Cheng Shin C858 tires

[Richard_]

I had read good things about these tires. Things like they were inexpensive, had good on road performance, were inexpensive, had good off road performance, were inexpensive, they last for 1000s of miles, and that they were inexpensive. I even heard they didn't cost a lot. So, needing a back tire for the mighty KLR I bought one for $38. Son of a gun, they were inexpensive.

As advertised they did just fine both on-road and off-road and I had no complaints with their performance.

However, the darn things wore out in just 1500 miles. The formerly large, agressive looking knobbies are down to nubs after just 1500 or so miles and the tire is in desperate need of replacing. Anybody else experience such a short life with this tire?

[Jack Giesecke]

Yeah, I used to run 'em on my XL600R. As I only rode it 6 miles to work and back and used it a lot off road in muddy conditions where only 4x4 ATVs went, I liked 'em. They were CHEAP, but they didn't last very long. That's more a factor of the aggressive knobbies than anything else. You aren't going to find a tire as aggressive as those things were that'll last any longer.

One thing, I have a corner down the street that is sort of a set up test corner in that I know I can push the SV through there at 70 mph coming home easily before I start feeling tire skittishness. I could run the XL through there about 55 and I'd actually feel the knobs on those tires flexing. At 60, they'd start broad sliding both ends, LOL! It was sorta fun, but they weren't road race tires at all. They were GREAT in the mud, though. I used 'em at my deer lease one year on the XL to get around cause I didn't wanna take my 4x4 Toyota into the gumbo after a good rain we'd had. I was in a hunting club and the lease was over at Blessing, outside Bay City, not far from my home. I'd shot a deer over there and didn't have my deer dragging stuff I have now, was trying to strap the thing on the back, kept falling off. So, I got one of the guys with a 4x4 ATV to follow me in. I had to get off at one point and get him out of a mud hole I'd gone through on that XL. :rofl: The guys over there thought I was McGrath reborn or something on that old beater. But, the tires'd hook up GREAT and sling mud a hundred feet. It was a blast to cow trail on.

Anyway, if you want something that'll last longer, be more road worthy, stay away from tires that have that aggressive of a knobbie pattern. Get something like the Trail wings, with less knobs and more rubber hitting the road.

I also run Cheap Shins on my Gold Wing. They work better than the Contis I had on it and last just as long and only cost me about 80 bucks a set. I mean, I wouldn't put 'em on something I wanted to corner very well, like my SV, but they work GREAT for applications like that old wing or a cruiser. I don't hesitate to use 'em for applications like that. They don't make anything in 17s for the SV anyway. I'd be tempted by the cheapness of 'em just for commuting, but I use that bike on sporting type rides and I like it to hook up, ya know? :lol: I'm pretty impressed by the BT010 I have on the front of the SV. I have an 020 (sport/tour compound) on the rear and it's getting about 6K to a tire. I had Metz MeZ4s on it before going to the stones, got about 8K out of a front. They're sport/touring, too. That sport BT010 has about 6K on it now and it's not worn out, still has some good rubber left, and it sticks a LOT better than the metzs did or that rear 020 does. I might try an 010 on the rear next time and just see how long it lasts. I doubt I'll do that cause I don't think it'd go more'n 4K on the rear, but I don't know that. Anyway, I don't mind the rear stepping out now and then and letting me know I'm pushing it a little too much. Front slides are a little harder to catch when you're not full concentrating on it.

[fastmonstr]

I had read good things about these tires. Things like they were inexpensive, had good on road performance, were inexpensive, had good off road performance, were inexpensive, they last for 1000s of miles, and that they were inexpensive. I even heard they didn't cost a lot. So, needing a back tire for the mighty KLR I bought one for $38. Son of a gun, they were inexpensive.

As advertised they did just fine both on-road and off-road and I had no complaints with their performance.

However, the darn things wore out in just 1500 miles. The formerly large, agressive looking knobbies are down to nubs after just 1500 or so miles and the tire is in desperate need of replacing. Anybody else experience such a short life with this tire?
For the money, that sounds like a good deal. I've yet to find a tire that I can get more than 1,500-2k miles out of and I've tried them all.

For that matter, when I go to Big Bend, I'll wear out a rear tire in 2 days.(6-700 miles)

Traction-wise, I prefer Pirelli MT 21's both on and off- road. They are pricey, but I got the last set on sale at Cycle Gear for less that $90.

Rocketman has been having good luck with Maxxis tires lately. I'm sure he will see this and let us know which one he is running.

[Richard_]

Jack,

I ran my KLR, with Kings nobbies on front and the Cheng Shin on the rear, on a local motocross track and it handled fine. I only did one lap but both tires (and the KLR) gripped better than I expected.

However, I just ordered an Avon Gripster rear tire for my KLR. There isn't any public off-road riding here in Central TX that I have been able to find, so the majority of my Saturday rides are paved roads and a few gravel roads thrown in for good measure. I believe the Gripster will be a good choice for that type of riding.

That being said, I'm headed to Big Bend on Dec. 23rd for 3 days of riding and am planning on running River Road on one of those days. It will be interesting to see how the Gripster handles that type of surface.

[XR650Rocketman]

Richard I'd be really happy with 1500 miles on a $38.00 tire on my XR650R....
Riding Big Bend Dirt I usually get about 500 miles on a rear.
Riding some pavement and some dirt I can get around 1500.
After putting 60 psi in the rear to get the bead to seat one time and then forgetting to drop it back to 18psi I actually wore one out in 60 dirt miles.

I'm running Maxxis Maxxcross IT's right now and I'm pretty satisfied....I've run the Chen Shins in Baja for over 3000 miles but that was a lot of sand.

I just figure one weekend....One tire....On my XR650R

When you say River Rd....Is that Hwy 170 to Presidio or East and West River Rd in the National Park?

[Richard_]

Dang, Steve. My 1500 miles seems pretty good compared to 500 miles.

When I said River road I meant East and West River Rd in the park, but I expect to ride both Hwy 170 and East & West River Rd in the park while I'm out there (on different days though).