If there’s one thing that you can’t avoid wearing out, no matter how much you strive to use with due care and attention, look after and elongate, it is your motorcycle tyres. To my mind, it’s what separates a great ride from a good ride. As people that err more towards the dirt than the pavement, it’s with complete gratitude that we are collaborating with Heidenau Germany and utilising their trusty K60 Scouts.
Opening up the throttle and braap’ing over the gravel in Alberta.
Story so far
Over the last three years, seven months and still counting, the K60s have enabled the trip to keep rolling, the wheels to remain round and foremost, my confidence to keep going for it on all terrains known to Mother Nature and man.
Fully loaded: getting down in the sand but keeping the shiny side up and rubber side down!
Why we value Heidenau’s rubber
As far as longevity, steering, stability, grip and tread are concerned, on- as much as off-road, there’s no brand in our experience that comes close to Heidenau. In fact, their dual-sport offering may just be the best mileage tyre ever. My first tyre on the trip, the front K60 Scout lasted me 31,000 miles! And I’d argue there was at least another grand to be wrung out of it. Yep: we’ll be Heidenau converts forever more.
These are Mr. Jangles’s comfiest “shoes” that he’s ever worn.
Journey to date with the Heidenau K60 Scouts
From my mother’s doorstep in February 2014, we rode on Heidenaus from England and scooted through France and Belgium. In the dock in Antwerp, we rolled onto a container ship for a month before being deposited in Uruguay. Worried about the onset of snow, we shot down to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, spent nine months in Argentina crisscrossing into Chile, a day in Brazil, eventually seeing us back in the saddle to wend our way north proper again.
On to ride up South America through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, we hopped onto the then last ferry over to Panama and rode into pastures new through Central America. Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Belize. Into Mexico, our first taste of North America.
“Nice wheels, Mister.”
Enjoying over 100 miles on Bolivia’s largest salt flats, the Salar de Uyuni.
The USA saw us sample some highlights from the saddle in California, Arizona, Utah and Colorado before flying home to England for Christmas 2015. Back on the bike through the Baja Peninsula, Mexico and Arizona, dipped into Nevada, California again, got a taste of Oregon, where we then took a whirlwind week with biker friends in Washington and into Canada.
Having ridden hell-bent up British Columbia and the Yukon, we spent a good portion of time exploring Alaska on two wheels, which blew our minds. For six months, from August 2016, we set a new precedent and paused the trip in Canada over winter in Alberta.
March 2017 saw us leave Alberta with heavy hearts and ride and then ferry over to Juneau, Southeast Alaska. As the U.S. visa has expired until early 2018, Canada beckons once again and beyond that, stay tuned folks!
Changing the tyre in the comfort of a warm and dry sanctuary known as the Stowasis in Alberta, Canada.
Pros:
- Overall, very good longevity giving rise to decent wear times due to the material comprising a harder compound to facilitate a wealth of miles on asphalt.
- Excellent dry grip, with a solid performance on pavement.
- Extremely capable off-road in: compacted dirt and rock, and thin gravel.
- Also fairly capable in loose sand, thick mud and wet grass when you air the tyres down.
- Good wet grip.
- Good progressiveness.
- Made for comfortable riding on the asphalt as well as uneven road surfaces.
Cons:
- Because the K60 Scout is composed of a harder compound, on occasion, they can slide a little on the asphalt.
- Less “grippy” in terms of traction than a softer compound tyre; not a major issue when you factor that into your riding style.
- Although the solid strip found on the 150-70B/17 increases longevity on pavement, it does offer less grip in the centre of the tyre off-road.
- Changing the K60 in cold weather can be akin to handling a stiff carcass, therefore just be prepared to use some elbow grease and hone your technique with a pair of Adventure Spec’s Motion Pro bead breakers and T6 combo tyre levers.
Ta-dah! Shiny new shoes for our wheels.