+1 Who knows with the new 150 Scout compound. We'll have to wait and see. And Woodworks, at that price I'd take two Big Blocks over one 150 K60 any day. Better times ten in the dirt and gravel and just as good on the road.
Hey, Long time reader. My first post. Got my Heidenau 140/80 17 couple weeks ago and last weekend I had time to change the tyre. Tyre cost me 140 with shipping from Germany. I ordered it from www.mynetmoto.com. First time I bought something from there. I was happy with the service. There are some pictures in my picasa gallery and I'll post more pictures and thoughts when I get more miles on that tyre. https://picasaweb.google.com/tikkanen.henri/F800gs# (Front tyre is some Kenda 2.75 that I got for about 30 so it does not matter if it wears out fast. I can always replace it.)
I see these having the potential to be a good touring tire with good longevity and 1/2 way decent off road capabilities. Sure they're expensive. How about props for being early adopters rather than trying to make people feel foolish? Someone's got to be first to try them and report back. Right? Personally. I don't give a rats ass what they cost. And yes I will spoon them on myself. Not because I need to save a few bucks for mounting, or that I want to prevent breaking a nail. But because thats what inmates do.
I'll throw my .02 in on here as I think I have somewhat of a unique test trial with the K60s from last summer. Group of 4 of us when down the Cont. Divide Trail. 4 different bikes all spooned with the k60s in the week before the trip. 4 Bikes: 05 KTM 990 (150/70 18) 08 KLR(130/80 17) 09 BMW F800 (140/80 17) 04 KLR (130/80 17) Each bike of course had a slightly different size (2 klr's and BMW ran same front. different size rears) Pros - Tires handled really when on CDT. specially with the mix of gravel/mud and highway. I would put them back on my BMW in a second but I won't need to make that decision soon as they still have another 5000 left in them after CDT and trip back (right now about 4000 on them). Cons - My God did the KLRs and KTM toast there rears. The KLR's more so then the KTM. I got my tires in on the same shipment as one of the KLR guys and you could see a noticeable different on lug depth on the 130 vs. 140 but nothing overly concerning. We made it around 2500 miles before one KLR had to change the rear as it was getting dangerously bald (in Gunnison, CO). I have some photos for comparison. I didn't do as good of a job as I would have liked showing the wear on these but might get the point. 08 KLR rear in Colorado 04 KLR BMW F800 Sorry didn't get the KTM but it's wear was in between the KLR's and the BMW... So my final thoughts on K60s: I'd be interested to see if the KLR's had ran the exact same tire as the F800 instead of the 130s but the wear difference in the two was substantial. Of course there were other variables like tire pressure, total load etc but these were ran over the exact same terrain on different bikes to vastly different results. I'd buy them in a heartbeat again for the F800. If putting them on a KLR i'd run the 140. All this may be a moot point since the compound changed..
Might the wear differences be caused by rider technique more than brand of motorcycle? Acceleration, braking, weight, etc. Fred
I'm sure rider and load both made a difference. The 08 KLR was the worst off tire wise and probably was weighed down the most of the group. I don't think that is substantial though as the KLRs tore through the 130 in 2500 miles. The two bikes most prone to hooligan activities (My F800 and the KTM) were the ones with the least wear. It's work to flog on a KLR :) Not so much the other two.. The two most careful riders of the group were the ones whose tires went to shit... I'm still operating under the theory it's the 130 size that did them in as that tire was noticeable less tread depth than the 140. Brand new i'd estimate it at around 25% less tread depth.
Well said Dig. Yes they are overpriced, but I use the bike for commuting during the week and looking forward trying a new tire that may hold up on pavement and still provide some traction for some weekend dirt. Not sure the new K60 will be the answer, but it is worth a shot as no other tire has covered the 50/50 niche. Only option I have left is to spring for another set of rims or set up a second bike
Heard mixed reviews on em but figured I'd try em anyway. From what I've read Shinko changes up compound mixtures so it's touch and go with them. They feel better with the K60 rear than the K60 front did. Could be a product of wear and tear, who knows. Gonna ride the shinko hard and long over some nasty terrain (two different swampy gamelands) this weekend for between 300 and 400 miles. If the Shinko chunks out, experiment over and nothing lost except the 20 minutes it took to mount it.
Glad you got a good price. Mynetmoto doesn't ship to the USA. At least I wasn't successful when I tried. Funny -> that's the same Kenda I'm using. Went with a 2.75 b/c there seems to be some consensus that Kenda fronts run a bit wide.
How about Heidi make the price reasonable - it's still an untested tire? If it's a good tire Heidi will make up engineering costs by increased sales. No need to the people who are going to be your word of mouth advertising (that is unless Heidi intends to raise the price even more when the next shipment comes through). It's market seeding 101. My 140 scouts were purchased for $120 (and that was going rate in retail at the time). I still have a 140 left to mount.
I can't think of any good reason why 150's are that expensive over here (or 140s that are now selling at almost the same price as the 150). It's up to Heidi, as a manufacturer, to work with it's vendors. If, as I've heard some vendors comment, it's really expensive for them to get them into the states, Heidi should be helping out with that. But I'm also watching some vendors blatantly price jacking on their websites and trying to rip off the ADV community members who assume, wrongly, that the tire should be priced that high. I just found one vendor that wants $210 for a 150. They keep raising the prices because they know we won't stop paying no matter how much money they make on us. It's a racket. TKC did it. Tourance did it. Now K60 Scout is doing it. And we still keep paying, even with the practical innumerable host of really good quality and inexpensive dirt and street tires out there that normally flies under the radar. The K60 is an alright tire for commuting but who pays that kind of money for a tire they are going to wear out driving to work every day? (unless you have some really fun roads to drive on the way) BMW says "buy this" so we do without thinking about whether we should. I want to know why we keep thinking we need to be held hostage to the marketing? Just opt out and find a better tire at a more reasonable price. Rant off.
Where did you see BMW recommend the K60? The only reason I found out about them is because some South African inmate posted a report about them 2 years ago in Beasts. They weren't even available here at the time. So if BMW is now telling us to buy them, it sure has passed under my radar. I use them because they meet my needs, pure and simple. Yeah, I could buy cheaper tires, but why would I want to? They don't work as well for the kind of riding I like to do. And I don't feel the need to post in the Kenda or Shinko threads, pissing all over those who choose to buy them, telling them that they're not thinking about whether they should. I couldn't care less what other people choose to mount on their bikes. Maybe you should consider the fact that those of us who like the K60s have some experience with them, and HAVE given it some thought. And then you go mount whatever floats your boat.
Have to chime in again...tires like seats are all subjective and this tire may not work for everyone but for us that it does...it is worth the price because it lasts twice as long as all the other tires being mentioned here....plus, it can and does handle most big bike off roads. I never pretend my Beemer is a dirt bike....i will not beat the crap out of it but will take it away from the main highways to get away from cagers and people...these tires do that for us and can handle to odd really rough terrain we find ourselves in... Plain in simple if they don't work for you...try another...I do not mind the price and when anything gets a great rep of course suppliers try to take advantage of the demand....once the supply is up i bet the price comes down a bit but right now the demand for the 150 is so HIGH it has driven up the price. Simple economics.
Well said Soph. You're riding MO is mine. I think I've made right choice ... this time.http://d26ya5yqg8yyvs.cloudfront.net/icon10.gif
Yes, technically there's more oxygen on my planet than on yours, being you're at a considerably higher altitude than me. Breathe deeper, Woodworks. I'm just not going to spend $175 on a tire that is OK in the dirt and OK on the road, but not good on either. And to be honest, we're not exactly fully sure on the Big Block mileage on the F800GS yet. They could be great! Who knows, two Big Blocks could out-mile one K60! (Again, if that's all you care about is mileage). What we do know about the Big Block is that people are reporting great handling on the road and exceptional handling in the dirt.
You could be right on the Big Block mileage. One thing that put me off to that tire was how stiff people said the sidewall is. It sounded like it would be a total pain if you had to repair a flat on the side of the road.
Disclaimer: I don't want to start another "Balance or not Balance" thread... To those of you that are putting the K60's on yourself have you found any major differences in how many ounces are going on etc? Last tire change I elected not to balance and quite frankly I didn't notice any difference. IMHO only....I am neither a high speed or knee dragger. Again.....just interested in K60 feedback. Thanks