Tires – If I were a rich man!
Safety is paramount when pushing a bike beyond its normal use. Clothing, suspension and setup to mention a few. However, tires have to be at the top of the list where safety and security is concerned.
I’ve been riding bikes for a number of years from local makeshift dirt tracks in the UK, to road and adventure riding here in Thailand, but despite my personal experience on a bike, I can honestly say I’ve never been truly satisfied with the tires I have used. While for the most part, a tire, whether Michelin or Pirelli has performed well, there’s always been one niggle that leaves you with that question, “if only it did this a little better?”
In an ideal world and if one could afford it, we’d choose a tire for every occasion, so why not a bike for every occasion too? Most of us are not blessed with such luxuries and have to opt for a tire that does a number of requirements offering grip in both dry and wet weather, and the same is true for adventure riders.
Recently, I wrote a review about the Heidenau K60 scout tire. A true adventure tire offering good performance all round, but its drawback were road noise, and somewhat scary grip or lack of, in wet tarmac! A recent conversation with an adventure rider labeled the fault to the weight. He suggested the Heidenau K60 Scout was more suited to a heavier bike such as the BMW GS1200. Personally, I think that is simply biker snobbery. While the Kawasaki Versys (Modified) may not be a true adventure bike, its weight with baggage is not far from a GS1200. Nevertheless, the K60s performed well but some serious re-educational riding is required when using these tires on the greasy roads of Thailand.
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