I discovered that Shinko had bought the tire design and molds from Yokohama, and manufacture the tires in South Korea, so I felt like this was a low-risk purchase.
Since that time, I outfitted my now-sold Honda CRF230 again with the 80/20 (80-percent street/20-percent dirt) dual-sport tires, and replaced my Kawasaki KLR650 OEM tires with Shinko’s 705 model. I have never regretted my original decision to purchase the Shinko 705s.
The on-pavement performance of the 705 is very stable, even in rainy conditions. The tread design allows for a fairly quiet, smooth, and solid ride even at highway speeds. Additionally, the cornering ability, though not on the order of a soft rubber tire typical for sports bikes, is solid enough for the rider to confidently attack corners to the point of scrapping the peg feelers.
The off-road capability is limited to nothing more technical than rough fire road surfaces and four-wheeler tracks, which is typical for an 80/20 model. However, I have used the 705s in fairly benign single track conditions where the surface ranged from hard pack to dry, loamy dirt without any real handling issues.
The tires are uni-directional, so if you are mounting them instead of a shop, pay attention to the direction arrow embossed on the sidewall. The weight load of the front (465 lbs. for the 90/90-21 size) is more than sufficient for light to moderate touring duty, and the front tire will typically last about twice as long as the rear tire.
The rear tire weight load (639 lbs. for the 130/80-17 size) is sufficient to allow packing enough gear for primitive camping over a long weekend. Note that when you plan an adventure-bike ride that you factor in your bike’s wet weight plus the rider’s weight including gear to avoid overloading the tire’s weight load rating.
Finally, what most impresses me about Shinko’s 705 is its longevity. Granted, this metric depends on you maintaining the proper tire pressure and how hard you accelerate and brake, but I’ve easily gotten 5,000 miles from the rear tire with daily commutes and weekend single-day, mixed surface rides.
And Shinko 705s are competitively priced; for example, the 90/90-21 retails for $68.95, and the 130/80-17 for $89.95.
For additional information, visit Shinko.
Shinko 705 Tire Specifications
Designation | Tire Size | Speed
Rating |
Load
Index |
Ply | Max Load
(lbs) |
Max Pressure
(PSI) |
Tube
Type** |
Front Tires | 110/80-19 | Q | 59 | 4 | 536 | 33 | T/L |
90/90-21 | H | 54 | 4 | 465 | 41 | T/L | |
110/80R19 | H | 59 | R | 536 | 42 | T/L | |
Rear Tires | 150/70R17 | H | 69 | R | 716 | 42 | T/L |
150/70R18* | V | 70 | R | 739 | 42 | T/L | |
Front/Rear Tires | 120/90-17 | H | 64 | 4 | 617 | 41 | T/T |
130/80-17 | H | 65 | 4 | 639 | 41 | T/T | |
130/90-17 | H | 68 | 4 | 694 | 41 | T/T | |
140/80-17 | H | 69 | 4 | 716 | 41 | T/T | |
4.10-18 | P | 59 | 4 | 536 | 33 | T/T | |
120/80-18 | H | 62 | 4 | 584 | 41 | T/T |
*Jointless steel belted
**T/L = Tubeless, T/T = Tube
I have the Fullbore m40/m41 variant (made in the same factory with a slightly more open tread design and it’s also V-rated). It’s everything the review said it is – great tire for an even better price. I will only add that Shinko/Fullbore uses a very slippery mold-release compound, and when new these tires will feel very slippery until it wears off. It was a bit unnerving at first!!! I did a bunch of dirt roads to scuff off the mold release compound quicker than it would have taken on clean smooth pavement.
Love this tire for the price and general adventure riding use. I ride all season and am on my 3rd set. Great grip in dry, gravel or hard dirt, good grip in wet or loose dirt, but bad grip in sand/mud — fully expected for a non-knobby. They wear out after 4-5k miles, but have NEVER let go at high speed or aggressive riding on pavement or dirt, so zero complaints. I consider these more 70/30 tires… a good thing.
My buddy has these on his Hawk GT, likes to mix it up a bit. Old school, but apparently a decent option and the price is right. 4-5K miles is quite good.