Heidenau K60 Scout - weird vibrations anyone?

[albany23]

Okay, got my pair of Heidenau K60 Scout tyres, 2012 DOT, fresh from the factory. 150 rear, btw.
They look road ready and they sure are. Also, they are pretty close to the TKC's as far as light stability and traction, but i emphasize the 'light'.
Ever since i installed them, i get these vibrations from the front wheel, as high as 40 kph, after which , on the dot, they go away. You slow down, there they are.
I assume it's the new tread i have to get used to, but last year i installed a front new TKC and there was no vibration at all. I made sure and triple checked the rotation on both tyre and and rim. Also, i checked the pressure and it's within spec.
Any ideas?

[albany23]

And some pics:




" 'cause tramps like us,
Baby, we were born to run. "

[machinebuilder]

Originally Posted by albany23

Also, i checked the pressure and it's within spec.
Any ideas?

What pressure?

MY PREFERENCE is to run them about 30psi front and slightly lower rear.

When I put the K60 scouts I noticed a vibration and noise at higher pressures that was greatly reduced when I dropped it.

They are rather noisy on pavement, I don't notice with my Arai XD3 (helmets a bit noisy), but with my Schuberth I do.

I haven't figured out the radio volume to hide it

[Apostolos]

I've had to replace several new k60 front tires because they had a wobble in them discernible at lower speeds. The bars would actually shake. Tkc80, mefo, ect., have not had this problem. Only the k60. I think there is somthing wrong with the mold at the factory.

The latest install of k60s was about 300 miles ago. I mounted and balanced the tires and immedeitely noticed the wobble in the front at lower speed. So I installed a mefo front and the wobble was gone. I got the front k60 replaced, however, it's still sitting in my basement because I left the mefo on the front for now. I like the way it's performing.

So I'm not sure if my replacement k60 is a wobbler or not. This has been my experience.

God bless,
David

[nathan8315]

I think I had the same thing. I would get a vibration under 35mph, above it went away. I decided that it was just the "knobs" on the tire. It felt pretty close to what I would get when taking my off road bikes down the road with a more aggressive knobbie. I didn't worry about it and the K60's have around 3000 miles on them right now. When checking tread depth against new it should run out around 10,000-11,000 miles. I believe that is normal so I don't think the vibration was a problem. I bought mine new end of April beginning of May.

[Snowy]

Resonant harmonics from bar tread patterns are common.

I think the K60s had a tendency to vibrate at lower speeds. Felt as a "coming and going" rhythmic vibration through the bars.

Especially under light brakes at lower speeds, which would lead me to suspect the front as the source. But it would be acting in concert with the pattern on the rear to generate the harmonic.


If you ever run Mitas E09s you'll notice the WW2 Jeep bar tread noise coming from the tyres. As they wear they start a harmonic thrumming, it's actually very loud, passing through a tunnel is a disturbing experience.

[albany23]

Thanks guys, i 'benched' 600 kms today mostly on perfect fresh pavement and it's still there. The vibe. Ill lower the psi tomorrow to see if there's an improvement. I also run a Arai Tour X3, but the noise and vibration is stilll there. Loud.


" 'cause tramps like us,
Baby, we were born to run. "

[iJabberwocky]

I just got a new pair of K60's about a month ago and haven't noticed any vibrations coming from my tires. They put sticky weights on the rims though to balance them out. Might need balancing. My stock tires also needed the weights and when I got the K60's the had to put on different weights.

[grndzr0]

I thought I did something wrong the first time I put that tire on. It was so weird... The vibes start at slow speed, then go up to 40 and turn off.

I was getting this when I replaced only the back tire and I still had my scorpion trail up front.

It felt like it was coming from the front, but it was the back tire.

It is not there when turning, only when traveling in a straight line.

I though I screwed up my chain or something, as it was the first time I had removed the wheel.

15k miles on the K60 rears (2 of them), and still doing it!!

Ryan

[Pabigwoods]

I noticed the same thing when I put mine on. Especially when slowing down under 30mph. Felt a funky vibration under the bike. I think it is a little more noticeable at higher pressures. You get used to it. I came to the same conclusion as others here. It is a result of the tread pattern and normal.

[pelvis_98]

Same for me. 30 to 40km\h it would vibrate, epically when under light breaking. Then as I got up to speed it would go away. The tire did get a little soft on me and it went away. Filled it back up and the vibes came back. Dont care any more and dont even notice it.

[petepuma]

Yep, mine did that for the first couple hundred miles. Dont notice it now, maybe im just used to it. Great tires though .

[MountainMark]

Put brand new K60's on my 800 a few weeks ago and then rode a 7 day road trip around colorado to Santa Fe the long way. 85% street 15% dirt. My impression is that there was an unstable feeling at certain speeds and in the grooved roads for sure. At speeds over 90-95 (raced home for a forest fire) I think they had a bit of an unstable feeling. Other than that I think it was the tread pattern. I got used to it. I still think its a good tire, and will put them on the new bike (old bike melted down in forest fire).

[CaliKarl]

I really like the idea of a TKC front and K60 rear. Haven't tried it yet, but have had both tires, front and rear, just not interchanged. The K60 front is crappy in super loose stuff, while the TKC rear is gone in 3-4K miles. Just my opinion. I had a K60 front, albeit with 8500 miles, and it almost killed me off road. And the vibes do suck.

[_cy_]

Heidenau K60 on R80 G/S front had vibrations at highway speeds when brand new.
after 500 miles or so ... things smoothed out for me.

K60 vibrating on front comments seems to be quite common.