears and they use nothing else. But on Yamaha's. I was in Yamaha forums 20 years, only been in Kawai three.
 
#9 ·
(I have to do this, guys. Apologizes to the reasonable people who participate in this forum.)

TS 823:

Wow! 22,000 miles on a motorcycle tire – really? I cannot imagine any other mortal in this universe safely achieving 22K miles one a single cycle tire. Must be from that specially designed, wind-tunnel tested aircraft aluminum rear deck spoiler you installed on your top case – reduces the load on your rear tire by 50% when you reach speeds of 30 mph or above. Or – maybe Michelin let that never-to-be-sold super-secret motorcycle tire (manufactured with that special tire compound derived from the Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator) slip out-the-door to your dealer! Lucky you!

You can now safely join the ranks of those lucky 1972 Pontiac Catalina owners with 400 cubic inch V8’s that were getting 80 miles per gallon because they had that “special” GM carburetor that was never supposed to be used in public. You know – the one that the 4 guys in black suites came to your house to remove from your car in the middle of the night.

The really unfortunate thing about making that kind of claim in a post is that some novice or really gullible newbie will read it and be disappointed or down right angry because they “only” got 15k on their tire.

I think you should mosey over to the page where they guy proclaims himself an oil filter expert because he hacksaws used oil filters and “inspects” the “level of degeneration of the filter material” to determine the overall effectiveness of the filter. He probably gets well over 30k on one set of his bike tires.

(Sigh.)
 
#10 ·
Ricky, that sure took a lot a effort and words just to say you think I lied about getting 22000 miles on a tire. Read some previous posts on this forum. Others report getting as much as 28000 miles. I will make no effort to convince you that I do not lie, because I don't care if you believe me or not. Buy and use whatever tire you choose to believe will serve you best. I don't sell tires or own stock in any tire companies.
 
#11 ·
I did a lot of research a couple of months ago by searching this forum, another Kawi forum and talking to my dealer. I chose the MCII's given the quality of the Michelin's on my car, what others on the 2 forums had to say about quality and durability, and seeing that this is what my dealer had on his VV and loves them after 15,000 miles and looking really good. Yes, they do cost a bit more - so do the Michelin car tires on my Honda Pilot. But these MCII's run smooth, have great traction, and are rated at 25,000 miles. If i get anywhere near that I will be very very happy.

RickyTT - You can run whatever tire you want on your scoot - it doesn't bother me. I will never say anything bad about your choice of brand or why you chose to go that route. I researched my tires so I wasn't buying blindly. Enough said
 
#12 ·
This picture is my Michelin Commander II at 19k. I now have just over 20k on it and it is starting to show some wear. I plan on making it last the season and replacing it with another Commander II this winter. The Michelin is also about $20 less than any Metzler tire.

This is mounted on my 12' Voyager.

 
#14 ·
I run shinko raven 009s on two of my bikes. They are a good sport touring radial tire. On my heavy touring bikes I like to run Michelin tires. Pilot Road 4s on the concours and Commander II on the rear of the Voyager. Still running the Excedra Max on the front of the Voyager.

I think shinko makes good tires. I think they are older technology though. I think Michelin makes better rain tires and I ride in the rain.
 
#15 ·
Rear Tire Choices

Greetings all. It's time to replace the rear tire on the VV. I generally ride two up. So far it sounds like the Michelin C II is the longevity winner. I am interested in what other tire all of you are running, and what the average mileage is your getting out of them. Please post, and give me your feedback.

Thanks much.
 
#18 ·
I've recommend both the Commander and the American Elite.

I've had some recent bad luck with debris in the road.

I changed my American Elite around 13k due to a flat.
It looked good and broke in; with hardly any wear.

I changed my Commander II around 8k miles due to a flat.
It looked like it had more wear than the Elite but still more than half of it's life left.

Both rode well with the Elite feeling a little more 'agile'.

Having installed both myself, the Elite has a LOT stronger sidewall.

If you have trouble finding the Commander; the Dunlop American Elite is my choice from now on.

Scott
 
#19 ·
#20 ·
another option

Im on my second avon cobra on the rear of my 2012 nomad got 32000 km on the first, majority of it riding two up . dont know where they fit in price wise in comparison but they are available in stock sizes .also running cobra on the front but it was put on a few thousand km later
 
#21 ·
Wouldn't it be nice if it were required that all claims here had to be verified. Opinions are one thing and it's like the old saying goes, they are like a..holes, everyone has one, but claims are another thing altogether. Some seem to me to be so ridiculous, and yes, that's my opinion, that they are either questionable or unbelievable. We can sit behind a computer screen with complete anonymity and and make any claim we want. We all have our opinion on tires, air pressure, oil, filters and on and on. Some of the claims of the millage wear seen questionable to me, and yes that's my opinion too. I'm not a aggressive rider, I don't have to scrape the floorboards or do jack rabbit starts and drag the rear tire for stops. My butt isn't so sensitive that I can feel a nat on the road when I run over it, much less tell if it were male of female. I read about the MC2's here a while back. So being unhappy with the 4k miles to cord on the stock tire I gave them a try. So, with getting around 20k miles on the first set I've stuck with them. Yes, I know that's an unverified claim. and all can take it for what its worth. Third set is waiting to be mounted sometime this summer. I mount them myself. I hear people whining and complaining about wet weather performance with them. Maybe it's just me, I don't know, call me crazy, but, when its raining I slow down. Here's another unverified claim, I've ridden in some really heavy rain a few times where 15 mph was too fast. Sort of like having to hover sideways following a road, in a land far far away, but that's another story. Too dangerous to stop on the side of the road. So, if everyone is happy with the products that you are using, wonderful. Anyway, just my thoughts.
 
#22 ·
I happen to like my Shinko TourMaster 230's. Inexpensive and they hold the road well. But my tires live in a different environment than most of yours. My bike, fully loaded and with my fat ass on it weigh in around the 800 lb mark. That's a lot less stress than a bagger.

I've read where Shinko's don't hold up well in a sportbike world. That might be true since those folks tend to do things I won't do. I'm more sedate in my movements. So they're holding up just fine for my riding.

I seem to remember to expect around 7K miles out of them. For me that's fine as that is several years of riding. I've got a bit over 4K miles so far on this set. I should have around 6K on them when they go into the garage for the winter. If they look fine then, I'll get another summer of riding out of them. If not, oh well. No biggy.

Like brother pilot747 above, I change my own so it'll give me something bike-related to do this coming up winter.

But for me to get something that gets 20K miles isn't viable. They'll croak from old age before I put that many miles on them.
 
#23 ·
I run MC-II's on mine. Have just over 21,000 miles on this set. Have been mostly 1-up on them until past year. Last yr/5000 miles has been mostly 2-up. I may have another 2000 left on them, so starting the process of planning for the replacements now. Will be putting MC-II's back on.
 
#24 ·
Ok, for those that change their own tires: What equipment do you use? I've been thinking of trying it on my front tire, but I've never changed a tubless tire on anything. I've changed out tube tires on bicycles, motorcycles, lawn equipment, but never tubless. My thought was getting a good set of spoons, some balance beads and something (I know not what) for bead lubricant. How much trouble am I heading for?
 
#25 ·
I have a Harbor Freight tire changer with the motorcycle accessory. You will still need some spoons, the lube, etc. You should also get some rim protectors or make some out of materials at hand to keep from scratching the rims. The shaft that goes thru the tire is much larger than our axle size. I got an iron landscaping rod (they are black with holes for running leveling string and have a point for driving into the ground) to replace the OEM rod. You can melt and shape a cutting off a milk jug over the end of the mount/demount bar to prevent rim damage, too.

Stock size tires are not too hard to get on and off. If you are using an oversized tire like the Michelin Commander II rear, it can be a B****H to get on/off, but it is doable. I've done two. The first one, on my Voyager, wasn't too terribly hard, but when a friend and I did his Voyager, both of us together had a really difficult time getting both the rear tire off and on the rim.

You will also need an air compressor to set the beads. One of those bead setter tanks would be very handy to have.

I use Murphy's Tire Lube. One container will last you forever.
 
#27 ·
I also have the Harbor Freight motorcycle tire changer. The shaft that came with mine had a different diameter on each end so it works with the rims just fine. The mount-demount bar is junk, so I got the No-Mar mount-demount bar and the Yellow thing. Don't need spoons or rim protectors. The rear tire is slightly more difficult but not that bad. The trick is holding the bead down in the drop center as you work the mount-demount bar around. Oh year the jar of mo-mar tire lube will last a life time for home use. The bead breaker leaves something to be desired but using a little ingenuity it will work ok.
 
#29 ·
I’ve ran the MC11 with very good results. I also run the Shinko 777 HD which hasn’t been out long enough to know how long they last. I have a set on my Harley Heritage and my Yamaha Venture. So far I really like them, but will have to see how long they last. I will be buying my first Kawasaki 1700 Voyager this weekend. It a 2015 and will be in need of a rear tire. I’m gonna put the Shinko 777 HD on both ends, so we’ll see.
I also have the Harbor Freight tire machine And balancer. I’ve had it for 20 years and changed 100’s of tires. It works fine for me.

Bill
 
#31 ·
I am going to try Shinko's (the HD ones) next. One thing to consider between MC2 and Shinko 777HD, the Shinko is a softer rubber. That's why it does not get as many miles as the harder rubber HC2, but from the reviews I seen, the Shinko has much better traction, as expected from softer rubber. That and price is why I will try them next. If I can get 8,000 to 10,000 miles out of a rear Shinko, I will be happy with the tradeoff of miles for traction. The MC2 does not have good traction in rain or on tar snakes during hot GA summers, at least not good enough for me. The Bridgestones that were on the bike when I got it were also softer rubber and had MUCH better traction on tar snakes and in the rain. However, Bridgestones don't last long at all (I got less than 6,000 miles) and cost as much as MC2s.
 
#33 ·
What mileage have you gotten from other tires? Oh, and were they the HDs or reg. 777s? I think the HDs have a slightly harder rubber, but I'm not sure.
 
#36 ·
I run MCII's on my Voyager. I have 22,000 miles on this set - with another 1000 or so left on the tire. No wear bars showing yet, but it's time for the change. Proper pressure on EVERY trip is key on these big bikes and keeping tires at peak performance. I run 37psi front and 40psi rear. New tires were delivered a few weeks back, just need to get wheels off and take it to my tire guy. I like the MCII's. Many others will claim they don't have the traction of some other brands, but I have never had an issue with them.
 
#37 ·
Shinko 777 180/65-16 81H Rear Motorcycle Black Heavy Duty

  • GREAT ECONOMY TOURING TIRES DESIGNED IN SIZES TO FIT MOST CRUISERS
  • HIGHER MILEAGE AND LOAD CAPACITY
  • HEAVY DUTY VERSIONS FEATURE A REINFORCED CARCASS
  • ARAMID BELTED (90/90-21, 100/90-19, AND 150/80-16 NYLON BELTED)
  • H RATED FOR SPEEDS UP TO 130 MPH
  • AVAILABLE IN WHITEWALL ONLY IN THE SIZES NOTED
117 dollars rated 81H have one love it ,have 15000 milles on it and still going strong, no cupping like I had with the Michelin commander 2
 
#38 ·
I've got just over 6k miles on a 777 on the rear of my Voyager (can't remember if it's a 'heavy duty' version or not) but I'd Say it's less than half way worn. Paid about $90 including shipping. Installed and balanced myself. Would definitely buy again. Currently shopping a 777 for the front.
 
#39 ·
Ah yes!!!
Once again a tire thread!
Isnt it nice !!

Its like politics or gloaal warming - you cant tell/convince the other side to join your group so WHY START A FIGHT?

All I read is I use this and it lasts the best!

I have the best tires.
I use these black rings on my wheels, I inflate them with enlarged nitrogen, and then I run them through a pit of bleach to make them stick to the road.
THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top