Heidenau K60

[BMW_BIKER_KEITH]

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

[Flashback]

Originally Posted by WoodWorks

I had a Mefo front on my last set. Hated it! It started cupping within the first few hundred miles, and only got worse in time. Here's what it looked like at ~4K miles:



I couldn't get rid of it fast enough. Hope you have better luck with yours.

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.

[Flashback]

Originally Posted by BMW_BIKER_KEITH

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

[JustBob]

Spoken like a marine. hoo rah.

[The Griz]

Originally Posted by Flashback

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.

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.

[Flashback]

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?

[The Griz]

Originally Posted by Flashback

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.

[lmclamore]

Originally Posted by Flashback

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.

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.

[soph9]

Metzeler Karoo Traveler Dual Sport

[JustBob]

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.

[soph9]

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

[JustBob]

NOT with the Traveler, but with the MCE....their other Karoo. Sorry for any confusion. I've been wondering about the Traveler myself which is why I piped up.

[Bayner]

Originally Posted by soph9

Metzeler Karoo Traveler Dual Sport

About the same as a TKC in my opinion. I was hoping it would perform better than or last longer than the Conti tire, but it was a pretty even score in the end.

Here's the other tire mega-thread in case anyone's forgotten since it's not front page material recently...

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=389662

[soph9]

I think we can use the new SCOUTS...OK...so here is the news...we are riding the new Tiger 800 XC on for our next trip coming up June 29th...see ride report thread in my signature....

[raider]

Originally Posted by The Griz

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.

1) You're assuming the difference in feel is attributable to the subtleties of construction, and not the change from a smooth-profile road tyre to an aggressive semi-knobby with ten times the tread depth and one-eight the contact patch? You should be coaching Rossi on which compound to choose next race!

2) When examining tyres like the TKC80 or K60, mixing bias and radial will produce negligible effects. These tyres handle like pigs, they're full of knobs that flex and bend and cup. Fuck what they're made of. "Don't mix bias and radial" is excellent advice - if you ride your GSX-R in Superstock track days!