Topic: CHENG SHIN Tires

[charlevoix418]

That company produce tires to the original Honda CB dimensions (ex. 3.00 x 18), Rib Tires.

They are very cheap.

Anybody use them?

Is riding OK?

Are they safe?

Raynald from Canada

[goon 1492]

not sure about the quality of the street tire but that is what i have always used on the dirt bike,I know they are a sister company to metzler also.

[Gregorymoto]

They are hard as rocks, you get OK traction when dry but they scare me in wet conditions. If they are Old no i would not touch them.

Once a long time ago i just got an old CB running and i wanted to take Erin O'bryan out for a rid, you know i was 18 and hoping to get her attention. The tires where Cheng Shin and they looked good for 20year old tires. The front one went flat at 50mph out on a country road. That scared the shlit of me. But being the gifted rider that i am i pulled it off without a wreck and we banged each other for a year after.
The end
I think you can still find them new, but i wouldn't suggest them unless you are doing a show Restoration and you are only going to ride it once a year.

Good luck
G. Mountain

[Gregorymoto]

Go Avon or Metzler>>>

[hymodyne]

I've got Cheng shin  tires on my bike at present,  about 5K miles. Wear on the rear is unusually fast. Fine when the road is dry, but scary in the wet. I'm planning to switch to metzlers before this season starts.

Hym

[charlevoix418]

Thank you for the suggestions, but I noticed that tires were now sold metric, I don't see sizes like 3.00x18 or 3.50x18.

How can I find equivalents or does good tire manufactures produce vintage size tires?

Raynald from Canada

CB350F

[kghost]

Well any rock hard 20 yr old tire is gonna give you problems.

Chen's have improved over the years......

I have sets on three different bikes.....outa maybe 13 (I've lost track of how many bikes I have)

Ones on a 350F...works just fine...aint a 150 mph superbike (been on it 3 yrs)

Ones on a 750 K2....doesn't see much riding...but they work just fine. (been on it 4 yrs)

Ones on a GL1000 (been on it 1 yr)

I've not experienced any traction problems...they seem dimensionally stable...and they don't by any means feel loose and greasy. That said I don't flog those three particularly hard.

If your a casual rider you prolly won't notice any improvement with a more expensive tire.

If your going to be riding hard...I recommend Dunlop 501 GT's





Chen shin's are made by the folks who make Maxxis.

Its a Tiawan company. Been around since 1969.

[mark]

I have them on the 550 - p.o. had them on. No issues but I don't ride it real hard and avoid damp weather - let alone real wet.

I'll probably end up putting them on the 350 as well. New chengshins have to be better than a cracked up bridgestone and a bald dunlop, right? Hard to find anything else that small anyway.


Happy trails.

[aptech77]

Cheng shin= cheap junk

[mystic_1]

Thank you for the suggestions, but I noticed that tires were now sold metric, I don't see sizes like 3.00x18 or 3.50x18.

How can I find equivalents or does good tire manufactures produce vintage size tires?

Raynald from Canada

CB350F

Here's a Motorcycle Tire Size Conversion Chart


mystic_1

[kghost]

Cheng shin= cheap junk

Now thats helpful 

Do you currently have any or ride one any?

[Andoo]

I like the Bridgestone battleaxe BT45, it's a dual compound tire. Soft on the sides, longer life in the center.

Going around a turn I washed out the back end on a Cheng Shin tire (cheap #$%*).
I will never buy another tire from them again.
But I ride canyons constantly scraping pegs.

[Geeto67]

I have often equated Cheng shin tires with wrapping your rim with actual feces.

I had a set on a 79 cb750F and the firest time I knew they were trouble is when I turned into a corner and did the best dirt track impersonation I have ever done in my life. The conditions were clear, it was the middle of summer (hot) and I had just gotten off the highway. the tires had about 1000 miles on them and were inflated properly. I do a lot of city ridding, it is not hard riding so much as it is a lot of sharp quick movements. The CS tires do not hold up to quick changes in direction and certain varied surfaces.

That being said I know a few formula CB racers who actually use the tires for their race bikes. They say once you get it sucffed in properly they become less greasy.

I would just like to add that when I was in law school, in my contracts textbook was a case involving Cheng Shin tires and a CB750. Apparently the individual wrecked his bike after tire failure at speed. If I ever find my old text book I will post the case name and citation.

There are plenty of other tires that are cheaper than avon or metzlers that will give you better performance than a Cheng Shin. Continential comes to mind, as does dunlop.

As for tire size a 3.00x18 would be a 90/90/18 front tire size and a 3.50x18 would be about a 100/90/18. I personally might go to a 100 front and 110 rear because I like the extra contact patch. Also I am not sure you would have the front size right since most 70's bikes have 19" fronts not 18"

 not sure which bike you are looking for tires for since there are better suggestions than stock. For instance a stock cb750 uses about a 120 rear tire stock but I would suggest either a 130 or 140 (that would be a jump from 4.00x18 to 5.00 or 6.00 x18)

[flankspeed]

I wouldn't use them on anything that goes faster than 50 mph.  I had some on a moped that worked well, but anymore I'll only run avons or bridgestones depending on the application.

[mark]

.........
As for tire size a 3.00x18 would be a 90/90/18 front tire size and a 3.50x18 would be about a 100/90/18. I personally might go to a 100 front and 110 rear because I like the extra contact patch. Also I am not sure you would have the front size right since most 70's bikes have 19" fronts not 18".....

CB350s come with 18" fronts.

[charlevoix418]

According to Honda Specs and the owner manual, the 1973 Honda CB350 Four uses 3.00x18 Front and 3.50x18 rear.
I am back to biking after 33 years:  I read that front tire should have a different shape than rear tire:  Rib Tire for front???

Someone suggested to use wider tires:  how much wider should I go for front and rear???  I really need suggestions!

Raynald from Quebec City Canada   CB350F

[Soos]

That company produce tires to the original Honda CB dimensions (ex. 3.00 x 18), Rib Tires.

They are very cheap.

Anybody use them?

Is riding OK?

Are they safe?

Raynald from Canada

I have used one.
Still have it up front.
Have yet to have it loose grip, but i'm no knee dragger.

Been having a problem with it sealing on the bead correctly since day one.
It slowly leaks ALL the time.
I check pressure every ride, and fill up 2+ times a week on average.

I personally will not buy another one, but it did a good job at the time for the money.


I have been told that there is a sealer available for automotive tires to help them seal that would fix this leaking problem.

Compared to the (michelin??) mackadam rear tire... well there is no comparison!
My Macadam tire has been AWESOME since day one(after the battle to get it on!).
Have only aired it up 2 or 3 times since the initial airing up.

Both tires have been on this bike for a bit more than a year.

l8r

[mattcb350f]

I have a set of Cheng Shin HI-MAX models for my 350F.
90/90-18 up front and on the rear: 120/100-18... I think.

I don't know how they will perform yet but I have seen them on several bikes, cafe's etc. on this forum and others.

[333]

Nice link Mystic.  Much easier to read than the jpg I had been posting to answer this question.
2 points to make:

Speed rating.  The charts decipher the tire markings and explain the speeds involved.  None of the charts I've seen fully explain that these speeds are "sustained speeds".  Ex; An H rated tire is rated for sustained speeds of 130mph.  Now you might say:what does this mean to me- I never break 100.  The higher rating a tire has, the cooler it will be at 55mph.  The cooler it is, the more miles you will get out of it.  Most "good" tires start at "H".  When I started in the M/C business in '85, the general rule was: H tires were touring, V tires were sport.  Then bikes requiring radials changed that.

Tire size.  This subject has been beaten to death, yet it still lives on.  Car tires are flat.  You increase size, you will have a larger contact patch.  Motorcycle tires are curved.  You increase size, you squeeze it on your stock rim and put more curvature on the tread face giving you less rubber in contact with the ground.  Our bikes came with inch sized tires, so a metric tire is already a little larger.  A compromise we have to make to get decent tires. But the idea that "if a little bigger is OK, than a lot bigger is better" is wrong.  Fat tires look cool, no question.  I had a 750K4  that called for a 4.00, had a 130(5.25 equivalent) when I first got it. It would "fall" when starting even the slightest turn. It also would lock up fairly easily.  It didn't do that after I put the correct size tire on.

[lrutt]

I have them on several bikes and they work just fine. I've run dunlops, contis, avons, bridgestones, goodyears, etc. on my bikes and the Chen's are as good as any. Now on my Ducati I run Michelins, but the other bikes don't get run as hard as the Duc so absolutly no problems there. You can't beat them at that price. I've NOT been impressed by Kendas. IRC's have been ok.

[goon 1492]

nice remarks about them being cheap  poo what do you expect when you get what you pay for, cheng shins are not for peg grinding, the price of them alone would make my natural self preservation smack me with that thought,"note so self don't buy the $30.00 a peice tires to take the canyon run on unless you want skin grafts"  

[mark]

No kidding.

I could just as easily say that dunlops are crap because I have them on 2 bikes and both are bald right down to the cord.

[mattcb350f]

Back in the day riders were peg grinding on those hard old ribbed tyres, they must have been better riders right...

...any tyre, even Cheng Shins are much better than the ones that came on our bikes.

...Just stirring the pot

I chose to buy CS tyres Because I already had one and for the fact that I'm not going to do much hard thrashing. If I was going to do some hard riding, even if I cost was an issue I would definitely buy the stickiest tyres I could find. (Probably not Cheng Shin)

When it comes to tyres, I suggest you buy the best tire that fits your riding needs/style. If you just plan to do some cruising around on dry roads most of the time, I think Cheng Shins should be alright.

 Matt.

[hapsh]

I am not sure about the Cheng bashing going on.  I have used them on commuter bikes several times over the years and they work great in dry and wet.  One thing I would mention is that I would be concerned about use of their unrated speed tires.  They sell several models that are not speed rated at all.  I would probably stay away from those.  Now if you are going to do lots of fast cornering in canyons I would get tires made for it just for safety sake.  But for general riding they are quite good.  It is very hard to find tires in the proper size for older bikes that are true sport tires.  I have really liked the Kenda Challengers, they feel much like Bridgestone Battlax BT014 tires, very stable and have soft sport compound.  They track well and have really good grip in the twisties.  The good thing is they are made in proper sizes for our classic bikes.

[magnus72]

The Shins I've had on my bikes performed well. I'm no carver, just a commuter as the tires I had were not speed rated.

I always thought they were marketed more for ATVs, mopeds and dirt bikes. I've seen guys at the dragstrip burn them up pretty good. Price was of course a major selling factor.