my xs650 had a baracuda on the front when I bought it, wore out way faster than the rear. the next baracuda lasted only 2 years on the front. held the road well though.
cliff

 

Don't have any experience of Cheng Shin tyres, but even if you're short of cash, I wouldn't be tempted to cut corners on tyres (or brakes). It could end up costing more in the long run. Try and get a good pair of tyres (Metzeler Lasertecs, Pirelli Sport Demons or Dunlop GT501s) for a cheap price, rather than a cheap pair of tyres.

 

Doesn't Cheng shin make Maxxis tires? I am told by a indy mech that sells tires that since they have the rep of being a cheap tire (translate: no good) they added the Maxxis line, same tires, and charge more and now sell more Maxxis in the US than Cheng Shin branded tires. It figures. In the US we always assume if we pay more for something it is better and that anything priced reasonably is not. Sometimes that is the case, but often it is not.

Example: is a $15 cotton dress shirt, single needle stitching, made in Honduras really worse than a $45 cotton dress shirt, single needle stitching, made by the same company in Honduras in the same factory, on the same line, but with a fancy NY brand label sewn it? I doubt it.

The only way to know if the Cheng Shin tires are any good is to try them. Cliff says his wore out quicker than he would have liked, so that is helpful info.

Monte

 

I've seen Cheng Shins on some old Hondas and whatnot whose owners didn't want to spend money. In every case, the tires struck me as low-quality for reasons that I can't really back up -- just gut feeling. Tread patterns were outdated, rubber seemed harder than it should be, etc.

By contrast, I put a set of Maxxis ProMaxx tires on the '71 Honda I'm rebuilding, and they're way different from the Cheng Shins. Modern tread pattern, sticky rubber, etc. And they're actually cheaper than the Cheng Shins you're looking at.

--mark


[ This message was edited by: markbvt on 2007-07-13 12:57 ]

 

Mark: did you get any paper work on the tire to indicate if they are made by Cheng Shin: or is my source just blowing smoke?

Monte

 

Mark: did you get any paper work on the tire to indicate if they are made by Cheng Shin: or is my source just blowing smoke?

I've heard the same thing, but can't back it up with any hard evidence. I'm sure a bit of online research would turn up answers, but I don't really feel like spending the time.

At any rate, the Maxxis tires strike me as much higher-quality than the Cheng Shins I've seen in the past. Basically, Cheng Shins strike me as newly-manufactured '60s tires, while the Maxxis ones strike me as moderately-priced modern tires.

I've actually heard pretty good things about Duro tires as well, FWIW. Prices are similar to Cheng Shin/etc, but apparently that's because Duro primarily manufactures tires for better-known companies and puts out its own line of tires at excellent prices on the side. I'm going to try a set of their enduro tires on my Honda XR650 when it's due for new rubber -- saw a set on another bike and they look like excellent quality for the money.

--mark

 

If these tires are made iin Taiwan, then they are probably OK. But it they are made in mainland China, I would steer clear of them. You know there is currently a massive worldwide recall of (mainland) Chinese produced auto tires going on at this moment.

[ This message was edited by: Scrambler900 on 2007-07-13 14:29 ]

 

... You know there is currently a massive worldwide recall of (mainland) Chinese produced auto tires going on at this moment.

Great, that means the tires will be shredded and show up in toothpaste and dogfood.

Rich

 

Agreed with PAAS. Put your money on tires you know about. The Bridgestones, Metzlers, Avons, Pirellis and Dunlops may be made all over the plantet as well as Cheng Shin, but have more positive feedback. Pirellis for me on the Bonnie and Avons on the Daytona.

 

I just replaced a set of the Cheng Shin Barracudas with a set of Avon Roadriders. The Barracudas were on for 2 years, I had no problems with them. Nothing really good or bad about them. I was buying for price at the time. I buy a new set of tires every two years. Maybe a bit extreme, but that's all between me and the road. I think the Chinese tires have a bad rep from years ago. Yokohama tires are made in China and I believe Toyo tires are a division of Cheng Shin. Maxxis being a performance arm of C.S. is correct. I don't look for pure performance when I buy. More of a sport-touring tire. The Avon's were only a few $'s more. Getting good reviews. If I had to get Barracudas again, I wouldn't mind. My 2 cents.

 

You know all those millions of LP records that used to be around? Thats were they all went Cheng Shin Tyre Co. They melt them down and make tyres.

 

Well just to add to your confusion I have run on my RS a set of the Shinko 009's which are (rumor has it) based on Yokohama molds they bought when Yokohama got out of motorcycle tires.

I would consider these low cost tires in price only. The 009 is their hardest compound for long wear and I got the same mileage (actually a bit more) than I got out of the previous Avons I ran. The front tire is still 'very' new looking and the back hasen't hit the wear bars but they are right there. I've got just over 10k on them! Just where I replaced my Avon's. I would put another set of these on before I would ever use another set of the original Bridgestone 020's! As a matter of fact I am going to mount another set of the 009's on the bike. The price is right at $160.00 for the pair delivered (180/55-17 & 120/70-17) and they perform VERY well for normal street work. The Avon's had faster turn in which I liked but they don't make the 45/46 model any more and the reports I've heard is the replacement Storm's don't give the mileage the Azaros did. If you want the best bargain in a non Korean tire your best bet is probably a Continental tire. The Road Attack tires are reviewed very highly. I'm quite satisfied with the Shinko Raven 009. They do have softer compounds in basically the same tire in the 005 model. If however you put a lot of miles on yout tires and don't get to the canyons much (not saying they won't work well there) this is the best bang for the buck in a quality street tire going. IMHO

 

Interesting... my question would be how the Shinkos perform when cornering hard, and how good their traction is in the wet.

Of course, the problem with the 009's is that they apparently only come in standard sportbike sizes. Won't fit a Bonneville/Thrux/etc.

--mark

 

I have found the barracudas to be sticky, but not long lasting. I put a pair on my chopper, which gets ridden less often but needs the sticky compound. It's easy to melt one doing a burnout.
-Ben

 

Save up the cash and get some good tires

I was in the same boat once with my old honda my wore out tires provided better traction then those Cheng Shins. Save your dough and buy some Dunlops.

 

good for grinding

only chen shin tires I have ever used were hard knobbies for my dual purpose, they get ground up so fast anyway who cares how good they are.
I would not use Chen shin on my street bike

 

... You know there is currently a massive worldwide recall of (mainland) Chinese produced auto tires going on at this moment.

Well that would explain the recall of Michelin Powers new dual compound where the tread completly seperates from the tire and leaves the carcass!

What do auto tires have to do with motorcycle tires? Fortunatly Shinco is a KOREAN company as well. They are sticky enough for my riding style on my RS. I agree that I would not ever use a Chen Shen tire if for no other reason than the tread profiles are right out of the 70's. So since they don't seem to spend any money on R&D to at least appear to keep pace when there is a time when their prodict 'may' work they are not even considered. I too (as most did in So Cal) used their off road tires on the dirt bikes, but only on the rear. The California desert being a dry hard pack would tear up any knobbie on the rear and that was primarily the only reason we used them. We still used the quality brands on the front.
A lot of people would disagree with the quality of Dunlop today. They used to be the brand to get, but they have produced some real turkeys latley. Granted all of this means nothing if the sizes don't work for you. I was just putting out a brand that many may not be aware of that IMHO is a worthy option for a VERY good price. They are a better tire than the Bridgstone 020 that Triumph installed!