Shinko motorcycle tires

Much trust is placed on those black donuts, much more when compared to automobile tires. Whereas a motorcycle has two oval contact patches roughly a credit card in size, passenger cars have four square contact patches, each about the size of 4” x 6” picture, or larger, and consequences for motorcycle tire failure are more disastrous. No driver has ever lowsided their Ford F150 after tucking the front end while trail braking into a corner. No driver has ever highsided their Honda Accord with too much throttle application on corner exit.

Summer Tire Test 2025- Dunlop Roadsmart IV vs Bridgestone Battlax T33

by Ted Edwards | Jun 24, 2025 | Bikes & Gear, Nuts & Bolts | 5 |

However, while some of these claims are true, some are not. Our years of testing has shown that even in this age of technological advancement you can go wrong with your tire choice. Over the past three years and tens of thousands of miles of testing we have found differences both subtle and massive among the sport touring tires. Fellow tester and tire geek Dave Wensveen and I have seen it all from brilliant handling and amazing wet grip to tires that degrade after only 2,000 miles. There are brilliant tires out there, really good tires and absolutely bad tires. Road Dirt is here to help you make an informed choice.

2024 Motorcycle Sport Touring Tires Shootout: Final Results

by Ted Edwards | Aug 9, 2024 | Bikes & Gear, Nuts & Bolts | 31 |

We test tires because you just never know. Bikes are different, riders are different, seasons are different and as we are finding out, tires are different. Much, much different. We test tires by attempting to control for everything- riding the same bikes, at the same time, with the same riders and same fuel loads following each other all season. We even order the same coffee, all in the name of accuracy. Sometimes the results are predictable and other times, as in this test, the results are shocking.

Dunlop Roadsmart IV vs Shinko Verge 2X: Mid-Life Update

by Ted Edwards | Jul 10, 2024 | Bikes & Gear | 7 |

While all motorcycle tires are round and black, they are not the same. Even with technological advances one would think that modern sport touring tires are all very similar, but there are differences. A few years ago we here at Road Dirt Motorcycle Media started a quest to find those differences and pass that information on to you.

Motorcycle Tire Spotlight: Shinko 016 Verge 2X

by Ted Edwards | Apr 15, 2024 | Bikes & Gear, Nuts & Bolts | 6 |

If you haven’t heard of Shinko Motorcycle Tires, I don’t blame you. Shinko does not have the brand name recognition or racing pedigree of major manufacturers like Dunlop, Michelin, Pirelli or Bridgestone. However, their rubber roots run deep having manufactured bicycle tires since the end of World War II, then purchasing motorcycle tire technology from Yokohama in 1998. They claim to manufacture about 200,000 tires a month.