Since I’ve used this forum so often to learn I’ll try to add to the gene pool…. I installed a set of Shinko 705s 2 weeks ago yesterday and have about 800 miles on them now, they replaced a set of K60s.
Background for riding style etc: I have been riding motorcycles for 2 years and 7 days, I’m hooked on dual sport riding. I started with a KLR and picked up a used 2012 ST last June with a ton of extras on it, one of those extras was a set of K60 Scouts. I went to the dealer that has the YES recorded (yup it has a YES on it too) and learned the K60s were installed at 2,500 miles, I took it home with 4,000 miles. I ended up putting 9,000 miles on these tires. The back was worn however the front still has plenty of rubber left although it has some cupping.
I have the rear spring maxed out to get my sag right (I’m a heavy guy) and the bottom of the shock is 4 clicks away from the softest setting.
I ride pavement of all sorts with the goal of getting to trails. There’s a group of guys here in Denver that meet up in Morrison (or some other spot on the west side of the Denver metro area) and then ride 60 or so miles to get to trails in the Jefferson area. Sometimes we get to trails sooner depending upon where we jump off the pavement. It takes me 30 minutes on the express ways to get to Morrison so you can see I have 90 miles one way on pavement. As a result a 50/50 tire may not be the best option, not to mention that once we get moving into the foothills the pavement can get very twisty. Most of the trails here are dry with lose shale, very shallow sand and gravel.
I think I can say that I have the concept of counter steering down cold, almost to the point I don’t have to think about it. The ST made it clear I did not steer correctly, the lighter KLR allowed me to cheat it with my weight. I am now getting a good handle on body positioning for pavement and trails, although I have a better handle on it for trails.
That’s enough background, now to how the tires feel and handle. To be succinct, they handle WAY better than the K60 Scouts on all the surfaces that I ride. I ran 36 psi up front and 38 in the rear, max psi on the sidewall states 42. I just learned from riding buddy 14er that BikeBandit lists this tire and strongly recommends 36 psi for large adventure bikes, which will happen as soon as I post this.
The first ride we did had some hard clay/gravel trails. My first impression was during the first 300 yards while pulling out of a stop sign, the rounded profile made its presents known. I was really surprised at the ease in which I got the bike to lean over, I had to roll on the throttle to keep the bike from going over. Big smile. I got used to the pavement handling fairly quickly. We made our way to Bailey, CO and went south out of town to Wellington Lake on an improved gravel road, very twisty. 14er and another guy moved way up front as usual (he is running Shinko 804/805s), I will always hang back out of the dust clouds but this time they did not run as far away. The 2nd guy had his ST out for the first time since moving from a KLR, he was standing up and breaking the tire lose on the turns and generally having a great time. Shockingly I was keeping up, I NEVER handled my ST or KLR that well or went that fast on gravel roads. We did 2 water crossings, the tires never lost traction. Even when the gravel road went past Wellington Lake and degraded to 4 wheel drive trail, in fact that’s where the tires really began to shine or I got used to them. Huge smile. Both standing and seated I was able to get the big girl to do what I wanted. In fact later that night I was SORE AS HELL from working the bike under me. Again, I never was able to do this with the K60s.
There is one short coming compared to the K60s. The K60 front tire does track better at slower speeds when switching tracks on a 2 track trail and in loose gravel etc, no surprise there.
The day went like that, I was able to keep up with guys that have much more experience and skill on trails than me. Both of these guys lock the rear up coming into corners and break them loose through the curve and on the way out. I’m not quite there yet but the 705s really stuck to the trails and gave me tons of confidence. The K60s never felt this secure, I can only guess it’s from the more square profile allowing only a small contact patch. Both handle about the same in a snow/ice/mud mix that we run into this time of year when the snow melts in the shady areas of the trails. The 705s are more street oriented and that rib in the center of the K60 yields about the same result in the soft stuff, however that K60 front does a better job here. Again no surprise.
Next we went to some pavement along the Platte River, meaning some nice fun twisty pavement. The 705s blew the doors off the K60s here. I was chasing 14er and with each set of curves I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face, even laughing as I’m moving down the road. Some of these curves are the tight type on small hills giving you the feeling of cresting the hill and hitting the curve through the crest to another curve tucked up into the next draw. Between the new tires and experimenting with body positioning I was blown away. Huge smiles here.
Since putting these tires on I have taken the bike down a twisty road near my house (a rare thing north east of Denver) and have found I need to watch the speed O lest I get into trouble. The K60s were work to run through these curves. The speed limit on the road goes from 35 to 45 depending on the area and the curves are marked down to 25 mph in some places. The 705s eat these curves up with zero issues and very little effort. I can easily run 15 mph over the speed limit and stay in the left or right track of my lane, the K60s required I use the entire lane and even then could not maintain that speed. Last Sunday I almost had an encounter with the county sheriffs due to the new found fun. They had a speed trap set up with about 6 vehicles, fortunately I was only running about 10 mph over the limit and keeping things very controlled and working my technique. I guess the low rev, quiet engine and hi-vis gear as well as a controlled exit from one of those curves kept them from bringing the radar gun up.
I’m super happy with the tires! The only remaining item will be how much life I get from them. I’m hoping for 5K mile from the rear, I expect the front to last through 2 rear tires. I should have that mileage on by July/August of this year. I’ll try to keep the group posted.
Background for riding style etc: I have been riding motorcycles for 2 years and 7 days, I’m hooked on dual sport riding. I started with a KLR and picked up a used 2012 ST last June with a ton of extras on it, one of those extras was a set of K60 Scouts. I went to the dealer that has the YES recorded (yup it has a YES on it too) and learned the K60s were installed at 2,500 miles, I took it home with 4,000 miles. I ended up putting 9,000 miles on these tires. The back was worn however the front still has plenty of rubber left although it has some cupping.
I have the rear spring maxed out to get my sag right (I’m a heavy guy) and the bottom of the shock is 4 clicks away from the softest setting.
I ride pavement of all sorts with the goal of getting to trails. There’s a group of guys here in Denver that meet up in Morrison (or some other spot on the west side of the Denver metro area) and then ride 60 or so miles to get to trails in the Jefferson area. Sometimes we get to trails sooner depending upon where we jump off the pavement. It takes me 30 minutes on the express ways to get to Morrison so you can see I have 90 miles one way on pavement. As a result a 50/50 tire may not be the best option, not to mention that once we get moving into the foothills the pavement can get very twisty. Most of the trails here are dry with lose shale, very shallow sand and gravel.
I think I can say that I have the concept of counter steering down cold, almost to the point I don’t have to think about it. The ST made it clear I did not steer correctly, the lighter KLR allowed me to cheat it with my weight. I am now getting a good handle on body positioning for pavement and trails, although I have a better handle on it for trails.
That’s enough background, now to how the tires feel and handle. To be succinct, they handle WAY better than the K60 Scouts on all the surfaces that I ride. I ran 36 psi up front and 38 in the rear, max psi on the sidewall states 42. I just learned from riding buddy 14er that BikeBandit lists this tire and strongly recommends 36 psi for large adventure bikes, which will happen as soon as I post this.
The first ride we did had some hard clay/gravel trails. My first impression was during the first 300 yards while pulling out of a stop sign, the rounded profile made its presents known. I was really surprised at the ease in which I got the bike to lean over, I had to roll on the throttle to keep the bike from going over. Big smile. I got used to the pavement handling fairly quickly. We made our way to Bailey, CO and went south out of town to Wellington Lake on an improved gravel road, very twisty. 14er and another guy moved way up front as usual (he is running Shinko 804/805s), I will always hang back out of the dust clouds but this time they did not run as far away. The 2nd guy had his ST out for the first time since moving from a KLR, he was standing up and breaking the tire lose on the turns and generally having a great time. Shockingly I was keeping up, I NEVER handled my ST or KLR that well or went that fast on gravel roads. We did 2 water crossings, the tires never lost traction. Even when the gravel road went past Wellington Lake and degraded to 4 wheel drive trail, in fact that’s where the tires really began to shine or I got used to them. Huge smile. Both standing and seated I was able to get the big girl to do what I wanted. In fact later that night I was SORE AS HELL from working the bike under me. Again, I never was able to do this with the K60s.
There is one short coming compared to the K60s. The K60 front tire does track better at slower speeds when switching tracks on a 2 track trail and in loose gravel etc, no surprise there.
The day went like that, I was able to keep up with guys that have much more experience and skill on trails than me. Both of these guys lock the rear up coming into corners and break them loose through the curve and on the way out. I’m not quite there yet but the 705s really stuck to the trails and gave me tons of confidence. The K60s never felt this secure, I can only guess it’s from the more square profile allowing only a small contact patch. Both handle about the same in a snow/ice/mud mix that we run into this time of year when the snow melts in the shady areas of the trails. The 705s are more street oriented and that rib in the center of the K60 yields about the same result in the soft stuff, however that K60 front does a better job here. Again no surprise.
Next we went to some pavement along the Platte River, meaning some nice fun twisty pavement. The 705s blew the doors off the K60s here. I was chasing 14er and with each set of curves I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face, even laughing as I’m moving down the road. Some of these curves are the tight type on small hills giving you the feeling of cresting the hill and hitting the curve through the crest to another curve tucked up into the next draw. Between the new tires and experimenting with body positioning I was blown away. Huge smiles here.
Since putting these tires on I have taken the bike down a twisty road near my house (a rare thing north east of Denver) and have found I need to watch the speed O lest I get into trouble. The K60s were work to run through these curves. The speed limit on the road goes from 35 to 45 depending on the area and the curves are marked down to 25 mph in some places. The 705s eat these curves up with zero issues and very little effort. I can easily run 15 mph over the speed limit and stay in the left or right track of my lane, the K60s required I use the entire lane and even then could not maintain that speed. Last Sunday I almost had an encounter with the county sheriffs due to the new found fun. They had a speed trap set up with about 6 vehicles, fortunately I was only running about 10 mph over the limit and keeping things very controlled and working my technique. I guess the low rev, quiet engine and hi-vis gear as well as a controlled exit from one of those curves kept them from bringing the radar gun up.
I’m super happy with the tires! The only remaining item will be how much life I get from them. I’m hoping for 5K mile from the rear, I expect the front to last through 2 rear tires. I should have that mileage on by July/August of this year. I’ll try to keep the group posted.
