with a different brand of tire, I had botgh Dunlops on front and rear, but I don‘t think they give me good lasting miles, I have a vt1100 and I only got about 500 miles from my rear tire I was thinking about a brand of tire named Shinko, ever heard of em, if not can I get a good recomendation on a tire that lasts for more than 5000 miles
Don't know what kind of Dunlop you have, (Qualifier?), but go for a Dunlop Elite 3. I have one on the rear of my 6 cylinder Kaw Voyager and I have over 23,000 high speed miles on it and it still isn't down to the wear bars. And at 960 lbs (560 lbs on the rear unloaded, I weighed it), I know my bike weighs more than your bike does. At $130 (give or take), I know you'll get more than twice the mileage of a Shinko half that price. If you have to hire the tires put on, then you definately want the tire that will last the longest. I've tried the Shinko, Kenda, Cheng Shin route and while decent tires, they don't come close to lasting as long as the Dunlop touring tires. The Elite 3 looks almost like a racing slick with so few sipes, but trust me they work very well in rain, and I mean heavy rain.
500 miles? What are you doing? Burnouts? Using soft compound racing tires? something is not right there. NO tire will last 5000 miles if you are abusing it or using a racing compound tire on the street. You can start with the tire that your owner's manual suggests and move on from there. There is NO reason you can't get 5000 miles out of a rear on that bike. Yes, you can use brands other than Dunlop or another model from Dunlop. Not all tires are made for the same mission. Shinkos are a cheaper tire that has a harder compound and tend to last longer than other brands. Harder compound tires often last longer at a cost of less traction, which, depending on your riding style, may be important to you or not.
I usually run a Metzeler M3 on the front and a Michelin Pilot Road 2 on the rear with excellent results so mixing brands is not a problem. I have never used Shinko but have heard similar to yourself. Good value and performance. Whilst not the stickiest tire available, they will suit 90% of riders (especially cruisers) . 5000 miles from a rear on a big heavy cruiser sounds about right to me (maybe a little low.). When I picked up my brothers XVS1100 Yamaha, it had a 15 car tire fitted to the rear and a completely worn out Dunlop on the front. Whilst the previous owner claimed great milage, the handling was interesting to say the least.
tricky stuff. lookup into a search engine. this could help!
