Shinko 009 Raven sport-touring tire

Dustin

Moderator
After some deliberation, I decided to pull the trigger on a pair of Shinko 009 Raven sport-touring tires. These are Shinko's long-wearing model with wet weather in mind so they appealed to me in terms of the type of riding I do & the weather I have to ride in.

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The other thing that appealed to me was the price. At $140 a set out-the-door, they were by far and away much cheaper than anything else I could find.

Normally I am very hesitant about cheap tires but I have heard very positive reviews from users & I do realize that Shinko is simply using Yokohama's old tooling & technology so I figured I'd take the risk. I honestly didn't know what to expect with these and I had no confidence that they would be good but I was willing to try for the sake of trying.

So at the moment they are installed on my SV650. There were no issues with install or balancing and they were pretty grippy straight from the get-go.

Comparing them to the previous tires (Bridgestone BT-016), they seem to have a very similar profile but because they are new, the front end felt 100lbs lighter compared to my old set which were squared off front & rear when I ditched them. I noticed that the treads are pretty deep and quite soft which would account for some of the feedback I was getting when comparing them to the stiffer BT-016s. I imagine this will go away once the tires wear down a bit and I already don't notice it anymore.

I have to say, I am pleasantly surprised; maybe even shocked. My short-term impression is very positive! They feel good! I have plenty of confidence on them after just a short time and they really do seem to have great grip levels for the street. Wet performance I'm not sure of just yet but I'm bound to know within the next week now that I've got some confidence.

I will say that I get the impression the outright grip of them is not at the same level of the BT-016 or any other hypersport tire. I guess we will see when I get some more time on them.

I will update after a few thousand miles!
 
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Ran a set of 009's for about 9000 mi. they do great in the rain. Switched to 005's have about 4000mi. on them, better grip, know a guy who got past 9000mi. on the 005's on a Busa. My son in law is on his second set of 005's on his Blackbird.
 
I used to bash Shinko until I learned they make the preferred tires for drag bikes. They make a serious tire. I have them on my wife's bike and feel very confident.
 
I've certainly changed my view of Shinko tires as well. I look forward to putting a few thousand miles on them and I will update this thread again with some more feedback. Based on input from other users and my experience with mileage & wear for my 80% commuter riding, I predict well over 10,000 miles out of a rear tire so it should carry me into the winter before needing replacement I imagine.
 
I got over 9000 miles on my Ravens on my old Kawasaki ZR7 and now have them on my 03 FZ1 and am happy with them. I now have different Shinko tires on all three of my cycles and I have no complaints about their performance. Great tires.
 
I just wanted to give another short-term update.

I'm now 1500~ miles on the 009s and have put them through a wide range of conditions & weather from dry twisty roads to mountain passes with hail & sleet.

Firstly, these do indeed have excellent traction in the wet and I have confidence straight out of my garage, even if it's cold & raining like crazy.

Secondly, the 'wobbly' feeling these gave me has all but gone away as the tires wore in a bit. I suspected this would be the case and although they don't feel as direct or solid as my BT-016, it's certainly not bad for my usage.

Thirdly, no noticeable wear on the centre of my tires thus far which bodes well for the kind of life I expect to see out of these.

I'll update again maybe when I hit 5000 miles or something. Shouldn't take long
 
Well, I am going to try these Shinko 009 Ravens. Michele ordered me a set and they will be here on Monday. Until then, I cannot ride. Yesterday's trip was the last for the stock tires. The rear has worn through in the center and they are not safe to ride. She is parked until I can get the new donuts mounted. So... I'll be able to report back on how hard/easy that tire changing equipment is really soon now! Thanks to you all who have run these tires and reported back. $182 shipped for a set is quite a deal! :D
 
Well, I am going to try these Shinko 009 Ravens. Michele ordered me a set and they will be here on Monday. Until then, I cannot ride. Yesterday's trip was the last for the stock tires. The rear has worn through in the center and they are not safe to ride. She is parked until I can get the new donuts mounted. So... I'll be able to report back on how hard/easy that tire changing equipment is really soon now! Thanks to you all who have run these tires and reported back. $182 shipped for a set is quite a deal! :D

What a deal! I am almost done with my BT016. Got a little over 2000 miles on them now. I may get another 1,000 but it is seriously flattening out in the center due to commutes.
 
I really shouldn't have rode it to work today but shame on me... I did not look at the tire this AM, just started her up and hurried to work. Doh! It's not good! I am disappointed that I procrastinated this long because the weather is FINALLY cooperating here and now I cannot ride for the next several NICE days! Guess I'll have to do house projects.... I can at least, this weekend, get the wheels off the bike and get the junk tires off and prep the wheels for the Shinkos though. :tup:

I hope to add to this review over time and let you know how my set holds up. They do have good reviews on most dealer's sites...
 
Well, the Shinko Ravens are on the bike. They mounted well and took very little to balance. I took the bike over to a parking lot and started doing slow figure-eights to scuff them up. Got them to within 1" of either side.

First impression is "What a difference!!!" These fall into the corners and just after scrubbing them, they have some very good grip. I, of course, haven't pushed them yet but just the little that I did push tonight, they have great feedback. Already more impressive than the Dunlops. :D

More as time and miles pass!
 
I really shouldn't have rode it to work today but shame on me... I did not look at the tire this AM, just started her up and hurried to work. Doh! It's not good! I am disappointed that I procrastinated this long because the weather is FINALLY cooperating here and now I cannot ride for the next several NICE days! Guess I'll have to do house projects.... I can at least, this weekend, get the wheels off the bike and get the junk tires off and prep the wheels for the Shinkos though. :tup:

I hope to add to this review over time and let you know how my set holds up. They do have good reviews on most dealer's sites...

Fred and I were out ridding last summer and when we stopped for fuel he noticed he was down to cords. He was so afraid of wearing through the tire that he rode crossed up for the next 75 miles home. I told him to just wrap it up with duct tape.

Sent from my MB508 using Tapatalk
 
Hey did you put on the 190/50R17 or did you go with the 55's. I just got the 55's PR2 on before I left for Iraq so just wondering if a reasonibly priced tire like the 009's will hold up like the PR2s.
 
Well, the Shinko Ravens are on the bike. They mounted well and took very little to balance. I took the bike over to a parking lot and started doing slow figure-eights to scuff them up. Got them to within 1" of either side.

First impression is "What a difference!!!" These fall into the corners and just after scrubbing them, they have some very good grip. I, of course, haven't pushed them yet but just the little that I did push tonight, they have great feedback. Already more impressive than the Dunlops. :D

More as time and miles pass!

Great to hear! I look forward to more feedback.
 
Hey did you put on the 190/50R17 or did you go with the 55's. I just got the 55's PR2 on before I left for Iraq so just wondering if a reasonibly priced tire like the 009's will hold up like the PR2s.

I got the 50. They did not have a 55 in stock which is what I wanted to buy but my back was against the wall and I took what was available. ;)

I'm guessing the PR2 will out last and out perform the Shinko in most ways. But, I've also been reading reviews from buyers who have a lot of good to say for wear, performance and how great this tire is in the rain. Since we often have to ride in rain here in New England, it was a great choice for a budget tire.

Plus, Shinko is the #1 preferred tire for drag strips? Not the 009 Ravens but the brand... :tup:
 
I hope you guys keep the reviews and riding impressions coming I have often wondered about Shinko's but I just keep going back to my Avons.
 
I hope you guys keep the reviews and riding impressions coming I have often wondered about Shinko's but I just keep going back to my Avons.

I sure will, and if I have anything bad to say about them, you can bet I will speak up! If something becomes of them that I don't like, I'll be sure to educate the rest of you.

Thus far, day one isn't much to go on but it's all thumbs up so far. The scrubbing in the big parking lot doing figure-eights went very well. This morning's commute to work was very responsive and uneventful. I pushed them a little more through some corners and tested the "5 mph over" rule. Seems I got them spot-on with the static balancer because there was no vibration at all at any speed tested. ;) :cheers:
 
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