[shefkat2000]

CyberPoet please have the final word on these Shinko tires. I'm getting new tires Saturday and am starting to get scared of this choice. Twelve-Five gave me some real horror tales but others say try them out. What is your opinion? The shop owner is sponsored by Michelin and he was the one to recommend me to this brand. Shinko (formally Yokohama) is supposedly a good brand with 80% of the grip and tread of name brands like Metzeler and Michelin. Even under wet conditions. Shinko Advance, Podium, Raven, 009, 006, 003. Please one more time...Whats the word.

[The CyberPoet]

CyberPoet please have the final word on these Shinko tires.

Like I said, I've never tried them in person -- I didn't know about them the last time I did my Katana tire comparo and blasted through all the appropriate offerings on the market at the time to compare them back-to-back. Thus, my word perhaps shouldn't be the "final" word...
But if it is: If HS2020 says they are crud, then they are crud to me (I trust Jimmy's technical opinion on them). 25 says they didn't work for him either and scalloped; the picture shows Michelin/Dunlop-like scalloping, which would nail the coffin for me because I won't drive on tires that scallop easily here in the deep south (road-surface heat makes the situation worse).

In simplest terms: you know what the summer will be like (torrential rains, tons of heat). The best tire to deal with that specific combination that I've found are the Z6's (best wet weather grip, no scalloping even with pavement at 125+ degrees if pressures are up, 10+k tire life) and it plays very heavily into why I ride the Z6's through the summers...

Although you updated your profile to say 'Bama, you still didn't give a town name. If you're in or near Huntsville, there's a CycleGear store there [8922 Memorial Parkway SW] that will carry the Z6's at a reasonable price mounted (maybe HS2020 can even make a call and get you a hefty discount to help "get CycleGear the business" [a term the local manager will understand when he needs to comprehend why he's giving you 15% off on the full buy & mounting price]).

Or if you are in NE Bama, maybe run over to Jimmy's and get them there.

Or do what most of us do, and mail order the Z6's. No sense in paying through the nose for tires that can be had reasonably through the mail, nor any sense in paying for something that you'll need to replace again in 3k miles (they'd have to be 1/4 of the cost of the Z6's to make financial sense). If you work in the car sales realms, you may find that whoever you use to mount your car tires can also mount the MC tires -- which could save you even more.

At least, that's my take on it.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet