Heidenau k60 Scouts

[gmsnowball]

Somehow I really don't think Honda would waste money on engineering showmanship. I have a 2001 Gold Wing that is a snap to remove the rear wheel. Never heard of or had a problem with mine. I would hazard to guess Honda engineers may know a little more than those of us on forums like this.
::002::

Meanwhile.....back at the ranch... )

I have Heidenaus on my Wee and the S10. Probably have over 10K on the Wee and love the K60's. Only ridden the S10 a few hundred miles of Arkansas dirt and pavement on the K60's but so far so good.

 

[EricV]

Somehow I really don't think Honda would waste money on engineering showmanship.

I guess you've never seen a VFR then... :

 

[snakebitten]

Actually, over the last few decades, (not so much the latest one) Honda proudly set out to flex its engineering prowess several times.

Honda wasn't shy or private about it. And its not a bad thing, in my opinion.

Oval pistons anyone?
V5?

 

[twinrider]

Honda's still doing it. Dual clutch transmission is the latest example.

 

[Checkswrecks]

I have Heidenaus on my Wee and the S10. Probably have over 10K on the Wee and love the K60's. Only ridden the S10 a few hundred miles of Arkansas dirt and pavement on the K60's but so far so good.

K60s on a Wee - now there's a concept.
Most people sell a bike before a combination like that would wear the tires out.

 

[mfletch]

Off road? Doubt it. This big fat pig is gonna spin before it lifts regardless of the tire.

 

[mfletch]

As soon as the month is up I'll be likely replacing my K60s with Mich Anakkee 3s. I'll have put around 4K miles on the K60s and whilst they do make a difference off road its not that much that I probably couldn't do the same with Anakees or tourances /similar given the weight of the S10 and my abilities (ie slow plodder). I'm also not seeing the stellar mileages that others seem to get as my K60 rear has about 2mm left over legal limit (in uk) though front just seems to be aged rather than worn . The K60s have also limited the top speed attainable as they get seriously flighty over 80 odd mph (not on a public highway officer). Running them at max allowed pressures damped this a bit but didn't eliminate , I think this feature is because they are a bias rather than radial tyre, that and the lower tarmac grip levels (TC light is only a twist of the throttle away) are persuading me to return to a more "normal" Adv tyre.
I'll probably be burned at the stake as a K60 heretic but I think this view is worth sharing amongst what seems to be a tide of emperors new clothes views of the Hiedenhaus

I am grateful for your feedback. I have a set of k60s sitting in the garage and I am getting second thoughts on them. Motorcycle speed limit starts at 80.
Do you think the Anakee 3 will behave better on the tarmac.

 

[EricV]

I am grateful for your feedback. I have a set of k60s sitting in the garage and I am getting second thoughts on them. Motorcycle speed limit starts at 80.
Do you think the Anakee 3 will behave better on the tarmac.

I've run thru 3 sets of K60s and the feel at speed is somewhat of a personal thing. I've run elevated speeds for 36 hours during an event and never felt anything that bothered me at or above 80 mph. This set was new for the event, with only 200 miles on them when I started. They did wear a tad faster at high speeds in high heat and on coarse NV pavement, but I still rode the set out with more normal riding and got 10k from the rear.

As for Motorcycle speed limits, don't try that line on the CHP. They don't have much of a sense of humor. Or rather, they will be quite personable, but still write the ticket.

The Anakee IIIs will ride smoother and possibly handle more abrupt throttle movement before engaging the TCS, but they are more street oriented than the K60s.

 

[twinrider]

I am grateful for your feedback. I have a set of k60s sitting in the garage and I am getting second thoughts on them. Motorcycle speed limit starts at 80.
Do you think the Anakee 3 will behave better on the tarmac.

Anakee 3 tires will likely be better on pavement as in smoother and quieter, they are a 90-10 tire. But I am running K60s and finding them to be a fantastic all-rounder. No handling issues at all even at speeds up to 100 mph or so. Been great for everything from aggressive sport-touring to fire road riding and everything between.

 

[Maxified]

... I am running K60s and finding them to be a fantastic all-rounder. No handling issues at all even at speeds up to 100 mph or so. Been great for everything from aggressive sport-touring to fire road riding and everything between.

::008:: Sometimes a person just needs a little speed for a variety of reasons. Serious speed requires an alternate ride not just street tires. I have been very satisfied with the K60s but I do avoid the Florida sugar sand.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

I'm going to declare my second K60 rear tire dead at 6,469 miles. Which is almost 2K less than my first K60. I removed the first K60 at 8,400 because it was getting to squirrelly when pressed hard. This second one has less remaining tread than my original K60, so I'm done. Good tire, I'm unimpressed with the traction on dirt roads and plan to cut the next one as we've discussed. I've been practicing my cutting skills on my original that I haven't taken to the dump yet. I'm finding it cuts very nicely with an ordinary dremel cutting wheel. Smokey, but clean cut.

As for the front K60, keeping it. Amazing front tire life.

 

[jrb_nw]

I'm thinking of making an Alaska run this summer (from Portland). Bike will probably have under 3k on it by the time I leave. Should I have the Tourances removed and mount K60's for the trip or run the Tourance up and wear them out then have K60's mounted in Whitehorse or Anchorage?


** edit ** Just realized I have Battlewings, not Tourance. Basically the same thing though. Thanks.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Combo]

I'm thinking of making an Alaska run this summer (from Portland). Bike will probably have under 3k on it by the time I leave. Should I have the Tourances removed and mount K60's for the trip or run the Tourance up and wear them out then have K60's mounted in Whitehorse or Anchorage?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

I think I would keep the 90% road tires on until I get up north and then change to the K60's. You could ship (if you have them in hand) or have a dealer up north that would order/purchase early and change them for you.

 

[BWC]

I'm thinking of making an Alaska run this summer (from Portland). Bike will probably have under 3k on it by the time I leave. Should I have the Tourances removed and mount K60's for the trip or run the Tourance up and wear them out then have K60's mounted in Whitehorse or Anchorage?


** edit ** Just realized I have Battlewings, not Tourance. Basically the same thing though. Thanks.

A lot do change out their tires once they get to Alaska to have fresh rubber especially if they are going to ride the Dalton. A little more work and time to arrange for the tires and mounting once your up there though.
Looks like Portland to Anchorage is about 2600 miles on a direct route. This set did a similar ride through Alaska and these have 8200 miles on them so you could do the ride and return with tread to spare if you wanted. And you will enjoy your Battlewings on return as the K60s get pretty noisy as they get near the end of their life. The one small cut on the tread block was the only damage for front or back and didn't go in past the depth of the tread . Really helped the bike in regards to the steering/downhill braking on the gravel as thats where I noticed the big impovement over the stock tires.
And yes your bike will get this dirty and never seem to be as clean again. Enjoy the ride, its beautifull country and will be an excellent adventure, however it goes ::001::

 

[jrb_nw]

Thanks, that's great input. I have been all the way up to the Arctic Circle in my old Westfalia and yes, the whole back of it was one color - the beige mud look. Including the bicycle I had on a rack. Ha ha. Never ridden a motorcycle up there though, so it would be a first for me. I definitely think I would want the K60's on it for that. Cheers.

 

[cb0802]

I had the K60's mounted last week and have a little over 100 highway miles on them. I am a VERY conservative rider so had a great deal of hesitation installing them because so many people commented about loss of traction and control. I agree with everyone else as to the overall smoothness of the ride, but have to say I've been very pleased with handling. I never felt confident on the stock tires, and alway felt like they were over inflated. I always felt like the bike was going to slide out from under me or that I was on slick pavement.
I don't feel that way about the K60's at all. I feel like the bike is much more stable and has better traction than before. My theory (take it for what it's worth) is that this tire is less responsive than the stock tires. I have to push the bike more deliberately into corners rather than just lean in. I guess I'm in the monority, but I prefer the handling over stock.

 

[coastie]

I had the K60's mounted last week and have a little over 100 highway miles on them. I am a VERY conservative rider so had a great deal of hesitation installing them because so many people commented about loss of traction and control. I agree with everyone else as to the overall smoothness of the ride, but have to say I've been very pleased with handling. I never felt confident on the stock tires, and alway felt like they were over inflated. I always felt like the bike was going to slide out from under me or that I was on slick pavement.
I don't feel that way about the K60's at all. I feel like the bike is much more stable and has better traction than before. My theory (take it for what it's worth) is that this tire is less responsive than the stock tires. I have to push the bike more deliberately into corners rather than just lean in. I guess I'm in the monority, but I prefer the handling over stock.

I'm loving mine so far with almost 1000 miles on them. TC1 on the pavement I had that pesky orange light flashing at me most of the time and on TC 2 it was flashing on when I pushed it into corners, but I never felt like I had lost any traction.

 

[cb0802]

The way I ride, I doubt I'll ever see the TC light come on. When I ride with my dad I like to say I ride in the back with the old guys. I stopped saying that after seeing what some of the more "seasoned" riders can do on this bike. I could run a marathon tomorrow, but damned if I could get the front end of this bike over a log without getting off an picking it up.
I guess what they say about age and experience must be true.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

New rear K60 arrive yesterday (thanks, Jaxon). Spent about 90 minutes cutting chunks out of the center section. I made a few cuts with a utility knife, then a few with my Dremmel with cutting wheel, then finally decided on two X-acto knifes. Dremmel was very smoky and a little slower than the X-acto knife. I did not attempt to take the cutout as low as possible. Using my cutting method it was not possible to get a perfectly clean cut. I wanted to leave myself enough room that any slip of the knife did not go below the main structure of the tire.





It's a shockingly dirty process. For a dry tire it's surprising how the rubber smears on your hands. My hands were black very black. Even with a lot of Goop and a shower I was still finding black dots on myself at work today.



Installed it tonight after work. And of course after you install a tire you have to go scrub it in. I used my normal scrub in route, which is the closest dirt road to my house. It has a lot of fresh gravel. Really scrubs a tire very quickly.



So was it worth it? I'm withholding judgement. On the pavement the tire rolled as smoothly as the one I took off earlier today. On my 7 miles of dirt road all that fresh gravel was like rollerskating on marbles. I think it would take a full motocross knobby cut through that stuff, and even then it would still be slippery. So I'll have to get to some of my more routine dirt roads to see if it was worth the effort.

 

[snakebitten]

Excellent documentation Dirt Dad.

I'm not surprised, based on the description of the test trail, that it wasn't night and day difference. But for the kind of roads where even the 80/20 and 90/10 tires with some tread pattern down the center were reported to be better than the K60, I suspect your alteration would equalize that.

Basically hard pack would be the most noticeable, right?

Also, I'm thinking I might remove a wider chunk, although it would require some kind of measured and controlled cutting. I want the spacing to be close to the block spacing on the rest of the K60. And since I don't even mind the ride quality of a knobby, I'm not concerned about loss of smoothness.

Man, I might do mine while I'm waiting on my forks/shock. It's gonna be a looooong few days.