What tire should I buy for my motorcycle? Our customers ask us this question every day and we don’t always have the same answer.

The best word to describe choosing a tire for our motorcycles is: sacrifice. Particularly when we are talking about dual-purpose or maxi trail motorcycles that will cover a variety of terrains and conditions. Why sacrifice? Because we will never find a tire that does everything exceptionally well and we will have to sacrifice in some area.

The areas we should consider when choosing a tire for our motorcycle are generally: durability, off-road traction, on-road traction and in some cases price. (Although in our experience maxi trail motorcycle tires tend to be in a very similar price range.) There is no tire that does everything well, but there is a tire that does the best possible according to our route preferences, driving style and needs. The best way to illustrate the trade-off is this way:

Better off-road traction = less durability and less on-road traction
A tire with exceptional off-road traction is not going to perform as well on pavement as a 100% on-road tire. Because of the tread design, with space between the lugs, we are putting less rubber on the ground, which equals less traction. But less rubber and more space between the lugs and the tread means that we can more efficiently evacuate mud and loose stones, which in off-road conditions means that the tire will give us more grip when there is less traction on the ground. Off-road-oriented tires tend to last fewer miles.

Better on-road traction = longer durability and less off-road traction
A tire with exceptional pavement traction is not going to perform as well in off-road conditions. Its tread tends to be more uniform and there is less space between the grooves, which translates to more rubber on the ground. Which equals more traction. Pavement-oriented tires tend to last longer miles.

Longer life = less traction
Shorter life = more traction
The components that translate into traction are the compound used and the tread design. A tire with a softer compound will give us more traction, but it will wear out faster. Vice versa, a tire with a harder compound will last longer, but we will sacrifice traction. A softer compound tends to heat up faster and the more heat it gets, the stickier it becomes. Tires with a more off-road focus tend to last less than tires focused on pavement. Their compounds are softer and also because they have more space in the tread, they wear out much faster than a tire with a less aggressive tread. Especially when we drive many kilometers on pavement with this type of tire. It is worth keeping in mind that tires more oriented to off-road, begin to show traction weaknesses when we have rain and wet conditions on pavement.

In the world of dual-purpose tires for maxi trail motorcycles there are several categories:

This is mostly determined by the tread.

100% on road (Example: Metzeler Road Tec)

80% on road / 20% off road (Example: Continental Trail Attack)

50% on road / 50% off road (Example: Heidenau K60)

20% on road / 80% off road (Example: Continental TKC 80)

What is the Heidenau K60 Scout?

It is a 50/50 tire. A tread pattern that is aggressive enough for off-road but with excellent performance on-road. A “Bias-ply” construction tire that helps it not deform and tolerates high speed. Another benefit of this tire is that the sidewalls are quite hard which prevents the tire from getting lumps. At the time of its launch, the Heidenau K60 Scout became very popular among the long-distance travel community because its compound was quite hard and a rear tire could last 20,000 kms. However, that same compound caused the tires to not have a good grip in pavement conditions. For this reason, Heidenau modified the compound to make it softer and offer better traction, sacrificing durability. Today, it is a tire with excellent performance on and off-road and that in our opinion offers the best duration for a tire with a moderately aggressive tread.

With this in mind. Why did we choose the Heidenau K60 Scout for our fleet? First we need to understand our needs.

What are Elephant’s needs?

• A tread that gives us a good balance between off-road and on-road. Our tours always take us on a good mix of paved and unpaved routes.
• A good duration for a tire that behaves adequately off-road. As we mentioned above, a tire with a very focused focus on off-road is going to wear out very quickly. (TKC 80 approx 4,000 kms rear tire) With the Heidenau K60 Scout we are achieving about 10,000-12,000 kms with a tire that behaves adequately in off-road situations.
• Not having to constantly change between off-road tires and on-road tires. A 50/50 tire that can always be installed.
• Excellent grip on dry pavement that compares to 80% on-road tires.

The Heidenau K60 Scout has provided us at Elephant with the best answer to our needs. We have used it for thousands of kilometers and we are very satisfied with its performance in the areas that are critical for us. This does not mean that we have also, consciously, accepted some sacrifices. What are they?

• In extreme off-road situations: deep mud, deep sand and VERY slippery surfaces we are sacrificing some grip. This is due to the continuous central band in the tread of the rear tire. This helps to have more duration, but affects traction in these conditions.
• On pavement with rain we are sacrificing grip, compared to a tire 100% focused on pavement.

Remember when choosing tires to take into account your needs and with those needs keep in mind that you will have to accept some sacrifices. On the Heidenau Colombia page you can find more information about the catalog and points of sale.

We know that the subject of tires is one of loves, hates and passions. The driving style also has a lot of influence. A tire that works great for one person turns out to be terrible for another. Write us in the comments which are your favorite tires and why.

*Being transparent, we must inform you that we approached Heidenau Colombia knowing that it was the tire we wanted in our fleet. They give us discounts and some sets of tires at no price for our fleet of motorcycles. However, the purpose of this article is not to sell you Heidenau brand tires, but to provide you with information so that you as consumers make the right decision regarding which tire you want to put on your motorcycles.