Heidenau Tires

While at the Motorcycle Expo in Orlando I stopped at the Heidenau tire booth to see what the hype is from the adventure rider guys about this brand. While talking to the rep. I mentioned the slim tire choice we have for the Silverwing. Turns out they make a "K-66 Allround" tread pattern and a "K-66 M&S Snowtex" tire with a silica rubber compound that stays pliable in lower temperatures. The tread pattern on both tires are way more aggressive looking than the typical patterns we know. This may be a good thing for those of us that ride in the rain or on an unimproved road surface.

Hi there Trouble1100. Am I to understand that Heidenau make a Silverwing scooter tire for winter riding? I re-read your post several times, and I am still not clear about that. Maybe it's the strong beer I am having right now. Please clarify. Thanks.

Some people ride year round and these are needed as legal requirement in Germany to ride in the colder months. I'm sure the have clientele for the for the cold rubber compound tires, they list over 60 sizes from rims 10" to 21". Don't choke on your beer, they just happen to have our size. 120/80-14 & 150/70-13. IRC makes a similar tire.

From a European tire site .......
"Heidenau Snowtex M+S winter tyre for scooters. This tyre guarantees great handling on cold, wet surfaces. Thanks to the high-quality materials used in this tyre, it is suitable for winter conditions and allows you to make use of your scooters even in less favourable conditions. The contact area is made from a high-quality silica compound mix, combined with special textile fibres to maximize road holding on cold and wet roads. Heidenau Snowtex scooter tyres are not the cheapest option, however both bike and rider benefit from Heidenau’s years of experience in tyre manufacturing. Since 2000, Heidenau
has been offering a line of winter tyres for scooters and mopeds. Guaranteed quality: Made in Germany. This sort of winter tyre has been a legal requirement in Germany since 2010 and are a must for those who use their scooter year round. The M+S stands for “Matsch und Schnee” or “mud and snow”. In our opinion, these are the best winter tyres for scooters and mopeds that we offer. Heidenau tyres perform on the track, as well as on the road. These tyres are available in different sizes and different profiles. Select from the list and you will be sent the suitable tyre for you."

Trouble1100, Thanks for the fast response. I will look them up. I'm not planning to do any winter riding per se; but these tyres would give you a jump in the late winter / early spring when we get messy weather but warmer temperatures. By then we are accustomed to the cold and able to tolerate it better.

"Matsch und Schnee" = stayinderhouse :lol!: 

Hi Yo wrote:

 "Matsch und Schnee" = stayinderhouse     :lol!:   

Or move to where the sun shines all the time ...

Trouble, have you tried them out in AZ yet? I am in Florida and have tried Michelin, Pirelli and Metzler and can not get more than 5-6k miles out of a tire. I am looking for something that can hold up a bit longer as I ride daily to and from work.

That's an interesting tire. Is it available through a dealer here in the states?

You might try www.hidenautires.com. The closest dealer to you I saw was in Colorado, but there may be others that ship.

DaveR wrote:

That's an interesting tire.  Is it available through a dealer here in the states?

I had them on my old Kymco 250. I had to order from them directly in California.

They are getting popular with the adventure riders and the dealers are popping up in shops that cater to those riders. The shop that I deal with for my RT can get the K-66 in the size we need for the silverwing from the local tire distributor ...... http://heidenautires.com/find-a-dealer/

yahooie wrote:

Trouble, have you tried them out in AZ yet?  I am in Florida and have tried Michelin, Pirelli and Metzler and can not get more than 5-6k miles out of a tire.  I am looking for something that can hold up a bit longer as I ride daily to and from work.

For the rear tire, a 165/65R13 Sunny SN828 or  Durun A2000 from tires-easy.com should work just fine in the flatlands of sunny Fla. and should last about 5 X as long as a standard Bridgestone. Alternatives to that could be a Kumho Solus KR21 or Achilles Platinum or Hercules Raptis or Sumitomo HTR T4  or other brand in the 165/70R13 tire size. A 155/80R13 tire >might fit<  (can't say for sure since I've not seen anyone use that size yet and it IS a bit taller than the others, though width wise it should fit)
 

These are merely suggestions. Some people freak out about car tires on bikes .... If you are one of those kind of folks,  then as  Roseanne Roseannadanna used to say ...... "Never mind!"

bandito2 wrote:

Some people freak out about car tires on bikes .... If you are one of those kind of folks,  then as  Roseanne Roseannadanna used to say ...... "Never mind!"

I'm freaking as we speak.

No dark side for me or my sweetie !!!!!

yahooie wrote:

Trouble, have you tried them out in AZ yet?  I am in Florida and have tried Michelin, Pirelli and Metzler and can not get more than 5-6k miles out of a tire.  I am looking for something that can hold up a bit longer as I ride daily to and from work.

Not going to try them, just saw the tire and posted as a suggestion for those who might benefit from a more aggressive design. I'm hooked on the IRC's, good for the dry hot climate here and by the what others have posted we expect to get somewhere around 12k out of a set.