recommended street tires?

[Kabish]

I would assume its because most people think you could make a better tire out of rubber bands then buying a Shinko. I've read a lot about those tires, and they are supposed to be really good tires, but people knock them because they are "budget". Kind of the same debate as helmets, do you want a $100 budget tire keeping you from hitting the pavement or a $200 tire.

Even mentioned Shinko here at work and was immediately given dirty looks. I've not read anything bad about them though, outside of being "cheep".

 

[sparkyduc]

I love the Shinko 705 tires. Get 7-9K from rear & 10-12K on front

 

[EricV]

I have a Shinko 705 on the front now. Maybe 30% diet rides, 70% pavement. I'll have to look, but I think it had about 6k on it now. Running out a K60 on the rear.

I'm not impressed with the 705 in general. Instability at high speeds, cupping and only so-so in loose gravel.

I've run Shinko tires before on cruisers, when I was too broke to spend more. This tire ended up in the garage after the dealer tore the bead while installing a K60 on my wife's bike. We were riding that weekend and it was all they had in stock. She ran it for a couple of weeks and didn't like it, so swapped it out when the replacement K60 came in.

I tossed it on to use it up. I'm not that picky, but won't consider buying another unless I'm stuck.

 

[dietDrThunder]

I have a Shinko 705 on the front now. Maybe 30% diet rides, 70% pavement. I'll have to look, but I think it had about 6k on it now. Running out a K60 on the rear.

I'm not impressed with the 705 in general. Instability at high speeds, cupping and only so-so in loose gravel.

I've run Shinko tires before on cruisers, when I was too broke to spend more. This tire ended up in the garage after the dealer tore the bead while installing a K60 on my wife's bike. We were riding that weekend and it was all they had in stock. She ran it for a couple of weeks and didn't like it, so swapped it out when the replacement K60 came in.

I tossed it on to use it up. I'm not that picky, but won't consider buying another unless I'm stuck.

My front 705 has about 8,000 miles on it, and is worn almost perfectly evenly. Also I've never had any high speed stability issues, and the tires have a lot of high speed use on them. It seems possible that the issue isn't the tire. Either that, or maybe the tire has been updated? Not sure, but neither of those issues exist on my S10 w those tires. Also I have them on front and rear, which is another difference. As for the gravel part, ya they're 85/15 tires at best, but that's by design.

It's funny how everyone has different ideas and feelings/impressions of tires. I rode another S10 that had a K60 on the back, and I wouldn't mount one of those tires to any bike I owned if you paid me to do it. I thought it felt like a block of wood, and I hated the turn-in feel the profile imparted. But, a _lot_ of people love them, so who am I to judge?

 

[EricV]

It's funny how everyone has different ideas and feelings/impressions of tires.

Absolutely true! As said before, tires are a very personal and subjective issue. Bike set up, suspension set up, how we ride and where we ride all play a part.

I've run a lot of K60s on the Super Ten and have no issues with any 'feel' aspects. I think your turn in comment is quite valid for a worn rear K60 as they certainly do square off. I'm immune to that aspect, having run CTs for years on other bikes. My muscle memory far out weighs any increased turn in effort as the K60 wears. I love the life span on them. And with all my K60 experience, perhaps I judge the 705 as a 50/50 tire that it visually wants to mimic, rather than as a 85/15 that you suggest?

 

[decooney]

...
With the rear I am getting some squaring off, due to my commuting and a 3500+ mile trip to Grand Junction CO from So Cal. Getting across the deserts and Nevada don't provide many twisties... I've never had the feeling the rear would slip or let go on the street that others have reported. I've had the bike over on the peg / peg feelers a few times and I use a 30% stiffer rear spring than OEM, so the grounding wasn't happening early due to soft suspension set up. No chicken strip though.
...

Been wondering when someone would bring up the A3s again. I wore out the stock BWs in 5,500 miles and eeked out a bit more now running the new A3s comparing to all the positive and negative fuss reported about these tires. Some reviews say it's great, others hate it after 5,500 miles or so... I'd be happy shredding these and taking them off at 6k miles of hard riding on/off road - and not for commuting use. New, these are definitely better than my former BWs on and off road. The common feedback theme I see with these tires developing this so called "tri-banded" pattern by folks who use them for "commuting". I wonder how they perform long term for someone who spends more time on the sides of the tire. Any tire I've seen that people use for regular commuting always ends up flat on the top, same for street or dual sport or offroad bikes. Maybe this A3 is just not designed for commuting and more for spirited riding on all parts of the tire. So far so good, the tire allows one to scrape pegs with ease and still do mild offroad with them when new. Like others have said, after 5,500 miles... we will see. I've also read many reviews by spirited riders who love these tires better than most other ADV 80/20 tires.

 

[EricV]

Interesting observations. I don't commute on the bike, but rather travel on it. That said, I think what you're suggesting is essentially similar in that I'm not riding in a spirited manner as much as someone that just goes out for fun day rides and likes to ride aggressively. I am not particularly a slow rider, but ride The Pace 90% of the time. I'm not trying to see how fast I can take a corner or worried about maximum grip in full lean angles, (though I get full lean angles fine, thank you).

I don't think of the Anakee 3 as Sport-Touring rubber, which is sort of what I read you suggesting. Interesting comment for a ADV touring bike. I wouldn't slap A3s on a FJR, for example, as there are much better options for that kind of riding.

 

[decooney]

Interesting observations. I don't commute on the bike, but rather travel on it. That said, I think what you're suggesting is essentially similar in that I'm not riding in a spirited manner as much as someone that just goes out for fun day rides and likes to ride aggressively. I am not particularly a slow rider, but ride The Pace 90% of the time. I'm not trying to see how fast I can take a corner or worried about maximum grip in full lean angles, (though I get full lean angles fine, thank you).

I don't think of the Anakee 3 as Sport-Touring rubber, which is sort of what I read you suggesting. Interesting comment for a ADV touring bike. I wouldn't slap A3s on a FJR, for example, as there are much better options for that kind of riding.

When I'm done with the Michelen A3s, I plan to try a set of the PR4 Trails or regular PR4 next to compare and see just how bad the A3s are for aggressive road use only on the big Rhino. BTW, at the end of life on the former BWs, we did two long trips with less than half spirited riding and I noticed the BWs started getting flat on top as well, giving a bit of the same 3-banded feel others have referred to at 5-6k miles on the A3s. Maybe some tires are much better for long distance touring than A3s, or perhaps that's what I'm suggesting is truly the case. I'm more interested in the combination on-road / off-road performance and versatility of the A3 tire vs long distance touring use. These are good questions I hope to run back by our regional Michi rep. Def not into wasting money on the wrong set of tires but it's clear tires are like oil, everyone has different preferences for various reasons.

 

[AVGeek]

I have been absolutely amazed by the mileage I've gotten out of my front K60; I put it on at about 8K miles, and it's still going strong with over 25K on the bike. I am on my second K60 rear in that time, but because most of my riding is not twisty, the rear has squared off, but not so much that cornering is an issue. And since I do try to get the bike dirty, the grip is far and away above anything the stock Metzlers provided when the pavement ends.

 

[Kabish]

Looked really long and hard at the 705's but then I started to read horror story after horror story of the tire separating.

Found a place that has the TRAIL ATTACK 2 on sale for $150 shipped so think I'm going to go with the Trail Attack 2 which should pair up okay with my stock front from what I've read.

 

[RIDEMYST]

Those are pretty good tires. They get decent mileage too. -JEP-


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RonH]

"Flat on the top" is not the anakee 3 problem, it's flat on the sides when worn. You have nice tread in the center, then bald, then tread again. Lots of tires have this wear pattern. It's from having harder rubber in the center for long life, softer on the sides for better traction turning. I didn't hate the tire by any means, but not going to buy another set.

 

[decooney]

"Flat on the top" is not the anakee 3 problem, it's flat on the sides when worn. You have nice tread in the center, then bald, then tread again. Lots of tires have this wear pattern. It's from having harder rubber in the center for long life, softer on the sides for better traction turning. I didn't hate the tire by any means, but not going to buy another set.

RonH,
thanks for the added clarification. in your opinion (with spirited weekend riding) how many road miles would you estimate the A3s function normally before flat "sides" or other issues become evident enough that you would go ahead and remove them. At 3,5,7k miles, etc?

 

[RonH]

I replaced the Anakee 3 at 13,000 miles. The front was worn pretty well on the sides, and after removal it was really thin. I never had any problem with it in function. The rear was still pretty good, could have probably gone 17,000 miles, but I didn't care to run a worn rear with a new front, so replaced them both.
Not a bad tire choice for high mileage.

 

[decooney]

I replaced the Anakee 3 at 13,000 miles. The front was worn pretty well on the sides, and after removal it was really thin. I never had any problem with it in function. The rear was still pretty good, could have probably gone 17,000 miles, but I didn't care to run a worn rear with a new front, so replaced them both.
Not a bad tire choice for high mileage.

Okay, thanks. This is starting to make a little bit more sense now regarding some reports about the A3 tires. I'm happy to get ~7k miles out of any set of tires on any dual sport or adv bike for weekend / non-commuting type riding. Will keep on with the A3s for a while, and still wondering if there is anyone experiencing flat sides below 7k miles. Mine are still new, and I do like the handling and performance of these tires for now. Will change them out later if something shows up. So far so good.

 

[fredz43]

Found a place that has the TRAIL ATTACK 2 on sale for $150 shipped so think I'm going to go with the Trail Attack 2 which should pair up okay with my stock front from what I've read.

I like the Trail Attack 2's best of all the tires I have tried after owning 2 S10's over 5 years. I found out that there is a $50 rebate Visa card from Continental if you buy 2 of these thru the end of Oct. I also found that Competition Accessories sells a pair in our sizes for $282.58 delivered so with the $50 rebate card, it ends up at $232.58 for a pair. I don't need tires right now, but ordered a pair for later at that great price.

 

[Kabish]

I also found that Competition Accessories sells a pair in our sizes for $282.58 delivered so with the $50 rebate card, it ends up at $232.58 for a pair.

Ya I noticed the $50 Visa card thing when I was looking on Revzilla. I could get the pair for $273.55 to my door from American Motorcycle Tire, a site that was linked in this post someplace. I really don't need a front tire, but $223 bucks for a set of our tires is a pretty good deal. Not sure what I'm going to do yet, still debating on just riding on the plugged tire lol

 

[Checkswrecks]

We have an entire thread about the loved/hated Anakee A3.
http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=6488.45

 

[pnelson]

Just when you thought you had this stuff figured out... Mitas comes out with a new 90/10 radial tire. The Terra Force -R - $299 for a front and rear w/shipping via eBay The E-07 is $295. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mitas-TerraForce-Dual-Sport-Motorcycle-Tires-110-80-19-150-70-17-BMW-GS-STROM-/381674121477?vxp=mtr&hash=item58dd8ce905

http://www.mitas-moto.com/international/products/motorcycle-road/motorcycle-radial-tyres/terra-force-r/

I'll just have to do a lot more riding so I can try all these tires and decide which one/s I like the best. <grin>

 

[JRE]

I'm surprised how well the stock tires do on pavement. I just got back from TN/GA/NC and I kept pace with a Kawi Concourse and an FJR on the Cherohala and they were flying. The downside is, at 8k miles, they need to be replaced...they still have some meat on them but are squared off. Virtually all the miles are on the road and much on the interstate commuting and a few trips. I'm mulling over my next set (which is why I'm in this thread).