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Equipping the Bike - what's the best gear? Anything to do with the bikes equipment, saddlebags, etc. Questions on repairs and maintenance of the bike itself belong in the Brand Specific Tech Forums.
Photo by Ellen Delis, Lagunas Ojos del Campo, Antofalla, Catamarca

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Ellen Delis,
Lagunas Ojos del Campo,
Antofalla, Catamarca



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  #106  
Old 17 Aug 2012
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Heidenau Scout K60 front and back

Two sets now, the first set was mostly the hot rough Australian roads - 20,000km

I just replaced the new set recently, installed them in Frankfurt, they lasted 25,000km and still had some tread on, probably get a few more thousand each

I left Germany and am in Kazakhstan, I fully expect these to get me back home to Oz, maybe after the Mongolia dirt roads I may readjust that but will let you know

Cheers
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  #107  
Old 27 Aug 2012
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The Scout K60's look good. These also seem to be easier to get hold of than the Mefo Super Explorers? I'm thinking of using the K60's for Morocco next year (I have an F800GS). My only 'concern' is that I've read that some people have had issues with the new 'band' down the centre of the Scouts that wasn't previously there on the older K60's, or indeed on the Mefo's. Good / bad / indifferent, what are peoples' opinions of this feature of the Scout?

Last edited by Endurodude; 28 Aug 2012 at 08:21.
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  #108  
Old 27 Aug 2012
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The tyres I used on the BMW described above were #1 and 3 in the line up below and they were fine on dry piste and wet roads.
My current bike runs a pair of #1s.

Bigger bikes run chunkier K60s.

Ch
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  #109  
Old 28 Aug 2012
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On my r1200gsa Hiedenau is good for the rear but on the front the tyre tracks like crap. As a result the front gets a TKC 80
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  #110  
Old 28 Aug 2012
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Now have 18500km on my K60 and rear tyre still can do 3-4kkm.
Bike has been fully loaded all the time (doing my RTW).
Really recommend these tyres.
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  #111  
Old 28 Aug 2012
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hemuli View Post
Now have 18500km on my K60 and rear tyre still can do 3-4kkm.
Bike has been fully loaded all the time (doing my RTW).
Really recommend these tyres.
Did you use front and rear Heidenau, or did you use the above (or similar) combination? These do appear to be the tires for me; I might even use them day to day!
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  #112  
Old 2 Nov 2012
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Tried out the new Michelin Desert "Race" this summer. Better grip than the old Desert, a lot more flexible, and what surprised me was the tyre life was very similar (6000-7000 km). Only for the single cylinder bikes. The 950 / 990 guys should still use the stronger stiffer classic Desert.



Last edited by colebatch; 4 Nov 2012 at 12:08.
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  #113  
Old 3 Nov 2012
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Heidenaus have been great

We are using heidenau K60's front has done all of Canada, Alaska, back to the States, then uk and now half of Europe. Front is now up to 24k and still has plenty left. Rear lasted 20k. All two up on bmw 1200gsa fully loaded. They are a grat choice if you want long life. They are not as grippy in the wet but are good on dirt and tarr. I can't wear them out! Yes the front does track a bit but TKC will not last. Way too soft for long distance in our of the way places. Just my thought fellow travellers.
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  #114  
Old 4 Nov 2012
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We used nearly all mentioned B4. The K60 left not a good impression with us. They dissolved in nothing in the middle of Cambodia just after 4500km, broken parts, cracks all around. To rough surface, too heavy loaded (our bike has 450kg...) and not enough pressure.

Heidenau told us the theses tires are “not made for Xsteam conditions, and sorry“.

We used on our Africa Twin the 140 version. From what i heard from the BMW guys they all loved their 150, K60... The 140 was just a disaster for us. Never again. That’s just my personal experience, other people, drivers may have different…


For us the best solution is front TKC80, back Anakee II. Lasts forever…

The funny thing is that the TKC80 front tire is in Germany 63EUR incl delivery and the cheapest one here in Down Under I could find is 200AUD...


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  #115  
Old 18 Dec 2012
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TKC 80 - Like em! 8,500 kilometers on rear and still

I have had a few sets of the TKC 80's and like them.

I currently am running a set on my F800 and have racked up over 8,500 kilometres and the rear still has some on it. The front looks great. I spend a lot of time on dirt but these have seen some highway too. I have not tried to make these last as I just bought the bike and have been a little throttle happy. Coming from a KLR it feels like I got off a goat and onto a stallion so I can't resist spinning up that back wheel.

The hold very well in my opinion on asphalt and when aired down, they do well in gravel. Ride s good and noise is low, although I really am not worried about a little tire whine anyway so I may not notice it much.

I think the trick is to run max pressure whenever you can.
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  #116  
Old 29 Oct 2013
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Endurodude View Post
The Scout K60's look good. These also seem to be easier to get hold of than the Mefo Super Explorers? I'm thinking of using the K60's for Morocco next year (I have an F800GS). My only 'concern' is that I've read that some people have had issues with the new 'band' down the centre of the Scouts that wasn't previously there on the older K60's, or indeed on the Mefo's. Good / bad / indifferent, what are peoples' opinions of this feature of the Scout?
I have had no problem with the new k60 scout,(640e,adventurised) handles really well on pretty much everything and the wear rate is next to nothing even though i'm a ride like you stole it pilot just swapped it out for a mitas e-10 adventure which although says 140/80-18 is more like 150/80-18 and is another contender for good all rounder.
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  #117  
Old 29 Oct 2013
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I used an E7 rear and an E10 front, both Mitas, on my recent trip to Morocco. Time was a little limited, and I wanted to ride there and back as opposed to taking the ferry to Spain, so I used some motorways getting there. The rear was good, but the front E10 didn't like the motorways at all, even though I rarely go above 70 (you see more when you travel a little slower). By the end of my trip, bits of the tire we coming off, and it was making riding difficult. Added to this were some of the Spanish motorways. At times they were concrete, and had grooves running in the direction of travel. The E10 basically slotted into these groves and the bike steered itself! The worst example of this was coming down a mountain back into France; not at all fun. In the future, I'm going to look at tires with deep grooves in them, as opposed to 'knobbly bits' protruding. At HUBB last year, Zen overland mentioned that the Mefo super explorers might soon be available for the F800; this seems like a winner to me!
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  #118  
Old 6 Nov 2013
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I run a K60 rear and TKC front and the combo works great on everything except wet pavement .


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  #119  
Old 16 Apr 2014
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KTM 990
Michelin T63 or Metzeler karoo front. Both are good
Mitas E-07 rear. Good tyre life but not the best for mud and sand. The KTM eats mud and sand knobblies as a snack, so the E07 is a good compromise. I get about 7000-8000 km from a rear tyre. The standard KTM scorpions are just terrible in mud and sand.


BMW1200
TKC 80 both. Good tyre life if you keep them hard on tar, slightly over the recommended value. I inflate the rear up to 2.9-3 bar.
I tried the Mitas E-10 on the rear but it was horrible and unstable on tar. I also didn't get any more life than the TKC.
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  #120  
Old 8 May 2014
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Now I'm running a Kenda Parker DT front and K270 rear on my XT350 Overlander.



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