Where to buy K60s in Australia?

snakebitten

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Those boys who rented me a Tenere in Melbourne had K60's on their shelf. They might know or even part with some?

Garners Hire Bikes. Cool dudes.
 

squarebore

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snakebitten said:
Those boys who rented me a Tenere in Melbourne had K60's on their shelf. They might know or even part with some?

Garners Hire Bikes. Cool dudes.
Thanks Snakebitten, I'll check them out. I know you like the K60s and I am almost sold on them but would be interested in your opinion of them on the road. I ask because I know they will have 99% road use and maybe 1% gravel/dirt road. Initially it wouldn't sound like I don't need them but I have a similar philosophy with my Toyota Landcruiser. It spends more than 99% of the time on the road but when it does go off road is has to work properly. With the S10 I might do a 2000km trip with 100km of gravel/dirt road. On that gravel I find the Tourance EXP like skating on ice. No confidence at all. They are OK on flat hard sections but the loose stuff is terrible. I'm used to dirt bike riding but on XRs and YZs etc. A hell of a lot lighter. I find crossing the centre loose gravel on this fully loaded pig a real handful. It would help if I was better ride, but I'm not so I work to improve my tools.

I'm hoping the K60s will be OK on the road and on the odd occasion when I need or want to travel up the dirt I will have some confidence inspiring tyres.

Cheers
 

snakebitten

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I'm the worst person to ask about the K60.
The guys that love them don't really like what I have to say. And the guys who hate them, surely don't agree.

But one thing you just said rings very true with me too; you mention that although you don't spend a lot of time off-road with your Toyota, it is very important to you that it performs well when you do.

That is ME in a nutshell!

I make so much noise around here about the Tenere being the BDBITW, ( biggest dirt bike in the world) it probably has misled some folks to think I spend all my time off road. Not true!
My commuting miles are 98% tarmac. And my cherished big ADV trips that DO result in some seriously entertaining off road riding, all required extensive tarmac cross country touring miles to get there. So my ratio of tarmac/dirt is still probably 90-10 or 95-5.

But, like you and the Toyota, it is those off road miles that determine my setup. They are precious to me. ( can I say that? )

Thus, the small stack of still healthy K60's on the back porch. :)
Yea, I like them. But I end up taking them off and switching back to knobbies. All different kinds too. Ironically, it isn't the street performance that gets them pulled off prematurely. It's the dirt riding!
I have no beef with K60's on tarmac. I think I ride aggressively every day. But I must not be the hooligan I think because I never felt like the K60's were holding me back. Obviously in the rain I dial it way back. So I don't even have the wet complaint.
But man, as good as that K60 is off road compared to street tires? It ain't a knobby!

I pay a price for that philosophy. :)
Knobbies don't last long. They aren't quiet or smooth. But this beast just takes on a completely different attitude when its dressed to go Baja dancing. Or rock climbing. Or back 10 acres creek jumping. (crazy fun)

My final statement on the K60 I have said many times. The Super Tenere should come with Heidenaus from Yamaha. It should be shod with K60's on the show room floor. It is the perfect tire to display the nature of this bike.
 

squarebore

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Thanks snakebitten, you answered my question beautifully and I value your opinion having read a lot of your posts. I think I can put the k60s on and get good road mileage, acceptable grip on and off road and a tough tyre to handle back roads in Australia. I got a price today but not much from $500.
 

GrahamD

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squarebore said:
I'm hoping the K60s will be OK on the road and on the odd occasion when I need or want to travel up the dirt I will have some confidence inspiring tyres.
They are OK on the road and that's all. Do not treat them like Race tires and you will be fine. If you really are doing 99% I'd go for Anakees.
 

squarebore

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GrahamD said:
They are OK on the road and that's all. Do not treat them like Race tires and you will be fine. If you really are doing 99% I'd go for Anakees.
Thanks graham, I'm really sedate and careful on the road and hate when I don't go up a dirt road because of the tyres. I'm happy to sacrifice some road performance for adequate off road/dirt road performance. The chicken strip on mu exps is about 10-15mm wide. Haha a bit of a pussy really :)
 

GrahamD

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squarebore said:
Thanks graham, I'm really sedate and careful on the road and hate when I don't go up a dirt road because of the tyres. I'm happy to sacrifice some road performance for adequate off road/dirt road performance. The chicken strip on mu exps is about 10-15mm wide. Haha a bit of a pussy really :)
Well you should be fine with the K60's. They last long time and the front deals with clay fairly well. Not a full on dirt tire though. Just a word on the noise. You will think there is 4WD following you around until you get used to them. After a while they will quieten down, but will still be there.

The K60's are too hip for the straights and too straight for the hips. (Mugs Game - Dave Warner song - look it up) Sort of like the bike really.
 
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