Not sure about the K1200LT but I ran Shinko Raven 009's on my FJR for about 4,000 miles before I sold the bike. They were wearing very nicely and handled well. I commute and ride a fair amount of 2up and never had a complaint. I would not be afraid to run them on the RT. Not a huge fan of the tread pattern, but at the time, I got the set delivered for $150 and mounted and balanced for another $40. At $190 total investment, it was hard to pass up giving them a try.
But Bridgestone BattLax T31 GTs have a rebate right now which puts them almost in that same price range as the current Shinko price with no rebate.
When I bought my bike it had Michelin Pilot Road 4 front and rear. The tread was like new so I persisted with them, until I slipped sideways in a bend more than once.
I now have Bridgestone front and rear. I have a Battlecruise H50 on the rear and a Battlax Sport touring T 31 F on the front. The difference is amazing. I can run over as many tar snakes and joins in the road surface as I like and you don't even feel that they are there, not even a slight deviation off line. I never realised just how flimsy the Pilot 4 is in it's construction.
You can probably get away with a tire that doesn't quite meet the LT's rigid specs, but you just never know when you might need that extra safety margin.
Tires and brakes simply aren't worth cheaping out on...
Been rolling on a Shinko 777 rear and Bstone front for a little while now. Used to use radials exclusively but I think I like the bias tires a bit better. They seem to turn in quicker for me. Haven't had them long enough to compare treadlife but the Shinko is less expensive than other tires and if you can install them yourself then it works out.
My experience with the Shinko is that it wears out very quickly. My bike came with a new set installed. I had 2000 highway miles on the Shinko and it was pretty much squared off. I replaced them with Metzeler ME880, which apparently wears out a lot faster than the newer ME888, and have double the miles but nowhere near the wear. I drive 95% highway at 70-80mph.
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