It turned out to be a pretty nice morning in spite of what the weather guessers thought. Every Wednesday and Saturday, we have a farmers market. This early in the growing season, there isn't much as far as produce but there is some good food available as well as an abundance of local crafts. Not as much selection as you would find in a larger town but enough to satisfy. I was able to find some nice cucumbers for a decent price. I am still trying to get into shape (apparently round is not a suitable shape) and would like to finish the Midnight Sun 10K Run with about the same time as my last, I decided to hoof it to the market. There were some errands to run later so it only ended up being about 5¼ miles. It felt really warm but was actually about 70°F. The bright sun just made it feel hot. No food shots since all I ended up getting was an roasted ear of corn and some water. By the end of the afternoon, the promised rain showers showed up.I have been able to ride everyday for the last week or so including trips to the courthouse. I found out that I need to take my son to Anchorage for an appointment with an oral surgeon so no D2D this year. His appointment is on the first day of the event and he is definitely not looking forward to it.
I just ordered Heidenau K60 tires the Beemer. Probably a bit more aggressive than I was originally looking for but the size is close to stock. 110/80-18 for the rear and 100/90-19 for the front. The stock sizes are 4.00-18 and 3.25-19. I ordered them from a colleague who started an shop with his dad focusing on the adventure touring rider. He just added it to his normal tire order so no special shipping charges. They should be here in a couple of weeks.
Dear Richard:
ReplyDeleteThese are the most aggressive street tires I have ever seen, in the non-knobby class. They look like they are bullet proof. Do I understand that you are having difficulty matching the exact sizes of the rims? Or just in this brand of tire?
While other tires will sort of fit my bike, I ended up putting Metzlers on the K75 last year (over Avons) because the Metzler rubber was an exact fit. The Metzlers are made in Brazil, and I prefer to use products made in countries that do not have an anti-US slant.
Fondest regards,
Jack • reep
Twisted Roads
Jack:
ReplyDeleteI believe that the K60 are marketed as a 60% street and 40% dirt. I was looking for a more aggressive tire due to all of the dirt roads up here. The Metzelers feel way too squirrely when the pavement ends. I heard that the K60s do reasonably fine on the pavement but I'm not really looking for a great street tire. There are only a handful of tires still available in the stock sizes and the dual sport ones weren't even beingimported into the U.S. So call this an experiment. I've posted several inquiries on the BMWMOA and ADV forums asking about more aggressive tires for a dual shock airhead but have gotten very little response beyond the occasional worthless snide comment.
Snowbum's site mentions running the Sahara on his '83 R100RT but that tire is no longer available in the U.S. (so I'm told).
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Heidenau tires are pretty popular in the Vespa world. They're not that knobby, naturally but the brand has a good reputation for doing well in the rain. Those tires look like they'll do well for your purposes.
ReplyDeleteToo bad you didn't get good responses from the BMW forum. I haven't asked a question on there yet. Wondering if I would get the same treatment. :)
RichardM
ReplyDeletethose tires look great!
My rear tire is getting close to needing replacement on my R80, please let me know how you like these K60s.
dom
Redleg's Rides
Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner
Mike:
ReplyDeleteI've heard a lot of good thing with the Hiedenau K60s. All from the dual sport riders. Most of the comments on the BMW forum were along the lines of "BMW engineers set the tire size, who are you to challenge them?" or "just get a GS". The comments on the ADV forums contained some of the above but also recommendations of tires no longer sold in the U.S.
Dom:
I'm looking forward to trying these out. My only concern is the lower profile of the rear tire may make require the sidestand to be shortened.
Richard: Those tires look more aggressive than my new set of Michelin Anakee2's, which I am not going to have installed until after I come back from my upcoming trip.
ReplyDeleteI don't think of Alaska as being a place to grow vegetables with such a short growing season
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
Bob:
ReplyDeleteAlaska has a pretty decent vegetable growing season due to all the daylight. The state fair usually has a slew of huge vegetables such as 80lb cabbages.
I think that the K60s have a more aggressive tread than the Anakee2's which aren't made in a size that I can use.
The K60's look great. I hope they perform as well as you want.
ReplyDeletePeople suck if they can't just refrain from giving stupid advice to a real query. Where is the advice in "just buy a new bike." I'm glad you revel in your bike and aren't gung-ho on replacement.
-Lori
Hey Richard:
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you didn't get the informatio you wanted from the BMW forum. But I'd be delighted to introdsuce to you to the Mac-Pac while you are at the rally in Bloomsburg, Pa. Like yourself, these are BMW riders who rack up hundreds of thousands of miles, and are delighted to share info.
They would be very pleased to share their experience with you. And if you wanted to join, that would be swell too. We don't have a member in Alaska yet.
Fondest regards,
Jack • reep
Twisted Roads
Jack Riepe:
ReplyDeleteWhen I first joined in on the BMWMOA forums, I learned that you need to have a very thick skin. Especially in the Airheads section. The place is full of "experts on everything" and aren't at all shy about voicing their opinion. These same individuals are just as active on the airheads email list and the "Old's Cool" section of ADVrider so there's no escaping them.
I look forward to meeting some of the members of the now famous Mac-Pac.
Richard