-5 deg on the outside thermometer on my deck. The 'ole 10 spun around twice and settled right into a 2000 rpm idle. Rode it to work. Only thing I need to be different is the Fly Trekker helmet to go away and use my Thor Force Carbon and dual pane Scott snowmobile goggles. Throttle action was slow to react, but everything else worked perfectly. The more I ride this thing, the more I like it. How about Heidenau tires? I need something that works better on gravel and that will wear longer than the Conti TKC80's. ::008::
A moral imperative
- Thread starter Ticeman2
- Start date
Ramseybella
Well-Known Member
These things are amazing!! ::008::
-5F?
That's cold!
The K60s will do the longer lasting part and gravel. To do so they are a hard rubber and are slippery when cold.
That's cold!
The K60s will do the longer lasting part and gravel. To do so they are a hard rubber and are slippery when cold.
autoteach
New Member
Very slippery when moderately cold. I dont even know how they would fair at -5. I had nasty slide getting on to the highway, which is about a mile from my house, without pushing any real limit of lean angle. I started to dial it back to a 10 mile radius before I could have fun. This was at 50 degrees.Checkswrecks said:
mcbrien
Member
There quite slippery on wet asphalt as well . I've got 14,000 on my rear tire with another set waiting patently forCheckswrecks said:
there turn
That may be a bit of an understatement. It rarely rains here in San Diego, but this week I got to try out the wet grip. These are the worst tires on wet pavement in my personal experience. If that kind of riding is common for you, I recommend you find another tire.mcbrien said:
The south east US can be a bit wet in the summer months but I do not find them that bad in the rain. I've certainly had better, but I plan on replacing mine with the same at this point. Never rode them below about 35* though.
Don in Lodi
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An on ramp is a terrible place to use as your determining factor on traction. Literally millions of vehicles have dropped various fluids over the exact same bit of pavement. It's like saying they're slippery over manhole covers, don't use 'em.
LOL, but yes, there are trade-offs with all tires pretty much. Go with seasonal tires? Dial it back for freezing temps, or extra labor...
LOL, but yes, there are trade-offs with all tires pretty much. Go with seasonal tires? Dial it back for freezing temps, or extra labor...
Ramseybella
Well-Known Member
What part of New Mexico are you heading to?Ticeman2 said:
I can direct you to some choice cool rides... ::008::
So what is the best tire then for gravel and pavement that wears decently. TKC80 front was 2/3 worn out @ 2500 miles and the rear was toast. I'd like to see twice that for the rear tire. Am I just going to use street tires and put up with their slipperiness on gravel? I drive 4.8 mile on gravel to work each day, that leaves 1 mile of pavement. But, I plan on using this bike this summer to drag the wife across country to Santa Fe to see a cousin.
If I were you, I'd rock the heidy k60's and fiddle with pressures till you find the combo that works best. Some think that the thick center strip is a big deal breaker for them, but if you look at the actual contact patch of the tire aired up for normal road riding it makes plenty of contact beyond that.
Even more so with it aired down for off road.
Has been wearing like iron for me and I've ridden a lot of slab to get to SW CO (~500 true offroad two-up) and AR (~300 true offroad solo) and several weekend gravel day rides with Funk. Altogether at 4,500 miles and they just now finally look like a scrubbed in, wearing beautifully, tire. I'd be 100% shocked if I didn't get 8k+ out of the rear and 12-14k out of the front.
I have absolutely no complaints with the tires on road, off road, or gravel characteristics. If the gravel is fresh and loose, I don't know if even a big knobby like the TKC80 could prevent at least giving a little pause for cause heading into a tight 90* unbanked turn. The bike's going to want to skate ::26::
Hope all's well, t-man.
Even more so with it aired down for off road.
Has been wearing like iron for me and I've ridden a lot of slab to get to SW CO (~500 true offroad two-up) and AR (~300 true offroad solo) and several weekend gravel day rides with Funk. Altogether at 4,500 miles and they just now finally look like a scrubbed in, wearing beautifully, tire. I'd be 100% shocked if I didn't get 8k+ out of the rear and 12-14k out of the front.
I have absolutely no complaints with the tires on road, off road, or gravel characteristics. If the gravel is fresh and loose, I don't know if even a big knobby like the TKC80 could prevent at least giving a little pause for cause heading into a tight 90* unbanked turn. The bike's going to want to skate ::26::
Hope all's well, t-man.
Ticeman2 said:
The Heidenaus work fine and last a long time. I got something like 17,000 miles out of my set and could have done more but got tired of the handling with how square they'd gotten. We've got others here who get over 20,000 miles. They do great in gravel and I had few problems when warm and wet. Cold is when they get hard and slick, but I doubt that's when you are playing Valentino Rossi.
There are so many great tires out there. Todays' compounds are just amazing compared to when I was younger. Even the rubber for windshield wipers is like magic now.
The only fly jn the ointment is that we want them to last long too! ("long" is very subjective)
Once I got myself to just let go of that demand and place emphasis on performance, suddenly tires are like candy. And there are so many good ones. Lol
K60's?
KING of the wear\traction formula. No doubt. If I'm heading out for a loooong adventure that includes slab & off road, AND I don't want to change tires from start to end, well,.......the K60 delivers.
But "staging" tires along the way allows me to open new presents during the trip. Woohoo moments!
Heck, for me K60's are my road tires. Good enough on tarmac (thanks to the S10's brilliant computer assist) and always lots of tread left for the unexpected off road moments.
Tires. They're like gear. Which, boots, gloves, helmet and tires for this ride?
The only fly jn the ointment is that we want them to last long too! ("long" is very subjective)
Once I got myself to just let go of that demand and place emphasis on performance, suddenly tires are like candy. And there are so many good ones. Lol
K60's?
KING of the wear\traction formula. No doubt. If I'm heading out for a loooong adventure that includes slab & off road, AND I don't want to change tires from start to end, well,.......the K60 delivers.
But "staging" tires along the way allows me to open new presents during the trip. Woohoo moments!
Heck, for me K60's are my road tires.
Good enough on tarmac (thanks to the S10's brilliant computer assist) and always lots of tread left for the unexpected off road moments. Tires. They're like gear. Which, boots, gloves, helmet and tires for this ride?
tomatocity
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Have you considered Mitas motorcycle tires http://www.mx1canada.com/Mitas-Motorcycle-Tires-Canada/ . Everyone I know that has ridden them have no complaints. Effect on and off road and the cost is reasonable.
Anything short of a Dunlop Geomax is going to be bad on loose gravel. TKC80s didn't work as well as they looked like they would on gravel. Prob why they wore so fast too. I rode with TC in mode 1 most of the time but you could easily get the TC light at nearly any speed. Same as with the stock tires. Although the thrust with the TKCs was a little higher. Top speed on gravel with TC in 1 with TKCs was 118 mph on GPS with the TC light on solidly. 117 mph with the stock tires.Karson said:
I think I'll get a set of Heidenau's in the spring. They look like they'd dig right into the gravel. Good stiff treaded tire in loose gravel always works.
Been good. Busy for sure. Got the VMax I was working on when you were there up to 190 hp and 122 lb/ft. It's pretty stout! Hope things are going good now for you. ::008::