Karoo 3

[Dirt_Dad]

Really sucks that I'm burning this set down doing 98% tarmac.

Just goes to show my little review earlier is just part of the whole story. If I ever get these things out on a real off-road ADV weekend, I might be less enthusiastic.

Texas roads are different from Virginia roads. You may still like them down there. I suspect I'll be burning these off on the pavement as well. Just do not like how they feel off pavement.

I keep telling myself this is a good thing. My wife's getting ready to return to riding soon. With these Karoos on my bike there will be no temptation to prematurely get her out on a dirt road. For now I'll be getting my dirt fix on the WR...that thing is a hoot.

 

[snakebitten]

Still, I kinda feel like a dirt bag for making dirt dad excited about the K3's.

Hate seeing you disappointed following my lead.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Still, I kinda feel like a dirt bag for making dirt dad excited about the K3's.

Hate seeing you disappointed following my lead.

I hold you totally and unquestionably innocent in my opinion of this tire. I have no doubt you were completely honest about your experience on your roads riding in your normal riding style. Although I was hopeful my experience would mirror yours, there are a lot of variables that put the odds against me...and I knew it.

My local road are hard dirt/crushed rock, with a lot of gravel just laying on top. This skating on marbles type of road is slippery even with the best dirt knobbies. Add to this the fact that I ride like an undisciplined 11 year old punk with a bad attitude. There are a few members here who have ridden with me off pavement and I doubt any would tell you I'm mature and thoughtful in that environment. I don't ride that way in front of non-riders, but if you're following me away from the public you may just shake your head in disgust. Safe to say this impacts my tire life, and makes me sensitive to certain aspects of tire performance that may not be an issue to others.

I agree the straight line performance of this tire is exactly what you said in this thread. The fact my roads and riding style are different from yours is on me, not you. I would love to be able to blame other people for my sometimes flawed choices, but it does not apply in this situation. I appreciate your honest review, and hope you will continue to share your experience on whatever you use on the S10.

 

[snakebitten]

So I'm off the hook!
You're a true gent. (Even if a bit of an admitted outlaw on a bike)
As a tire slut, I bow to the tire destroyer.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

As a tire slut, I bow to the tire destroyer.

That does seem to be true. In the end it doesn't matter what I think of these tires. They're not going to be on the bike all that long before they are toast.

 

[thfraser]

I was considering switching to another type of tire when my K60's wear out. This gives me pause on whether I want to try a set of Karoo 3's.

I appreciate the feedback on these tires and it is so true that everyone uses their tires in different ways, so they have different preferences.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

I suspect I'll be burning these off on the pavement as well. Just do not like how they feel off pavement.

Seriously...who did I think I was kidding with this statement?



Sounds like too much whining from me. Waaaah, I don't want to ride the slippery tire...shut up. I'm not going to let a tire dictate where I ride.

First a recap from my first 60 mile ride. Here's how it looked at the end of that ride.



All the center nubs were gone, which means at 60 miles it was not holding up as well as Snake's tire at 1,300 miles. That was a concern, so I decided I'm going to track this one to see how it does.



Another note about my last test (first 60 miles). It was done on roads on which I am very familiar. That means I kept my lazy butt on the seat for probably the entire ride. It matters.

I did another 60 miles today, but I did it after riding some of the route with my wife's Anakee II equipped S10. I wanted to compare. Immediately getting off her S10 and onto my Karoo3 equipped S10 I rode that same route, even the same lines (I could see them) as before. The results were incredibly similar between the new Karoo3 and the nearly spent MAII. Not sure I could have told them apart sitting on my butt.

Test over, I decided to go out an play. Seated, my confidence was low with the Karoo3. I've never aired down in my life, but decided I would try to go from the 41/33 setting to something lower. After repeatedly burning my hand on the #@! brake disc I decided I'd try that some other time. To be completely fair, I always ran the K60s at 39/31, so comparatively there were aired down a little.

Getting a little farther away than my normal "ride around the block" dirt roads brought me to my feet. Once standing my confidence was back. Sure the tire slid around back there, but it's all part of the fun. I think I can say when I was on my feet the bike felt as good as it ever does. The only difference was it had better acceleration because of the straight line hookup of the Karoo3.

I stopped on a normal Northern Virginia hard pack road to check weather on the GPS and snap a few shots. I did notice this leading up to the bike.



Have to admit I was impressed to see it digging in on the road.

Made me wonder how it would do in sand.



To be clear, I SUCK in sand (can't say that enough), but I had the WR over there the other day and it was so easy with those tires I thought I'd see how these did. Thought you might enjoy some of the tracks with the Karoo 3.















Honestly I'm so bad at sand I was happy to get through this stuff. I can't give an intelligent review of how they do vs another tire in sand. But from what I could see they dug in pretty well and moved me through it. And they cleared very nicely.





Overall, my second impression of these tires is they're fine as long as you're standing. They got me though the sand, with little thanks to any skill on my part.

I find myself moving back to a ride more, wait and see attitude. I like the straight line hook-up, and seeing them digging in at least makes me feel good. I measured them at the end of today's ride and there was no real change, that's good, I spun the hell out of them.

 

[scott123007]

@ Dirt Dad
For someone that spends the majority of his riding off road I'm really surprised that all this time you have been running almost stock air pressure. That is for road riding. Mid twenty's max, front and rear, is where you should be. No wonder you're burning that K60 off so fast! Lower pressure gives better off road traction as well as more shock absorbancy. Sure hope your 250 is only running pressures in the teens, or you don't know what you're missing

 

[cosmic]

DD thanks again... Now i know that K3 is not for me. Limestone gravel roads will kill those K3's in two shakes of a lamb's tail. My idea was that on fire roads A2 will do almost the same job as K3, and you proved it. Hm, now I'm even considering leaving A2 for occasional offroad excursion....

©

 

[Dirt_Dad]

@ Dirt Dad
For someone that spends the majority of his riding off road I'm really surprised that all this time you have been running almost stock air pressure. That is for road riding. Mid twenty's max, front and rear, is where you should be. No wonder you're burning that K60 off so fast! Lower pressure gives better off road traction as well as more shock absorbancy. Sure hope your 250 is only running pressures in the teens, or you don't know what you're missing

Along with my view of suspension (stock), my air pressure rituals put me firmly in the Neanderthal category. I set my WR to where Yamaha tells me 18/25lbs. Do the same Yamaha recommended with my big bike tires.

I know I'll be in the minority here, but I associate bad things with lower tire pressure. I'm aware that hardcore dirt tour operators run higher pressure to avoid flats and damage to wheels. In general I think lower pressure increases my risk, but even if I'm wrong I am way too lazy to air down and up when switching surfaces. I switch surfaces so frequently it's just not worth the effort. This is my big bike, and I don't do much beyond fire roads and good trails, just not worth it to me.

I wish you were right and that I did spend the majority of my time off pavement. Unfortunately I doubt I spend any more than 25% of my time off pavement. I'll head down most any dirt road I come across, but there's a whole lot of pavement between here and there.

DD thanks again... Now i know that K3 is not for me. Limestone gravel roads will kill those K3's in two shakes of a lamb's tail. My idea was that on fire roads A2 will do almost the same job as K3, and you proved it. Hm, now I'm even considering leaving A2 for occasional offroad excursion....

©

I never really had any hesitation about taking the A2 off pavement.

This: http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=2865.msg49265#msg49265

No problem at all, even when my wife did it with the A2. Sure she said a lot of bad words to me over Bluetooth while doing it scared out of her mind, but she and the A2s did just fine.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Added another 200 miles to the Karoo 3 today. This time mostly all pavement on West Virginia mountain twisties. Much of it smooth, but a fair amount of rough, patched, neglected back road pavement as well. All of it done at my usual spirited pace.

Smooth running tire. Looking at the tire you would not expect it to roll as nicely as it does. Not silent, but definitely quieter than the K60. It sings to you at 70 MPH indicated, but at a muted volume.

Tire is surefooted in the twisties. I found absolutely nothing to complain about on the pavement. I saw very little flashing of the TCS light when pushing hard. In fact I think I only saw it once when doing a wheelie over a hump in the road. Very unusual to see so little of that light on a ride like today.

At this point I think I've experienced most of my normal riding environment except for wet conditions. Comparing it to the K60 the only weak spot is the lack of grip in a power slide on a gravel surface. But it has better straight line grip, so depending on riding style that may or may not be an issue. The two remaining questions for me are wet weather and longevity. That will take some time.

 

[snuffcityrider]

Appreciate the eval on these. When my Metzelers wear out I'll be looking for something more gravel road friendly. ::017::

 

[Mzee]

Along with my view of suspension (stock), my air pressure rituals put me firmly in the Neanderthal category. I set my WR to where Yamaha tells me 18/25lbs. Do the same Yamaha recommended with my big bike tires.

I know I'll be in the minority here, but I associate bad things with lower tire pressure. I'm aware that hardcore dirt tour operators run higher pressure to avoid flats and damage to wheels. In general I think lower pressure increases my risk, but even if I'm wrong I am way too lazy to air down and up when switching surfaces. I switch surfaces so frequently it's just not worth the effort. This is my big bike, and I don't do much beyond fire roads and good trails, just not worth it to me.

I wish you were right and that I did spend the majority of my time off pavement. Unfortunately I doubt I spend any more than 25% of my time off pavement. I'll head down most any dirt road I come across, but there's a whole lot of pavement between here and there.


I never really had any hesitation about taking the A2 off pavement.

This: http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=2865.msg49265#msg49265

No problem at all, even when my wife did it with the A2. Sure she said a lot of bad words to me over Bluetooth while doing it scared out of her mind, but she and the A2s did just fine.

My thoughts exactly. I keep my tire pressure as specified by Yamaha. I don't see where they say I can run it lower. I have never had a problem with this. My tires last for not less than 25,000kms.

 

[jasonc32amg]

I've had a chance to put a few hundred more miles on the k3's and I really dig them. Yeah they're a little noisy on the highway but they handle fine and they are worth their weight in gold in the dirt/sand/mud.

 

[thfraser]

The two remaining questions for me are wet weather and longevity. That will take some time.

The way you wear out tires, I find the above statement a little circumspect! ::025::

 

[Dirt_Dad]

The way you wear out tires, I find the above statement a little circumspect! ::025::

I prefer the word optimistic. It's hard to get a truly accurate measurement, but I'm down about 1mm in less than 500 miles from the last measurement.



If this rate continues the rear will probably only make it to around 2,500 miles. The front still looks brand new. I need to decide what I'm doing with a nearly new front K3 when the rear is toast.

 

[thfraser]

I prefer the word optimistic. It's hard to get a truly accurate measurement, but I'm down about 1mm in less than 500 miles from the last measurement.

Optimistic - much better word. I guess the furlough issue here in our area is impacting my mood...

 

[snakebitten]

I'm at 3100. And I am almost ready to claim 4000 is possible. (For me)
(Yes, the front looks like it would last 3 or 4 rears)

I have begged the tire Gods for so long to give me a dirt tire that will last the magic 4000. I call it magic, simply because it is an unreachable target. The K60, not withstanding.

However, I'm less excited about getting a dirt tire to last as long as an oil change, than I thought I would be. I think it is because I am a sick person who must actually justify trying out tires. I SAID I wanted something specific. Then I'm not satisfied when it looks like I got it.

I think the new Big Block tire compound needs to be tested before I settle on the Karoo 3. Don't you think a Karoo3 front would simply be marvelous with that big fat Big Block on the rear?

Cheaper too. Way cheaper. (Forget I ever said price doesn't matter)


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Optimistic - much better word. I guess the furlough issue here in our area is impacting my mood...

I hear you. I've managed to work off a huge honey-do list this week. Stuff I've been putting off for a long time. Kept my mood fine. It might start getting old to me if it happens for too long next week. Maybe we should plan a furlough ride day. There's enough of us out here it could be a fairly large group.

I think the new Big Block tire compound needs to be tested before I settle on the Karoo 3. Don't you think a Karoo3 front would simply be marvelous with that big fat Big Block on the rear?

What's a Big Block? I'm out of the loop on that one.

I'll be testing my new Dunlop 606 this weekend on the WRR. Meeting up with trikepilot on his WRR and ripping up central WV for a couple of days. I really need it. Looking forward to gritting my teeth and letting it fly.

 

[Buckeye56]

What's a Big Block? I'm out of the loop on that one.

Kenda Big Block. Review here: http://www.touratech-usa.com/Adventure/Blog/SKEMKI/Product-Review-Kenda-Big-Block-Tires-on-BMW-R1200GS