2020 First Ride 02/01/2020

[bigjohnsd]

Unbelievable as it may seem, it was 65F here right after noon.

Freya has been newly shod with Shinko 804/805 shoes on her freshly straightened and tuned by Woody's Whell Works wheels.

I was jonesing for a ride, the stars and planets were properly aligned, SWMBO and my daughter had gone shopping.

I was hungry.

Mounted up and rode north on US Highway 85 to Belle Fourche then West to Alladin WY, home of the Alladin Cafe.
I hadn't stopped here for at least ten years but a friend has purchased the place and it is under new management and he claimed they served a great burger.

They do, and the coffee is strong but the Pecan Pie with a real Lard Crust was outstanding.

I have a new place to stop for lunch while touring folks around my Black Hills.



I rode a little less than 100 miles, the tires and wheels are great, the bike is smoother than I ever recall it being. The money spent on the wheel tune-up was well worth it. Quite a bit of sand on the corners of the secondary roads, no ice or snow encountered. I was going to ride to Hulett, by Devils Tower, through Sundance and home but a rancher eating in the cafe told me that there were some Icy spots between Alladin and Hullett in the shady corners. Prudence overcame Desire so I headed back towards Belle Fourche then to ST Onge and then home.

Cooler tomorrow, Snow on Monday.

Februarys ride may be in the books!

[Hppants]

Well now - this indeed is a pleasant surprise. Great to see a northerner get a break.

I know a thing or two about Pecan Pie. Patiently reserving impartial judgement though, my friend.

[CollingsBob]

Then there’s hope for me...

[bigjohnsd]

Then there’s hope for me...

Nahh, not in this lifetime.

But, if you show up on that Vincent I'll lead you to the Promised Pie!

[CraigRegs]

Got out myself yesterday, similar conditions, but only 48-50 degrees. No pie

Aladdin is in the tickler file for future ride planning. That pecan pie looks awesome!

[bigjohnsd]

We can stop for breakfast on our way to Red Lodge in June, I'm sure Gramps likes Pie

[wetwolf]

My 1st ride of the year was New Years Day. It was 50 and sunny!

[Old Michael]

So, John.
The Shinkos. You like 'em? Are they loud?

[bigjohnsd]

So, John.
The Shinkos. You like 'em? Are they loud?

I like them, good both on and off the pavement. Surprisingly sticky in the twisty sections.

I wear earplugs when I ride, the noise doesn't bother me, the times I've ridden without ear plugs I didn't find them objectionable.

For the price they are hard to beat. JSNS

PS Festar liked them on his ManStrom too.

[Pterodactyl]

I put Shinko Ravens on the rear of the GS/GSAs when we are taking a fairly long road trip. No matter what tire we run it will be shot in 5-6000 miles on these bikes. The Ravens perform quite well and at $98 delivered they sure beat burning up a $180 dual sport tire on a road trip. I ran Shinko 705s on my Super Tenere and they performed well. I may give the 804/805 a try since BJ is liking them on his GSA.

[Cav47]

Lots of Shinko love in the last few posts. About time you guys got on the bandwagon! I looked for an aggressive dual sport Shinko for my first ride two weekends ago but didn’t find what I was looking for.

[baowow]

I liked the Shinko 804/805 combo on my KLR. It was great on pavement and decent on gravel. Great wear characteristics and long lasting. However, I shit my pants going thru mud on that rear. Very little to no lateral grip. It likes to slide side to side on snotty terrain like mud.

I have D606s on the KLR now and they are fantastic off road, but the wear sucks. I'm at 1,500 miles and the front tire is toast with the rear maybe 30% life left.

That pie sure looks good.

[Old Michael]

I liked the Shinko 804/805 ... Very little to no lateral grip. It likes to slide side to side on ... mud.

I'd heard that.
Here shortly, I'm going to try them in mud-free Death Valley.

[Pterodactyl]

I liked the Shinko 804/805 ... Very little to no lateral grip. It likes to slide side to side on ... mud.

I'd heard that.
Here shortly, I'm going to try them in mud-free Death Valley.

Please report back on how they handle sand.

[Old Michael]

I liked the Shinko 804/805 ... Very little to no lateral grip. It likes to slide side to side on ... mud.

I'd heard that.
Here shortly, I'm going to try them in mud-free Death Valley.

Please report back on how they handle sand.

Will do. I'm sure the title will be, Old Man Falls Down and Curses.

[bigjohnsd]

I liked the Shinko 804/805 ... Very little to no lateral grip. It likes to slide side to side on ... mud.

I'd heard that.
Here shortly, I'm going to try them in mud-free Death Valley.

Please report back on how they handle sand.

Better than I do! JSNS

My "sand" experience with 804/805 in Baja on the KLR showed me that I need more Sand experience.
The inadequacies of the rider should not be blamed upon the tire.
I got into some sand and some mud last year at Tyler's YFO riding the back road from Bodie to Bridgeport on the GSA.
I got through the muddy stream crossings much to the amazement of the small herd of bovine creatures, much to my amazement I managed to get through a mile or so of soft silty sand without dropping Freya.

AbercrombieFJR had the 804/805 combo on his Tenere when we rode Baja, he took a ride through 100 miles of sand, ask him about it!

[Abercrombie FJR]

I liked the Shinko 804/805 ... Very little to no lateral grip. It likes to slide side to side on ... mud.

I'd heard that.
Here shortly, I'm going to try them in mud-free Death Valley.

Please report back on how they handle sand.

I tested the 804/805 combo on the Tenere in plenty of sand in Baja two years ago and was pretty impressed. My results may have been even better if I would've thought to air down a little on one very long section of very deep sand. The most surprizing part was on the Baja twisty mountainous black top sections were I kept leaning the Tenere well past what I would've guessed would've been safe while dragging foot pegs. No tire this inexpensive should've worked that well.

Edit: Sorry John I didn't see your last post before quoting Pterodactyl's post and I'll give credit were credit was due. John urged me to get the Shinkos 804/805s but I had already purchased a new set of Continental TKC70s. The Baja trip got expensive before I even left ND replacing 4 Pickup tires, 4 trailer tires, and buying four motorcycle tires. In hind sight I was very happy I installed the Shinkos over the Continental after learning how much sand I would travel over.

[Abercrombie FJR]

I'd heard that.
Here shortly, I'm going to try them in mud-free Death Valley.

Please report back on how they handle sand.

I tested the 804/805 combo on the Tenere in plenty of sand in Baja two years ago and was pretty impressed. My results may have been even better if I would've thought to air down a little on one very long section of very deep sand. The most surprizing part was on the Baja twisty mountainous black top sections were I kept leaning the Tenere well past what I would've guessed would've been safe while dragging foot pegs. No tire this inexpensive should've worked that well.

Edit: Sorry John I didn't see your last post before quoting Pterodactyl's post and I'll give credit were credit was due. John urged me to get the Shinkos 804/805s but I had already purchased a new set of Continental TKC70s. The Baja trip got expensive before I even left ND replacing 4 Pickup tires, 4 trailer tires, and buying four motorcycle tires. In hind sight I was very happy I installed the Shinkos over the Continental after learning how much sand I would travel over.



OOOPs! Pressed the quote button instead of the edit button to add the picture.

[bungie4]

You know what works on sand? Throttle, lots of throttle.

[Abercrombie FJR]

You know what works on sand? Throttle, lots of throttle.

Yep, the only time I went down in the sands of Baja was following a fellow on a Buell Ulysses. He was struggling in the deep sand with a 17" front tire, so we were going way slower than I would've preferred to be going.