Ordered a set of Karoos 3's for my 1200GS Rallye today. Week have a full report after I installed then next week.
Just ordered a Karoo 3 for the rear, front is on backorder at the moment. The tourance EXP's are fine for pavement but there is a lot of sand around here so need a little traction. I will post back as well when i get a few miles on them.
Just got done with 150 mile test ride on my new K3's. Love them so far in pavement after breaking them in a little. The corner very well, good traction in hard stops (had a close call). They don't like the turtles that the WDOT loves to use on the highways. I even had a little frost on the road last night and they stick to the road nicely (I was careful though, I didn't try to push my luck). Can't wait to get them out in the dirt. I'll update when I do.
Rode new K3's on a mates GS LC and mine are waiting to be swapped from the stock A3 to my GS LC. Are the K3's so scary for the first 100 miles or so that you want to remove them? On a bike like the GS LC road performance is key and the transition from left to right leaves a bad taste in the way they handle and also how they fall into corners, although a 50:50 where road perf is compromised, I still have to ride on Tarmac to get to off-road or on a big trip some 300 miles is off road but rest 2500 mi is road riding. Also on a straight line they feel very unsettled. Is this normal with the K3's? Reduced pressure to 30 from 36 they feel better but still nowhere near the stock A3. I'm thinking I will dump the K3's and srick the A3 on my bike. I'm just too comfortable with the A3 and think I can handle any situation off road with them albeit carefully instead of going with the K3's. At the moment just confused.
I've got 5k mi I'm mine now. I love them as an overall tire. After mounting I took them strait out and broke them in edge to edge in a parking lot. I rode them hard throughout the winter in cold raining conditions with no scary moment's. (A couple of frosty days too). This summer over had them out a few times on the dirt/gravel/Rocky forest roads and they handled well. Hot highway conditions are a bit whiney and with the air turbulence on a windy day + 2" Roc Risers cause a bit of wiggle two handed at 70mph+ (turbulence hits my arms, causes wiggle + tires are very responsive warm). I haven't played much with with tire pressures other than dropping them down 5 psi from stock on back roads (42/36psig road). As a reference I had Torrance EXP's before (stock). I also ride hard as I come from a 1100cc + sport bike background and I ride it like I stole it on pavement. > 40dF and dry I am not scared to take them edge to edge in the turns. I have full confidence in the tires. I have not ridden them on grated bridges. I hope this helps out your mind at ease. I have a 2012 GS Rallye. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk
Just re-read your post. In response to dropping a bit in the corners, that's just a good new round tire doing that for you (mine did the same after coming from the EXPs with a flat spot from too much highway driving). Learn to use it, it's a good thing. Low effort corners are a thing of beauty and a result of good engineering on the part of BMW and tire manufacture. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk
I'm about halfway through my 2nd XC trip on K3s, this set is holding up MUCH better than the ones from the first. At 3700 miles, I can still see the grove in the rear's center blocks and the front still has sharp edges. At this mileage last time, the front was starting to cup and the rear had been replaced with a TKC80 (it was the only tire on hand at the shop). The biggest difference I can think of is the temperature of the roads. Its been relatively cool all the way from Ct to Wa, except for yesterday. I've got another set of K3s waiting for me in Portland.
On my bike (Tiger 800) Roadie) I went to the K3s from the Scorpion Trails. I've not ridden the Anakee 3s, but figure they're similar to the Scorps. There was a significant difference in the way the K3s felt, especially how they fall into turns. It took a bit of getting used to, but not really 'scary'. Just put a new rear on this weekend (after 7k+ mi.), and it felt just like the one I took off. I really like the K3s as an all-around road and light off-road tire for dirt and gravel. I've been through some sand and mud with them, but I'm assuming that a more aggressive knobby would do better in those situations.
Thanks everyone. I've decided to retain the A3's. I have a lot of road riding and in the rains so I want more road confidence. I'm sure I can handle the dirt fairly well. Let's see how they fare this extreme adventure. The K3's for another time.
I must say I'm happy with my Anakee 3s. They are awesome on road. Haven't been off road yet with them. Flash
I've read the whole thread and still undecided. I've had two sets of K60's on my KTM690 enduro and they work great on the road and are ok'ish on the dirt - for the type of tyre they are. You certainly can't ride them like an enduro knobby on gravel but in single track they were surprisingly okay when you have a line to follow. I've got a 5000km trip coming up with 1000km of bitumen either side of some Victorian Alp dirt (Australia). It seems the Karoo 3's wouldn't make the trip given we like to give it some throttle on both dirt and bitumen. The K60's don't perform that badly and I run the recommended manual pressures from KTM - 32 psi rear & 29 psi front fully loaded and down to 22psi solo on dirt only. In short it seems the option is to baby the Karoo's to get the required mileage or absolutely flog the K60's to get slightly more mileage. I ride for the thrill and love to twist the throttle so it appears I'll stay on K60's. Each to their own but if your riding style is dictated by how many miles you'll get from your tyres you'd be better off in a small 4 cylinder car. Interestingly enough here is the Metzeler tyre pressure recommendations from Metzeler.com.au ----->http://www.metzeler.com.au/shop/category/tyre-pressures and the most relevant part here is this excerpt "Under no circumstances should your tyre’s cold inflation pressure be less than that indicated in your motorcycle owner’s manual or on your motorcycle’s tyre placard or higher than the maximum cold inflation pressure molded onto the tyre’s sidewall." It would seem the best recommendation for tyres is from someone who rides like you do.
Anybody using a Mitas e07 on the rear with a Karoo 3 up front? I'm looking for a good gravel/soft dirt tire that can still scrape pegs on pavement. Any reason to go with the Karoo 3 on the rear vs the Mitas e07? Would a tkc 80 be a better option on the front?
I don't know how people are getting so many kms out of the K3. At 3k kms my rear is pretty much toast.... I do a lot of gravel,and I spin it a lot......probably the main reason for the wear. Very little on road riding,I bought an adventure bike to be off the beaten path. The K3 outlasts the TKC80 by far...wont buy another TKC80 rear The TKC70 wears better than the K3 but doesnt offer the same off road ability. I've got a couple of rear K60s ready to go on if spring ever arrives here full time. I've had a TKC80 on the front since almost new,but have a K3 front to go on.....be interesting to see how it feels compared to the TKC80. If I don't like it I'll take it off and get another TKC80. If I did more street but wanted a bit more traction off road than the stock 1190 tires I'd probably buy a set off TKC70s Spring get here now!!
Madatter: Last year I wore out a K3 front tire and replaced it with TKC80. I felt much more confident when cornering on tarmac on the K3 than on the TKC80 fronts! I did a trip to the alps on the Karoo 3 last year and the front tire felt really good on tarmac - on both low and high speed cornering. I now have a K3 rear tire which easily spins out if I hit the throttle while low speed cornering on tarmac. It has really good grip (IMO) on the gravel roads though! I drive a Tiger 800XC (21" front) btw.
For those who don't like the K60 in the wet, is it more of an issue with the rear tire breaking free or the front tire breaking free? I don't really care what the rear tire does as my brain/wrist is a very effective form of traction control. And if the rear does start to go out, I have always been able to keep it in line by just backing off the throttle. Now if the front gives I see me slamming into the asphalt. I have never pushed the front end on any motorcycle hard enough to feel it start to give and break away and am extra cautious in the rainy weather. Last summer I got caught in a summer rain storm (the type where it hasn't rained in many weeks and you can see oil/grease foaming on the road) on my F800GS with K60 front and rear tires and I had no issues. I will emphasize that I take it pretty easy and never corner aggressively regardless of whether it is wet or dry. I pick up a new R1200GS in less than two weeks and plan to have the stock Anakee 3's replaced with something more like a 70/30 street/dirt tire. I know the K60 is more like a 60/40 tire but the long life has me really interested. I am also considering the TKC70's but that front tire wobble has me concerned. NC
I never understand why people say, that the K60 Scout is bad in rain. I think many people don't know, that there are two different tyres: first the "K60" and second the "K60 Scout". The K60 Scout ist a brilliant raintyre. In comparrison to a Karoo 3, the K60 Scout ist much better in rain. The K60 Scout is absolutely controlable. The Karoo 3 breaks out suddenly. Botth driven on a Tiger 800 XC.
Here in Germany they offer the Scout in different Sizes without centerstrip. But you're right K60 an K60 Scout have generally different Sizes
I now have 4000 miles of mostly pavement miles on them and I'm still happy with the K3's. Still plenty of tread left and because I like to ride them on the edges in the corners I have fairly even wear. They perform well except for wet tar, frosty corners and wet steel but what tire does lol? They handle great on gravel roads and light mud/dirt. I've not tried them on anything too crazy. Sent using Tapatalk
my rear looks more worn than yours at about 3K miles on them give or take... Not sure when they are officially worn out... is it the smaller groove that you can barely see in your photo? front looks pretty much new. I end up running mostly on pavement...unfortunately!