Heidenau K60

[COLORADOF800GS]

Originally Posted by TowPro

Dano, have you ever had scary moments on wet/damp roads? I been following Radioman, and recall he got off 2x a couple months ago on damp roads where the backend came around.

I have about 2,000 miles on my K-60's and and have been loving them up to this point. Last week I got caught in my first rain storm with them and had a little scare as I braked a little before entering a turn and felt the rear start to come around on me. I wasn't going fast as this was near monsoon conditions and the bike was actually fairly upright when I entered the corner (not much lean angle). I applied what I felt was an appropriate amount of rear brake with ABS on and that's all it took for the rear to slide a little. As soon as I let off of the gas and brake, the bike straightened out and it was over as fast as it happened.

Despite these few seconds of my heart in my throat, I'd still recommend these tires to anyone and find them a better "all around" solution then a knobby or the stock Pirelli Scorpion Trails.

[machinebuilder]

Originally Posted by HappyHighwayman

To clarify on-road I mean highway and city streets. No dirt trails, horse trails, gravel or anything of the sort.

If that's what you're going to be riding why put a 50/50 tire on?

the strength of the K60 is it is pretty good at pavement and dirt, there are tires available that are much better at either one.



IMHO the Scorpians are aweful, I had a set of Conti Trail attacks that were better on the dirt, and the scorpians were pretty bad on the street too. I took them off way before they wore out.

[grndzr0]

Originally Posted by machinebuilder

If that's what you're going to be riding why put a 50/50 tire on?

the strength of the K60 is it is pretty good at pavement and dirt, there are tires available that are much better at either one.



IMHO the Scorpians are aweful, I had a set of Conti Trail attacks that were better on the dirt, and the scorpians were pretty bad on the street too. I took them off way before they wore out.

I kinda liked the scorpion trails for the street. They would almost pick up the front tire in the rain. But the rear wore out in 5k miles. Pretty bad for a street tire. But the gripped really good. Granted, All I can compare them to are the K60s and tourances. Better on the street than either one of those, but far worse in the dirt.

Ryan

[FredRydr]

Originally Posted by machinebuilder

IMHO the Scorpians are aweful, I had a set of Conti Trail attacks that were better on the dirt, and the scorpians were pretty bad on the street too. I took them off way before they wore out.

I picked up two pair of new Scorpion take-offs over the last year, and mounted one pair on my extra set of wheels. After three years of F800GS ownership using Conti knobbies, I installed the Scorpions for a planned long paved ride. Alas the ride didn't happen, but I decided to give them a real test on everything I ride on. After 600+ miles, I am pleasantly surprised!

On dry paved roads, the Scorpions were a real pleasure once they were scuffed up. I pushed the 21" wheel into twisties, and all was predictable and stable at considerable speed. Traction was great. On dry gravel and loose surfaces, the front was scary in turns, and I sure missed the traction of the knobby in the rear, but it wasn't as bad as expected based on comments here. On dry rock and ridges, the Scorpions were better. No problem climbing dry angled rock ridges. Not bad, not fantastic. I understand why BMW would choose them (besides good price); they're a good compromise. I did not ride the Scorpions in the wet, yet. Also, I have not ridden them down to 3mm.

My TKC80s are an easy wheel-swap away, and I still prefer having them on the bike and ready to go since I have a street bike anyway. But the Scorpions are a great tire for the money, because I pick them up as brand-new take-offs from new GS owners who want other tires. (Alas, some opt for overpriced hard oily Heidenaus that'll last 10,000 miles, but no way will I risk my neck taking those where the Scorpions go!)

Fred

[HappyHighwayman]

I don't need 50-50 tires and the Scorpions are more 80/20ish ;)

[Tatnall007]

Definitely a compromise tire and the on-road performance left me underwhelmed. I just got back from a 1000 mile mostly backroad paved trip. They wore well and were good for the most part. They are not as predictable or grippy on the pavement as either the Tourances or Shinkos that I have run (expected), but the real problem came in braking. I experimented with tire pressures and ABS on/off, but the results were about the same. When trying to get this thing slowed down, there was not very much grip. It was a bit scary trying to keep up with the other more on road bikes on the trip. I had more trouble with the ABS on and had a little excursion off road early on the trip riding at what I thought was about 80%. With the ABS off, I could slide both ends scrubbing speed for a corner, but it was more manageable for me, but still less than I expected. [Last year on similar roads with my Tourances, they had a I led most of the trip except when the roads opened up under both wet and dry conditions. This year's trip was all warm and dry.]

They are much better than either the Tourances or Shinkos off road though. However, I think I'll stick with TKCs for off road and Tourances/Shinkos for a mix.

[ebrabaek]

There must be a big difference between the 17 and the 18's. I know the patterns are a bit different. But I am not seeing the drawback's as so many of you describe on the 17's. Perhaps still coupled with hot desert temps.... But the 18 inch K-60 are really treating me good.

[sorebutt]

I ride my 800 GS like a true dual sport. I ride pavement to get to the forest roads. I replaced the stock tires with TKC80, which I have used on other bikes. I like them on both on and off road, but I only get around 3500 miles from the rear and twice that from the front. I decided to try the K60 on the rear for the mileage.

I have so far put about 4000 miles on it and it show little wear. I have ridden it on pavement, twisties, gravel, dirt, mud, sand, and snow. They are a really good 50-50 tire. The TKC are better off road when new, but that is only for a thousand or so miles. Then they are no better than the K60. I found the TKC on the front and K60 on the rear a good combination.

The only thing that I don't like about it is I get a lot of vibration and noise at around 25 mph. The first time it happened I had the brake on and I thought it was something wrong with the brake. It took me a while to figure out it was the tire. The strange thing is it only happens around 25 mph and is fine above or below that speed.

I think the biggest problem I see with people on this link is they either bought the wrong bike for the way they ride or the wrong tire. The 800 FS isn't a sport bike or dirt bike and the K60 isn't a sport tire or dirt tire. There is always a compromise when you try to make a bike or tire do multiple things. I think the K60 does a really good job of compromise.

[JustBob]

Originally Posted by sorebutt

I ride my 800 GS like a true dual sport.

snip....

I found the TKC on the front and K60 on the rear a good combination.

snip

The 800 FS isn't a sport bike or dirt bike and the K60 isn't a sport tire or dirt tire. There is always a compromise when you try to make a bike or tire do multiple things. I think the K60 does a really good job of compromise.

+1 to all the above for the F8GS and TKC80/K60.

[PatrickM]

Originally Posted by sorebutt

I think the biggest problem I see with people on this link is they either bought the wrong bike for the way they ride or the wrong tire. The 800 FS isn't a sport bike or dirt bike and the K60 isn't a sport tire or dirt tire. There is always a compromise when you try to make a bike or tire do multiple things. I think the K60 does a really good job of compromise.

"But I saw this ad..."

You're right on many accounts. The dual sport crowd needs to figure out how much time they spend off road (away from gas stations) versus how much time they spend slabbing. If it's an 80/20 or a 90/10, there's one bike or tire. If it's a 10/90, it's an entirely different picture.

Life is full of compromises and sometimes we are happy with the choices we make. Other times it is the constant nag of regret because we couldn't figure out what we wanted to do in the first place.

I'm not happy with the stock tires that BMW is putting on the bikes. I understand it's catering to the 90/10 or the 95/5 crowd, but there should be an option to make it easier for someone to pick something as simple as tires (or rims, or shocks or seat) depending on what we really are going to do with the bike (versus pose at Starbucks).

K60's are my "go to" choice for a heavy dual sport bike.

[ar1814]

I just received my new K60 Scout to replace the Tourance I have now that are almost out of spec.

Just have one question, as I've never had them before... do I have a chance to mount them myself or do I have to go in a garage ?

(I heard the carcass is really hard, enough to make the work almost impossible to do manually...)

[AKtracks]

Originally Posted by ar1814

I just received my new K60 Scout to replace the Tourance I have now that are almost out of spec.

Just have one question, as I've never had them before... do I have a chance to mount them myself or do I have to go in a garage ?

(I heard the carcass is really hard, enough to make the work almost impossible to do manually...)

It's nowhere near impossible, if you have good technique. If you're not proficient at manually changing tires, I'd suggest you take it to a garage (or practice with a softer tire to improve your skills first).

[Chris S]

It's nowhere near impossible, if you have good technique

I agree. I get a feeling these days riders aren't so used to changing their own tyres but it's a good skill to know.

In the summer I did both my wheels, knowing full well that K60s had the fitting notoriety of old Michelin Deserts.

I was actually mounting them with Tubliss liners which might be said to be even harder, but with lots of lube (I used 303 Protectorant spray this time) and making absolutely sure the opposite side of the tyre was right inside the well of the rim to give enough slack on the leverage side, they went on just fine, with a lot less drama than other tyres I've done over the years.
Helps if you leave the tyre out in the hot sun too, if you have any of that right now.

[TowPro]

Originally Posted by Chris S

snip
but with lots of lube (I used 303 Protectorant spray this time) and making absolutely sure the opposite side of the tyre was right inside the well of the rim to give enough slack on the leverage side, they went on just fine, with a lot less drama than other tyres I've done over the years.

I just changed out a Shinko on the rear of my F800. I could not find my spray bottle of dish soap / water. I was in a hurry, looked around and saw my bottle of 303. Sprayed some on the beads and the tire went real easy. Didn't even need spoons to put the first side on

Its a little expensive to use for tire lube, but it really works.

[ar1814]

Originally Posted by Chris S

Helps if you leave the tyre out in the hot sun too, if you have any of that right now.

Well actually, there is snow at 600 m and the temperatures are in the 20's (F, not Celcius) , so, I'm not sure I can find "hot sun" out there

For the rest, got it, I'll try to mount them myself, and if it doesn't work, I still can bring my rims and tires to the garage...