No issues with the tires, per se, but problems with my planning. It was a no brainer for me to fit Heidenau K60's for the journey south. Long-wearing, good in most conditions I'm likely to come across, and TOUGH. Yes, tough. Maybe I've just been lucky, but they seem more puncture-resistant than any other tire I've ever used. No punctures in 20,000 miles of using 2 rears - that's a record for me!
The planning problem is this... when first thinking about the trip to Sth America, my thinking was to install a new pair of K60's just before leaving the US, and they would get me the 10,000 miles or so to Chile. Our man in Santiago, Roberto, tells me that K60's are available there, but expensive at $300 for a rear (about the same as a PAIR from Jaxon).The front would last 2 rears, so I'd be able to get all the way to Buenos Aires on 2 rears and 1 front. Sounds like a plan! It would mean that I don't have to carry a spare tire. I hate that... they are heavy and their bulk means they have to go at the top of the load, which affects handling. (unless you are Nick Sanders, in which case you strap tires all over the bike - he carried FIVE on his record-breaking Prudehoe-Ushuaia trip.)
My plan started to go awry when the rear shock failed in Baja. That meant a trip back to San Diego and then to Tucson before continuing south through Mexico. That added a couple of thousand miles to the tires that I didn't count on. Then I've been enjoying Mexico so much that I've done more miles here than strictly necessary :
End result, I now have 9000 miles on this set of K60's and I haven't even left Mexico yet!
The rear has about 2mm left on it - no surprise, and it should get me another 1000 miles or so. Big surprise it the amount of wear on the front. The off-center knobs are down to about 2mm as well. I could leave it on for a bit but there's no way it's going to last 2 rears. I don't know if it's my riding style - I do a lot of trail-braking and there have been a LOT of corners to contend with - or the fact that it loses a bit of pressure every day (other people have reported this for the K60 front as well), meaning that some days I'm running a lower pressure than I should be.
Plan B for tires was to get a set in Medellin, Colombia, but it soon became obvious I wouldn't make it there either. Plan C is Mario in El Salvador - he owns a bike shop there and has K60's. AND they are only $214 for a rear.
I checked with BMW in Guatamala and they have them - for you sir, only $395!
So I think I'm set - as long as I don't do too many more miles in Mexico. Planning to cross to Belize on Friday.
Trevor
