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Shinko Raven

ddennis669

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Since I tend to get less mileage out of tires than the average posting I read, it is a significant cost in money and time when it comes to tires.The stock Metzlers lasted 5206 miles for me and they should have been replaced 200 miles sooner. I rode my NC700 over 21000 miles this year. 5000 mile tires don't work for me.

Based on this description from American Moto Tire's website I decided to try a set of Ravens:

SHINKO RAVEN 160/60ZR-17 M/C 69W, REAR [87-4045]
Price: $88.34

SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO MEET THE DEMAND FOR LONG LIFE AS WELL AS HIGH PERFORMANCE
PROVIDES SUPERIOR RIDING COMFORT, WHILE THE TREAD PATTERN GIVES HIGH GRIP ON BOTH WET AND DRY ROADS
W-SPEED RATED FOR SPEEDS UP TO 168 MPH
ARAMID BELTED, DOT APPROVED
LONGEST TREAD LIFE OF SHINKO'S SPORT PERFORMANCE RADIAL LINE


I used one rear for a trip from California to the Black Hills and Vancouver in June and replaced it for a trip in July to DC and Michigan. The front has stayed on.

The first rear had 5027 miles on it when I replaced it and tread depth to the Tread Wear Indicators was 0.10" (new TWI depth was 0.23"). My second Raven rear went on for the trip east and just came off after 9120 miles (TWI depth was at 0.01"). The Raven front remains on with 15283 miles and TWI depth of 0.10" (having been installed a little ahead of the first rear). I reinstalled the first Raven and hope to obtain an additional 4000 mile of use.

The Raven front tire should exceed my best wear of any brand I have used on other bikes. However, it does have a center tread groove and it results in a "shimmy" of the front end when riding rain grooves. I am OK at just staying loose and letting it do its thing most of the time, but when I crossed the Mackinaw bridge with its steel grates in a downpour, I had to slow way down.

Generally happy with them at this point, but I do have a set of Conti Motions waiting for the next mounting.
 
Having crossed the Mackinac hundreds of time in every weather... Slowing is ALWAYS a good thing. It's smart in problem weather and worth the time to enjoy the stunning view in great weather. I never get tired of that five mile stretch. ;-)
I bought a Raven rear as my next tire. I have a while to go still on my current tire.

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2
 
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I usually get 12K out of the Continental Motion Tires. They are, in my experience, an extremely good value.

HERE is a post about the last set I had and some number to support my claim.
 
I usually get 12K out of the Continental Motion Tires. They are, in my experience, an extremely good value.

HERE is a post about the last set I had and some number to support my claim.

Thanks for the info on the Contis. I often get two rears to one front. It looks like you changed the front and rear as a set?

The set of Contis I just received cost $138 shipped to my door. I have to mount and balance them myself, but it lets me "bond" with the bike and I save money. If my luck holds I won't need to put them on until spring, but as I depend on the nike for commuting, I usually keep tires, chain & sprockets, brake pads on hand. The Contis sure look nice too!

The Shinkos do seem to last pretty well and cost me $169.59.
 
I'm going to have to decide real soon which tire I'm going to choose to replace my rear PR4. I'm sitting at 10K now but it won't be long. This is the first I've heard of the Raven. Time to do some research. Thanks for brining this up.
 
I'm going to have to decide real soon which tire I'm going to choose to replace my rear PR4. I'm sitting at 10K now but it won't be long. This is the first I've heard of the Raven. Time to do some research. Thanks for brining this up.

Interesting, my PR4s have 4k on them now and I'll be damned if I see any wear at all on the rear, they must got downhill fast.
 
Interesting, my PR4s have 4k on them now and I'll be damned if I see any wear at all on the rear, they must got downhill fast.

You are correct. At about 7K they start to show. I'm not at the wear bar yet but I will be soon. I'm looking to try something different after these just for the heck of it. See what works best on the Arkansas roads. I thought I had narrowed it down to the Contis but goign to do some research on the Ravens.
 
I've only had one set of PRs (3s), but they wore the longest. Great tire.

I could use some perspective on your tire mileage. I stretched 5000 out of the stock Metzler and got a a solid 9000 from the Shinko Ravens. What did you get from the stock Metzlers versus the Michelins?

(On my 250 Ninja over 76,000 miles I found the cheapest tire per mile was a somewhat expensive Metzler ME880 plus I didn't need to change it as often! That tire had some deep tread.)
 
I had Ravens on my CBR600F4, the bike I had before the NCX. They were good tires, I just thought they didn't last all that long. I'd say I'm happier with the ContiMotions under the same usage pattern (though obviously not the same bike). Not a huge difference, but that's what I think.
 
I had Ravens on my CBR600F4, the bike I had before the NCX. They were good tires, I just thought they didn't last all that long. I'd say I'm happier with the ContiMotions under the same usage pattern (though obviously not the same bike). Not a huge difference, but that's what I think.

I ran the Ravens on my old Bandit and came away with the same impression. They were fine, but they wore out quicker than the PR2 I had been running. The Cost/Mile ended up being more on the Shinkos, not even considering the extra hassle of swapping tires more often.

Keep us posted ddennis669!

trey
 
I had two sets of bt023 and one set of pr4. The michelin much better than the bridgestones. Both in wet and dry roads. Thursday I got a new set of bt030. After 200 miles both under the rain and dry, very good impression. Comparable to the pr4.
On duration, pr4 lasted longer than the bt023 (15500 miles against 18600, mostly on motorways).


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Shinko Raven wrap up!

I finished off the Shinko Ravens with 7271 on the rear and 17615 miles on the front. This rear didn't last as long as the first Raven rear that I used (9212 miles) for whatever reason. It always held its air pressure and it balanced well. :confused: The rear was pretty squared off and near the TWIs.

The front still had a way to go to the Tread Wear Indicators (.08") but it had cupped enough that I was annoyed by it.:mad: *see note below

The first rear took me from Central California to the Black Hills and Vancouver BC and back. Then the second rear went to DC two up and back home through Michigan's UP. They are a long wearing, value priced interstate touring tire and the front's center groove worked well in four different days of heavy rain. Shimmied some in grooved concrete and a lot on metal grated bridges. They are slower handling side to side and have a harsher ride than the stock Metzlers. I would trust them again for a long tour as they worked well for interstate/freeway travel. For sportier riding and commuting I generally enjoy a tire with a rounder profile and a lighter feel.

Next Up:
At 15 months and over 24000 miles I am back to the Full Bore M-1 that I had pulled off last summer (with 2800 miles) and the stock Metzler on the front (previously used for 6871 miles). I am expecting that I can get them to February since it is too cold for much travel and I only commute 200 miles a week. I have a set of the Continentals waiting to go on and I imagine :confused: those lasting into summer. If they don't win me over then maybe the Michelins next?



* note - I tipped my bike over in the garage and bent the handlebars. I replaced them with a 7/8 inch aluminum MX type bar that fit the bike nicely but I could not fit the stock bar end weights and inserts. The loss of the weights exposed the shimmy-headshake-bar wag, whatever you call it, of my bike. It increased the perception of the cupped front tire and convinced me to remove it sooner than I might have. The mirrors remained vibration free so I can assume this is Honda's version of a steering damper. Its absence has shown me that it was quite effective. I will install steel bars soon and re-insert the weights before the next tire change.
 
I could use some perspective on your tire mileage. I stretched 5000 out of the stock Metzler and got a a solid 9000 from the Shinko Ravens. What did you get from the stock Metzlers versus the Michelins?

(On my 250 Ninja over 76,000 miles I found the cheapest tire per mile was a somewhat expensive Metzler ME880 plus I didn't need to change it as often! That tire had some deep tread.)

Metzlers are low on my list... I got 8K out of the stock tires that came on it and was....shocked.... I didn't think that was even possible...
 
I just put a Raven rear on my bike, I'm impressed with the tread depth, looks like a good rain tire to me. Still on the stock metz front, got 7k miles on the bike. Only reason I changed the back tire was a picked up a nail and rode to work on a nearly flat tire, it has about 50% tread left I'd say, front looks nearly new.
 
Raven front tire does last between 12,000 to 15,000 miles. It is the best wear I have gotten from a front tire on the NC7. Raven rear tire does last a little longer than the average rear tire, but not a great amount. I got 8,500 on the Raven rear tire. Had no issue in rain on the Raven tires.
 
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