Greg has 600 miles, I have 20: time to look at what the deal is.
For me, I am coming off of Avon radials. Loved those tires. That is for reference. I do have pics of the tires I have around, I'll post them later if they are worth looking at. Also I am from an area that finds Deals Gap overcrowded and not worth the two hours to go each way. I have roads like that in my back yard.
Rear: Worn Dunlop 700 series, worn Avon, and new Shinko Journey. My calibrated eye puts the Shinko at an inch taller, the tire must be two inches taller than the 011 Verge. wife agrees with me: looks funny that way.
Front: not that much different, but the Shinko seems to be more round.
Install on rim: easy. My first personal install, and went great.
Balance: again my first time, on a HF balancer. Once I figured it out, I put 1/2 ounce on the front and 1 3/4 on the back.
Install on bike: front uneventful, rear it had to happen: I have a lot less of a rear fender. Went a lot smoother then too. I think it looks funny, but the tire changing is much easier.
Test ride: From my memory, Avons are great out of the box. Shinkos: not so much.
take it down the road: don't hear that Avon "tick-tick" of the pea gravel picked up. Good. First turn is a 90 degree left, and things are scary: feels like the rear is turning in faster than the front, almost like I have all wheel steering. I feel like the bike is falling off a cliff when I turn. This continues for the first 14 miles, probably twice that many curves, until I get home and check everything out. I did stop in the middle and visual everything. Pressures right, torques right, nothing moving around: call my expert bud. He agrees with me that the tires just have a different "feel" than the Avons, and I am not sure I like it. The front is not as peaked as the Avons, and the rear is an inch taller: now I know what they mean by "quick turn in". I think. I take it out to softball practice, yikes. On the way back I start to go with the flow and stop fighting the feel, and it is working better. So the jury is out, I have heard that the front 011 is much more "sporty" of a tire.
I did look at the tires, and I am using almost all of it, as much of it as I did with the Avons. That is only after only 20 miles, so I am wondering if I am just noticing the height difference. Probably. Or maybe that mold stuff is freaking me out. So....
By next week I will have over 200 miles on it, visiting BRP, Diamondback, Devils Whip, Lake Lure and Hot Springs. If it doesn't pitch me over the side somewhere, I will have decided if I have made a good decision. Right now, I am not so sure.
