Opinions on Contimotions tires?

[motrhead]

 Thinking about trying a set on my Norge...any experiences to report, good or bad?

[Sport-Touring]

[bubba zanetti]

Been running them for two years. Got 9,000 km on the Guzzi rear. I have a set waiting for the Triumph.
They are not premium tires - I prefer the Pilot Road 4's - but they are good tires and the best tire deal in Canada.

[Blue is Best]

As Bubba has written they are not premium tires. Basic transportation and don't have the money for better? OK, replace when you save a bit more.

Shinkos are WAY better.

[motrhead]

Shinkos? Really? Which ones? I likely just grab another set of PR4s, but was considering giving the Contis a try just to see for myself. I know the 705s are awesome ADV tires, so I am not adverse to Shinkos.

[Blue is Best]

As I've written here before, I put a set of Shinko 009 Ravens on my FJR1300 one weekend for a long ride to try them. I liked them. Got 7,500 miles on them and I am not particularly easy on my bike/riding. I've gotten up to 9,500 miles on a set. Some of the Albuquerque guys will remember Paul Z. He was called King of the Mountain. It took him a couple of miles to get around me on my FJR1300 on Shinkos on the crest road. I have several buddies that have gone to Shinkos now. I just can't believe they only cost around $170 delivered!!

Shinko is the old Yokohama(sp) brand. Yokohama weren't bad tires.

[bubba zanetti]

Those would be Shinko 009. True they are made with Yokohama molds. I have run them and they are very similar to the Conti. Shinko is better in dry and handles better by a bit, the Conti is much better in the rain.
I never got significantly more mileage on the Shinkos. They are more expensive than the Conti in Canada. But good tires as well. Used to run them on my 955 Sprint.

I run cheaper tires as I tour a lot south of the border where I run packed with camping gear and heavy and it is often very hot. And inevitably I have ride slab or some straight roads to gain some time. Hence the cheap tires. Makes no sense to me to square off premium tires touring.

[PatM]

As Bubba has written they are not premium tires. Basic transportation and don't have the money for better? OK, replace when you save a bit more.

Shinkos are WAY better.

Continental markets the ContiMotion as premium Sport-Touring tires. http://www.continental-tires.com/motorcycle/tires/motorcycle-tires/sport-touring/contimotion

Are we talking about the same tires?

I've ridden a bike shod with ContiRoadAtack tires in the past and didn't like them in the wet.

[gradus]

Some of the Albuquerque guys will remember Paul Z. He was called King of the Mountain. It took him a couple of miles to get around me on my FJR1300 on Shinkos on the crest road.

So you held him up for a couple of miles?  Kinda a dick move.  

[Biking Sailor]

I put a cheap set of Shinko 009 Raven's on a SV650 I was selling and thought they handled pretty well when new. Then I tried a set on my FJR. They had a wide and flat profile in back and an OK but nervous feel on grooved roads. Biggest complaint is the sluggish feel the bike had. Once I used them up, I went to the Pirelli Angles I had used on several of my other bikes. Big difference felt right away. Much rounder profile and turn into curves was with much less effort and easier to hold a line.

Another thing to mention is the mid speed wobble the FJR is kind of known for on some bikes. Mine started that when the Bridgestone OEM tires were about half worn. At 50 down to 40 MPH, hands off the bars decelerating would start the wobble. I did all the stuff recommended on the FJR forums with no success.  When I went to the Shinko's, it wasn't quite as bad, but still there.  Now with the Angles, not a hint of the wobble after several thousand miles in.

Just putting my experience and impressions out there, not suggesting anyone follow them without doing their due diligence as YMMV.  And I'm not a tire snob bashing Shinko's, love the Shinko 705's. Ran them on my KLR's, The Wee-Strom, Stelvio, and now on the GS.

[motrhead]

Thanks for all of the info.
 Still undecided as to whether I will try the Contis. I am a Michelin man, but I went through SO many tires in the last two years, it has become ridiculous! I do want to try some 705s on something.

[Blue is Best]

Continental markets the ContiMotion as premium Sport-Touring tires. http://www.continental-tires.com/motorcycle/tires/motorcycle-tires/sport-touring/contimotion

Are we talking about the same tires?

I've ridden a bike shod with ContiRoadAtack tires in the past and didn't like them in the wet.

Got a buddy who didn't like the Road Attack tires and sold his other new set without putting them on. I just did not like the Conti Motion tires.

[Blue is Best]

I put a cheap set of Shinko 009 Raven's on a SV650 I was selling and thought they handled pretty well when new. Then I tried a set on my FJR. They had a wide and flat profile in back and an OK but nervous feel on grooved roads. Biggest complaint is the sluggish feel the bike had. Once I used them up, I went to the Pirelli Angles I had used on several of my other bikes. Big difference felt right away. Much rounder profile and turn into curves was with much less effort and easier to hold a line.

Another thing to mention is the mid speed wobble the FJR is kind of known for on some bikes. Mine started that when the Bridgestone OEM tires were about half worn. At 50 down to 40 MPH, hands off the bars decelerating would start the wobble. I did all the stuff recommended on the FJR forums with no success.  When I went to the Shinko's, it wasn't quite as bad, but still there.  Now with the Angles, not a hint of the wobble after several thousand miles in.

Just putting my experience and impressions out there, not suggesting anyone follow them without doing their due diligence as YMMV.  And I'm not a tire snob bashing Shinko's, love the Shinko 705's. Ran them on my KLR's, The Wee-Strom, Stelvio, and now on the GS.

The nervous feel is due to the groove running right down the middle of the tire and it interacting with the grooves in the road. I don't ride any roads like that around here and in the country. Can't speak to the wiggling bars as my 2012 and my old 2005 never did that.

[aviationfred]

I have ran 3 sets of Conti-Motions on my FJ1200. I have found that I get between 6000 to 8000 miles out of a rear and double that for the front. I have ridden in rain and have no complaints. I know that the FJR, ST and C14 owners usually go for the Pilot Road 3's and 4's. When I can pick up a set of Conti's for $170.00 at most Cycle Gear stores, I will say.... They are an adequate Sport-Touring tire at an awesome price.



Fred

[maddjack]

On lighter bikes motions are fine, I run them on my Versys, get good mileage ( 8000 to 10000 ave)  and grip is fine, ran the dragon on them along with all the twisty named roads in that area inc the snake. Also worked well out west on the Hogsback and the million dollar highway at various temperatures  I feel grip is good,wet or dry. BUT as I said its a very light motorcycle.They may not be the latest or greatest but they work for me.

[Walker]

As Bubba has written they are not premium tires. Basic transportation and don't have the money for better? OK, replace when you save a bit more.

Shinkos are WAY better.

Sorry Blue guy, but for me, No effing way, no effing how!  I currently have a set of 009 Ravens on, and especially for the front tire, I can't wait to get them back off.  They are the WORST tire I've ever ridden on.

I spooned them on last fall (zip-tie method, works so easy!).  We're on a pretty tight budget these days, and I needed a budget tire to commute with that would hopefully give me long miles... Read several reviews that implied I'd get just that out of the Ravens.  So after riding around last summer and fall on a plugged PR3 set that were due to go anyway (well over 10K miles for the rear).  I Kept having a slow leak problem... I found a broken hypodermic needle stuck in the tire.... weird, don't remember running any junkies over.  Anyway, I didn't get much of a chance to ride the Shinkos before winter hit, but what riding I did on them I absolutely hated.  

It has nothing to do with their grip...the grip seems fine and it seems like decent rubber, but a bit heavy.  It has EVERYTHING to do with their profile!  They have this really flat profile on my rims, where instead of it being domed high rounded like the PR3s and Avon Storms were, its way more oval flat.  The front tire steers so hard it takes some real grunt to get it to behave at slow speeds.  

So I winterized and put the bike up for the long, really cold winter we had, and only recently started riding again in March.  Yep, I still hate those tires!  I've played with the air pressure, and raised my forks in the triple clamps... a combination of running the tire at 42 psi and raising the fork tubes helped some, but at 6 psi more than stock that front tire feels like its made of wood.

Moreover, it's kind of like the front and rear tire profiles don't even match each other.  When I get it leaned over (which takes effort to get it started, then it just suddenly falls in, which is totally unnerving), it can be kind of squirmy, especially if you have to make mid-turn corrections after setting the lean angle, almost wobble inducing.  Picture riding "darkside" on both front and rear tires, and that's kind of what it feels like on my bike.  These Shinko's just don't have the right profile, and have lower volume than any other tire I've ridden on this bike.  In comparison to the Pilot Roads I had before, and the Avons before that, and the Metzlers before that, I'd rather ride anything else than the Shinkos.  Shoot, I'd choose Battlax's or Michelin Macadams over Shinkos, and I absolutely despise those tires too... especially the Macadams which always cupped really bad... but at least they behaved and turned in well.... so what I'm trying to say is I hate Shinkos.  Someone would have to pay me before I chose to ride them again.  

Which is kind of puzzling considering all the good reviews about them I've read.    Maybe my tires are miss-marked or don't exactly meet the same dimensional tolerance that they're supposed to have... they were dirt cheap, maybe they were factory rejects.  But it doesn't matter to me, I won't get fooled again.

So... still needing some budget commuter tires I've got a Conti Motion front ordered from Amazon for $67 (free shipping).  My plan for the rear Shinko is to go do some hooligan shit and light it up, and hopefully have it in the budget to replace it next month.  If I remember, later this summer I'll give an update.

And for reference, I've been riding for oh... 32 years now on the street (longer than that on the dirt) and I've owned my GPz for a long time now.... 14 some odd years.

[sleazy rider]

I have ran 3 sets of Conti-Motions on my FJ1200. I have found that I get between 6000 to 8000 miles out of a rear and double that for the front. I have ridden in rain and have no complaints. I know that the FJR, ST and C14 owners usually go for the Pilot Road 3's and 4's. When I can pick up a set of Conti's for $170.00 at most Cycle Gear stores, I will say.... They are an adequate Sport-Touring tire at an awesome price.



Fred

This has been my experience as well.  I ran several sets on my Daytona 1200, also a fat pig of a sport tourer, and loved them.  Co-worker put some in his RF900 and they work well for him too.  I wish they made them in the proper sizes for the ST1300.

[SixtyMile]

I had a Contimotion front tire that the tread separated at highway speed. Staying with higher quality tires from now on


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[motrhead]

 Well, I got the Contis. In a funny twist, I stumbled across the tire that was on the Norge when I got it, and it was a Conti Motion. I was very happy with it, and I got great mileage out of it. So I jumped on a great deal from my Guzzi dealer.  
 I ran them around town, and commuted for a week before leaving on a of about 1000km. Half way through the trip I noticed a howl from the rear of my bike at speeds over 80kmh.
 At first I was panicking, and was concerned it was my final drive, but Guzzi final drives don't give any trouble! Wheel bearings were good, oil level was good, brakes weren't dragging, and air pressure was good. I took it quite easy one the bike for the next few weeks before I was sure it wasn't a mechanical issue, and just kept riding it. At about the 3,000km mark ( 4-5 weeks after installation) I noticed odd wear, with the trailing edges of the blocks of tread rounded off, and a lip of rubber growing on the leading edges. I took the bike back.to.the dealer, and got the service guy to take some pics, and discuss it with the Continental rep. The rep blew me off, and said it was a sportbike tire, and I was using it on the wrong bike. So I wrote a letter to Continental, and am awaiting a reply from their motorcycle division. I doubt I will get any help, but it feels better to say my piece! The Conti ads specifically list it as a sport-touring tire, not a sportbike tire. The German Contis site tire selector shows it on numerous Guzzis, specifically the Breva 1200 Sport, which is a Norge without fairing. I am going to reserve judgment until I hear from Continental. As I said, the first Conti on this bike was excellent. It lasted a long time, and did not show unusual wear. I expected the same. This tire is showing very coarse grain on the rubber on the outer thirds of the tire , unlike any other tires I have run. I believe it is a defective tire. The front is fine.

[02Tac]

I put a cheap set of Shinko 009 Raven's on a SV650 I was selling and thought they handled pretty well when new. Then I tried a set on my FJR. They had a wide and flat profile in back and an OK but nervous feel on grooved roads. Biggest complaint is the sluggish feel the bike had.

Just put a fresh set of 009s on the Bandit. Have run them for the last 3 or 4 sets and have had zero issues with them. I do know that some bikes prefer one tire over another, but the Bandit seems to like the 009s, not sure what a Norge would do. I am not an overly aggressive rider and do ride year round, The Raven's are a very good year round tire and are very good in the wet.

[motrhead]

Just to wrap up the thread...a day after I licensed my bike in April the cord showed on the Conti. Probably less than 5K km. The only compatible tire in stock at my dealer was a Shinko 016 Verge 2X, so I decided to give it a go. I love this tire! I was cautious, and didn't expect Michelin levels of grip, but so far it is been excellent. No surprises in the rain, and with almost the same mileage the Conti failed at already, this tire still has rubber nubs from the mold.
 The second the Conti came off my howl went away. There is no question the Conti was defective, but because of dismissive attitude of the Conti distributor, and compete lack of response via the website, I am done with Continental, and will spread my story far and wide.
 The Shinko rocks and it was cheap! I may even put one on my LeMans!