Heidenau K60

Any mileage reports on the new K60 yet? I have a 6000-7000 mile trip to AK and the Dempster in 2 weeks, and am wondering if it will make it? Was going to try a TKC 80 up front, and wondering if I should change tires in Dawson or just go for it?

This showed up from MotoHelp yesterday..

Has anyone felt any problems on pavement mixing these K60 bias-ply rears with a radial TKC80 or Karoo on the front?

Fred

I am running TKC/Anakee as my road set up. The TKC front gets a little wobbly at around 80. The K60 is definately a better road tire but I wouldn't see an issue mixing brands unless your a knee dragger.

Just finished 2,000 mile ride with TKC80 on the front...and was ok I guess but at 82 mph the front TKC80 had an irritating wobble and after the 2k ride every other knobbie was worn off. TkC80 just do not work for highspeed (80 mph+) and were not made to do that anyway. I won't put another TKC80 on the front...

It's not the brand issue, but the rather the bias & radial mix. I'm not concerned about off-pavement, but all my preferred tires are radial and that ol' bias-ply K60 has me concerned for slabbing to the forests.

I guess I'll have to kick in for a front K60 in order to try the Heidenaus.

Fred

Is anyone still looking for a 150?

I am. I have a 140 that I've yet to put on but would prefer a 150.

Neither of these two tires are radial.

All TKC80 and Karoo sizes are bias ply.

Also, you should not mix radial and bias ply tires:

So, is the Heidie K60 Scout a radial or bias ply tire ?

If that's what it looked like, that's f****d up. I'd have thrown a tire that looked like that away at first glance. Damn. Don't ever ride messed up tires unless you want to get messed up yerself. Damn that's a fucked up tire.

Don't know. Don't care. If you mount the tubeless type it's a run flat tire. Will get you home even if shot thru and thru with a 22 rifle. The whole bias vs radial ply tire argument is really only applicable in thin ply tires, which the K60 Scout is definitely not. Forget it. Just ride the tire and have some fun.

Spoken like a marine. hoo rah.

I care. After wearing out the stock Bridgestone Battlewings which are radials, then switching to TKC80's and Heidenau K60's which are both bias ply, there is and I can feel a huge difference between the two types of tire.

There was no argument to begin with regarding radial "vs" bias ply. Simply the fact that the two types handle considerably different and generally should not be mixed on a bike.

Radials tend to be a lot more firm, tend to 'feel' more 'planted' on the road, last longer, and fall into turns faster. Whereas, bias ply tires tend to exhibit these traits much less.

So what are my Shinko 244's????

Serious question. Paid a total of 32 american dollars to have them delivered to my door. Ridden them for almost 4,000 miles now and I don't give a flying fucko if they are radial or bias. They work, and that's all that counts. They work in the mud. They work on the tarmac. They work in 97 degree heat. They work in freezing temps. I only give a rats ass why how they work if I'm going to try to one up a competitor. I don't compete, so that's out. I just ride.

Griz has some good points, if you want to know, best you know. So...how does the tire compare to my 32 dollar tire? Better? Worse? In between? Unknown?

Sorry, wasn't trying to be a dick.

This isn't an exaggeration. As much as I complained about how stiff these tires are, my friend found out the benefit in an extreme way. He had ridden for miles with a "funny feeling" in the rear tire that he finally pulled over to investigate (It was snowing). He discovered a 1/2" diameter hole in his sidewall. The tire showed no other sign of distress.

Metzeler Karoo Traveler Dual Sport

I run the Karoo 140-80/18 on my XR650L and they are good tires but get about 2000 miles on the rear....about like the TKC-80 but cheaper. I've wondered why the Traveler model with the lower knobs. Why charge more and give less rubber? All ears here for any experience/data.

so you have experience not with the Traveler Karoo if I read that correctly?