690 Enduro tires

[Night Falcon]

Ive been running the k60 scout on the rear and mitas E07 on the front. Will go to a more aggressive front next time but the k60 is a good (although not cheap) rear for pavement and light off road. The side walls are Very hard though as is the tyre compound so they get a bit slippery on the pavement on hard excelleration in the wet....fun but can be scary

[Xplorr]

I really like the combo of tkc 80 front, Mefo Super Explorer or the very similar Heidenau K60 for the rear. I think you could expect 6k out of either one. That tread pattern has been great all around IMO.

Cheers, matt

[MeinMotorrad]

Hmmm,

reading all this hasn't helped me with my choice. I'm going to be 95% street (including a lot of highway) for the next 6 months.

Has anybody got experience of the K60 and the MT90? I need grip on wet roads and good tread wear - I guess a 50/50 split on these requirements, or closest to it.

Recently I've read on advrider about K60 failures and also the compound being too hard for grip in cold weather - any thoughts?

[PedroBC]

Originally Posted by JCWhite

I mostly ride on the road but also in the woods so I need a good road tire but aggressive enough to handle the dirt

Pirelli MT21 Rally Cross, front and rear, a true all around

[palmstatecrawler]

Pirelli MT21(stock) vs. Mefo Super Explorer vs. Dunlop 908RR? Thoughts? Opinions?

[DirtSolace]

I took OFF the MT-21's new because I knew I was going to get used to my '13 690 more on asphalt. My ratio is about 2/1 (road/dirt).

I mounted Metzeler Sahara Enduro 3's. I do 30/26psi rear/front for road and 18/16psi dirt. Seems great to me--though I'm a rookie dirt rider. Wondering about road performance vs expected dirt improvement when I put the MT-21's back on....

--stan

(also noticed the new Metzeler Karoo 3's may prove to be versatile)

[dirty_sanchez]

606 on the front and a Heidenau K60 on the rear.

I settled on this combo on the 640A and on the new 690.

I've gone through 4 rear 908's in recent years so I'm plenty familiar with them but have settled on the combo mentioned above.

With it, I've never wanted for more traction while almost scraping pegs on the pavement, needed more grip on wet pavement, or in any dirt or gravel riding.

It works with the kind of riding I do in Louisiana and Arkansas. Your results may vary though.

Dirty

[Grreatdog]

Originally Posted by PedroBC

Pirelli MT21 Rally Cross, front and rear, a true all around

I used to say the same thing. But my 640E causes MT21's to evaporate - front and rear. That was my go to tire for the better part of twenty years on all my other bikes. They just doesn't hold up under an aggressively ridden 640 Enduro. So I would imagine a 690 is really hell on them.

I went with the harder compound XCMH this time. It was pretty squirrely on asphalt when I first installed it. But it has gotten better with miles and the sharp edges worn off. More importantly, it doesn't chunk and shed rubber when pushed hard in rocks.

I did a 200 mile rock, gravel and pavement ride and it just barely scrubbed in the rear. Even that little bit would have caused visible wear to MT21's on this bike. So I happy with the choice. So far.

[milzispete]

K60's have great asphalt grip in both wet and dry conditions. its also a very quiet road tire which doesn't cause additional vibration. this can become an important point on longer rides as the excessive vibes from more aggressive tires becomes very tiresome.

For off road use airing them right down to 8psi rear 10psi front provides great grip on hard pack, gravel and they are just ok on sand. I haven't used them in wet mud or clay but I'm guessing they would suck. The low tire pressures are possible due to a heavy carcass and stiff side walls. I would recommend them based on the info you gave for usage

[Motomochila]

I ran a Heidenau rear and a Michelin Desert on my 690 last summer for a 50/50 trip through Washington and Oregon. Ended up doing over 1000 miles in the dirt with excellent results. Ran the Heidi down to 13 pounds in the dirt and it performed great. On the pavement I ran 22 pounds and could lay her over as far as I wanted to. The Michelin lasted for 1200 miles, 14 lbs. in the dirt and 25 on the pavement. The Heidi is still going strong with 2,000 on it. I now run the same set up on my GSA 1200. I ran the New Michelin desert on a Baja trip in March. Lasted barely 700 miles in 90% dirt. That was a waste of $260.00. For a DOT tire it doesn't perform well on the pavement either.

[Albie]

Just tried an IRC TR8 and managed to get 1200 miles. So a little bit better mileage then a T 63 (usually get about 800-900 miles on those) but then it cost $20 more. I picked up a Shinko 520 that I'm gonna use after I wear out the T 63 I just installed.

[WayOutThere]

While the Karoo 3 is clearly a dual sport tire, nonetheless it looks like it could handle the offroad sections reasonably well, or at least as well as a K6O. Would like to hear the review on offroad use of Karoo 3s on a 690 when someone properly thrashes them in those elements.