Well far be it for me to disagree with the collective genius of my learned colleagues, but recently I've heard good things about Shinko tires, so I did a little research and found some positive reviews of the Shinko 712's:
Reviews by Source
www.motorcycle-superstore.com Front
41 reviews. 4.6 of 5 stars. One rider reports the tire rides great, handles great, balanced great. On a 1987 Super Magna – tires riding smoother than previous Metzeler and Dunlops, great for the price. On a 1980 Suzuki GS750ET – took a 12 day, 6,300 mile road trip, loaded heavily, rain, sleet, mud, heat and never slipped once, rear has maybe 500 miles left. Another says the tire has outlased Dunlop at less than 1/2 the price. On a 1974 Suzuki GT750 – difference over the Dunlops was astounding, had real confidence going through the corners. Another reports that the tires follow road grooves. Another had the front start to peal away from the tire, Shinko was great in replacing.
www.motorcycle-superstore.com Rear
96 reviews. 4.4 of 5 stars. On a custom Sportster – rate the tire better than Dunlop, hold the road in both wet and dry. On a Suzuki RE5 – handling improved 90%, balancing was easy. On a 650cc twin – great value for the price, third one on the bike. Another says this is the fourth set of Shinkos, rider very aggressively in the twisties, stick to the road like glue, get around 7,000 miles from the rear. On a DLA650A commuter bike – 15,000 miles. Another got 3,500 miles on the Shinko 712 as compared to 5,500 on a Dunlop K591 at 1/3 the price recommend the Shinko. A couple of people reported having trouble balancing the tire.
www.bikebandit.com108 reviews. 4.7 of 5 stars. On a Yamaha Seca – grips well, performs in the wet, did need to use a good amount of weights to balance. On a Yamaha 650 Vstar and BMW K100 RT – grip the road surface extremely well, easy to install. On a BMW K100RT – tire handles very good in all road conditions, even dirt mountain roads. On a GN400 – make the bike fun to ride again, can lean hard into corners and not lose grip, amazing quality for the price. Another says not the greatest tire for hard core riders, but for people who like to take easy rides it is a great tire. On a K100RT – better than Metzelers, more stable, corners and sticks like glue.
I need some new tires for my mighty black 'Wang, and I can get some rather attractive Stinko white wall's for cheap, so I think that I might ignore the howling of the tire snobs, and pick some up, they've gotta be better than my 20 year old Dunlops!
