Post by Crossbones Dennis on Aug 30, 2011 7:21:56 GMT -6
BOISE, Idaho - Shortly before a large crowd was to descend on the company's headquarters for a BBQ lunch, company president and CEO Craig Shoemaker had an announcement to make.
Could the large crowd split into two halves and leave a large lane of asphalt between them, Shoemaker asked over a bullhorn. The groups' curiosity was piqued. After all, this was the distributor's 2011 sales meeting, there was bound to be a grand announcement of some kind.
Two helmet-clad motorcyclists rolled up to the strip between the murmuring crowd. Some water was poured under their back tires. The riders lit up their motors, spun the revs high and among billowing plumes of red and blue smoke, WPS introduced the Shinko Smoke Bomb.
Already common in the automobile aftermarket, tires that emit colored smoke when spun are new to the powersports industry.
The Smoke Bomb is based on the Shinko 005 Advance Radial — it has the same tread design as the 005 and a similar intermediate rubber compound. It also features Kevlar belting as do all Shinko Advance tires.
The tires are DOT approved and come in 180/55ZR17 and 190/50ZR17 sizes. They are available in blue, red and purple smoke colors. The color change in the smoke happens when the tire reaches a specific temperature during the burnout process.