Heide,Heide now (K60s)

[GB]

Without starting another "Tyre thread" I thought I'd start a knowledge base just on the K60 scouts, if that makes sense :laugh:

These tyres seem to be a popular topic on this forum so I thought I'd give some all round info on them.
They are a German tyre manufactured in the town of Heidenau, they started producing car tyres in 1952, then from 1969 to 1994 they produced motorcycle tyres under the name of Pneumant.
Then from 1994 they starting producing specialist motorcycle tyres, so they have been around a while, even though they are quite a new name to most Brit riders.

I have just fitted a set to my 1200GS and my findings so far are;

Extremely stiff sidewalls, two man fitting job unless you have expensive equipment.
The front tyre when on right looks like its on wrong
There is a vibration from the front under 30mph but vanishes above that completely.
They don't white line at all even in the wet
Braking in the wet seems fine.
Totally stable at speed, no problems up to 1000kg and over
High mileages have been spoke of but time will tell.
12mm deep tread on the rear and 8-9mm on the front.
I personally at this moment in time think they are a great dual purpose tyre offering good grip on most surfaces, but not the best at any.

Here is the range that I think most of the riders on this forum would be interested in.

CwEEyHMtVi.jpg (52.99 KiB) Viewed 2320 times

I purchased mine via mail order from http://www.motorcyclesparesuk.com/category-s/3554.htm they sent them direct from High Level which is the wholesale distributer as they didn't have stock (you can't buy from them direct) , it was next day delivery at no extra cost.
So if you want to add your opinions on these tyres (which seem to becoming very popular) please feel free,
they might suit my bike but they might not suit yours, lets hear your experiences.

[Vindaloo]

I had K60 Scouts on my R1200GS to replace worn Anakees but didn't get too many miles in before I part-ex'd the bike, probably just a couple of thousand. This was over last winter so plenty of wet frosty roads for me to get a feel for them. (I didn't ride during the very bad snow and ice).

Was very happy with the handling which gave plenty of confidence in the wet and dry. Back tyre was a 140 as the 150 was unavailable at the time.

Although I only had them for a short while they were showing very little wear.

I'm now working my through my third rear tyre on the KTM (currently have Scorpion MT90 front and rear) and will most likely give the K60 Scouts a shot if they have my size when it's time to change.

I dont expect too much ... just want a tyre that's great on road, handy off road, loks good on the bike, and lasts forever. How hard can it be?! :pinch:

[GB]

What size is on your Katie?

[Vindaloo]

KTM 990 Adventure ...

Front: 90/90 21
Rear: 150/70 18

(Tubed)

[GB]

They do that size, obvious choice I reckon

[KTMBLAG]

KTM 990 Adventure ...

Front: 90/90 21
Rear: 150/70 18

(Tubed)

I've had em on my 990..not run a set out so can't be sure on mileage but looking at the rear I'll get same as a scorp..more grip off road as good on

[Kendo]

I have a set of these waiting to go onto my f800gs. I bought tem from 2 different places and the onl thing i have noticed is that the tread paterns differ alot between what is essentially the same tyre. My mate has a set and his front has blocks spaced alot closer together than mine and my rear has a central 'band' on it and his has'nt. Also i get a bit confused by what the 'scout' 'M&S' and 'Katspaw'. There is litle explanation as to what the different types of K60's are meant to be used for and people i have spoken to feel the same as me and in the end decided its all a bit to confusing with not enough info to make the propper choice so ended up going for TKC's and Mitas etc. If they cleared up all the confusion with some propper information on what the different types of K60 were for i think they would sell loads more.

Anyway just my 2p worth.

[Lord Vader]

Oh my favourite tyre
Have them now on my GSA for more then a year. Still got my first front on,now got over 13000 miles on and I recon good for another 5000.
Could not get the rear as a scout at the time so only had a K60 which I changed after 10000 miles. Now I do a lot of motorway and 2up so I am more then happy with the life. Done a fair bit of off-road ( Strata Florida) and loved the tyre
Here is a pic of the rear after 10000 miles

New heidi,old heidi and Mites E-10

[GB]

Had the Heidis on for nearly 700miles now and overall I'm quite impressed They have extremely stiff sidewalls, well they seem stiff to me coming from a road based world. They also took a long while for the releasing oil/fluid to clear from them, a good 200miles I reckon.
On the road the feel ok to be honest, ok enough to get the pegz down in the dry and give good feedback in the rain, I honestly don't think they are as good as the Anakees on the road for really fast riding on the limit, or in the wet, don't get me wrong they are good, and considering the tread pattern they are amazing to be honest, but where they do score over the Anakees is on the loose stuff, they really are a 50/50 tyre. There is a gravel non through road near where I live, and with K60s on the GS just sails through, whilst on the Annakees the front seemed "not connected" I really think they will give me more confidence on the trails and give good mileage to boot.
If you wanted to use your big trailie for track days and really fast road use I'd say use something more road based, but if an all round tyre is what you want, good wet grip, great road manners and good off road barring the deepest mud the Heidis take some beating

[Lord Vader]

They are not too bad in the mud :woohoo: