Shinko 230 Tourmaster performance reports

[89-300ce]

Great. Decided that maybe I should change the front as well but Michelin only makes the Commander in a 110/90-18 instead of the recommended 120/90-18. Thoughts?

 

[slabghost]

That's only slightly narrower I think. Your call.

 

[Ansimp]

The Rats Nest is currently running a 110/90 x19 front and did come with an 18" front which Steve kindly swapped for his 80 Gl1100 front as I had already ordered a 19 front instead of an 18.

 

[Ohara]

I put a set of 230's on my 86 Interstate last spring. 10,000 kilometres on them so far and they still look good. I run 40 psi in front and rear. I ride approximately 60 kilometres ( 40 miles) each way to work every day that I can. They are great in the rain and give a very smooth ride. When I first put them on they did feel a bit greased but that went away once they wore in. My new to me 86 Aspencade came with an almost new set of E-3's so once I am done doing the alt conversion I will be able to see how they feel.

 

[89-300ce]

I think these tires are extremely sensitive to heat. They have a soft compound and are marginal in load rating for the Goldwing. If you ride lightly loaded for short distances they would be ideal because they are soft compound, soft carcass, and inexpensive. They give a smooth ride and stick well when cool. These tires seem to wear quickly if you are heavily loaded and are putting a lot of heat into the tire with long distance high speed cruising, worse on hot pavement.

The commanders I'm running now are a much stiffer rougher riding tire and don't offer the same grip when cold but also don't get greasy and wear quickly when hot like the 230's.

I have a smaller bike for around town and use the wing primarily for two up highway trips and vacations so the Shinko is not a good choice for me.

Jorg

 

[Ansimp]

What pressures were you running Jorg. I run 36 front and 42-45 rear and that seems to work well. When we did our trip from LA to Sturgis and back it was pretty hot in August in the the south west deserts. My rear Shinko A230 lasted 6K miles and the front went to 12K miles and we did 4200miles through mainly national parks ( plenty of twisties) in 6.5 days on our trip. That being said my new in Oz rear Shinko is now worn out and I need to figure out how many miles I have put on it.( not 6K I am sure)

 

[89-300ce]

I am running 32-40 as in the manual. In retrospect I should have run them higher which would have reduced heat/wear but I'm reluctant to go past manufacturers recommended settings. I guess I could have gone to the max rated tire pressure on the sidewall.

Where you two up? I'm guessing we where more heavily loaded and pulling a trailer as well. Where the 4200 miles you did through national parks at more moderate speeds with a lot of curves? My tire was severely squared off from straight line running at 70-80 steady. I have almost no wear on the outside profile :crying:

If I could get 6k out of the 230 rear I would have stayed with them. At 3k miles which is what I got out of them I couldn't be sure of finishing a trip starting with a new set of tires and I'm too cheap to pay someone to change my tires on the road. Never mind the hassle of trying to find a tire and the time lost.

Once my highway days are over I'd consider going back to them because I liked them otherwise and the price is right.

Jorg

 

[Ansimp]

If you were that loaded up Jorg I am pretty sure that your pressures are a bit low. I was about 115 kgs at the time and the Vetter panniers were full for our trip. As you can imagine 4200 miles in 6.5 days required a fairly high speed ( top speed on the Rats Nest was 105mph on the GPS down the western side of the Black Hills). We did a 1000 mile + day from Newcastle Wy to Reno Nv that flattened the tread on both my Shinko and my brothers Metzler on his Road King. If they make a Shinko SE890 that fits your bike I think that you would end up with increased mileage over the 230s as they seem to be of a harder compound.

 

[Denver]

Have yet to try them, :nea: as the Michelin Commander II's, are reasonably priced, wear well, & handle very nicely. :good:

 

[89-300ce]

Yup, sure sounds like I ran them too low. Ansimp, where you two up? Sounds like you where much harder on them speed and temperature wise and got good mileage. I just ran them at the manual recommended pressures. I'm about 200lbs, the wife, who knows, and the trailer is about 50 lbs hitch weight.

As for the commanders we'll see. They ride stiffer compared to the Shinkos and don't seem to have quite the stick when cold. They just seem like a much harder tire. I should be able to get some longer trips on them this summer. Probably won't be doing 105 though.

 

[Ansimp]

It was just my brother on his Road King and me on the Rats Nest, so no pillion passengers. We both like to ride fairly hard on the good roads. His local playground in SoC is Ortega Canyon and the Julian area so he likes to grind the pegs on the Road King and I have worn down the foot peg rattle pins and the centre stand on the Rats Nest. Our last ride day was around Julian and I was pretty cautious for the first half of the day because I felt that my rear tire was worn out. It was pretty much worn out but it didn't miss a beat even in the early morning rain and was just mind over matter.

 

[Ansimp]

Time for another new rear Shinko 230. This one was fitted in August 2014.

Time for another rear Shinko 230

• Ansimp
• Jun 9, 2017

Current odometer reading 139 miles

• Ansimp
• Jun 8, 2017

 

[backlander]

I see "dreaded driveway" wrote all over that tire. :smilie_happy: :smilie_happy: :hihihi:

 

[desertrefugee]

In my experience, the SR712 delivers more miles than the 830. After putting my '78 together, I installed an 830 on it and, similar to those here, it was ready to retire at around 6k miles. I popped on a cheap Shinko SR712 and have clocked almost 6k on that one. It is nowhere near time to replace it. Definitely longer lasting than the Tourmaster - and yet plenty grippy for spirited riding when the time comes.

Recommended.

 

[Ansimp]

Ansimp » Sat Jun 10, 2017 6:00 pm[/url]":lrdra233]
Time for another new rear Shinko 230. This one was fitted in August 2014.

Time for another rear Shinko 230

• Ansimp
• Jun 9, 2017

Current odometer reading 139 miles

• Ansimp
• Jun 8, 2017

Found a picture of the mileage when the rear tyre was fitted. Looks like 4500 miles for this rear on the DD and our great Aussie roads with me riding fairly hard pretty much all the time. I don't think that the Rats Nest has ever been on an outing without seeing redline at least a couple of times. :hihihi:

Mileage when rear tyre was fitted in Aug 2014

• Ansimp
• Jun 11, 2017

 

[desertrefugee]

Ansimp » Sun Jun 11, 2017 4:43 am[/url]":zsfnxdd5]
... I don't think that the Rats Nest has ever been on an outing without seeing redline at least a couple of times. :hihihi:

Well, heck, if we didn't do that, what's the point of riding? I would guess very, very few real enthusiasts ride totally without airing it out on occasion.

“Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death...” – Hunter Thompson

 

[brianinpa]

desertrefugee » Mon Jun 12, 2017 11:28 pm[/url]":1oi7635x]

Ansimp » Sun Jun 11, 2017 4:43 am[/url]":1oi7635x]
... I don't think that the Rats Nest has ever been on an outing without seeing redline at least a couple of times. :hihihi:

Well, heck, if we didn't do that, what's the point of riding? I would guess very, very few real enthusiasts ride totally without airing it out on occasion.

“Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death...” – Hunter Thompson

Red line... ride without a tach, then you don't need to worry about no sticking red lines! :smilie_happy:

 

[Ansimp]

Actually if I don't put some new rubber mount bushes in soon I may not have a tach anymore.. :doh:

 

[Ansimp]

New rear Shinko 230 fitted :good:

New Shinko 230 installed

• Ansimp
• Jun 15, 2017

 

[AApple]

:clapping: :good: