hey riders,

Any suggestion where I can find some Heindenau K60 for my GS 800 in Mexico, as my rear is good for another 1000km, I would rather get them shipped than having to drive to Mexico city preferably.

Has anyone ever got some tires shipped?
Was it complicated to find your tires ?


I'm in todos santos with friends for another day (March1st ) and then I will be taking the ferry to Mazatlan and stay few days south of Puerto Vallarta, then I don't know yet but probably Oaxaca on my way to Panama.

thanks for your help.

Chefonbike

It may be difficult to find a specific tyre brand and you may have to get whatever fits. Michelin Anakees and Metzeler Tourance are easy to find and you may find Continetal TKC80s You can check out motohouse They will ship anywhere in Mexico at very reasonable prices. If you decide to come to Mexico City I can help you find tires. I can also put you up and show you around. There is a lot to see in the city and just outside. I have a set of used tires at home but I think they are off of a Suzuki DR650 and won't fit the BMW.

Just called bmw in Guadadelajara and they want 780 pesos for a pair of tourance ,, that's almost twice th eprice of home !!!!!
To bad they don't know Heidenau, love those...
I will contact bmw Mexico city and swing by if I have to, Thanks Garry I will be taking your offer, as I'm sure that mexico City has a lot to offer.
I will contact you in a week or so.

also I have found out that there is a bmw dealer in Cabo San Lucas,
so I went there on a Saturday afternoon after finding their bmw website and discovered that they were closed at 5pm not 8 pm like the website said and also by picking in the window I noticed that the only bmw thing is the logo on the building, which apparently they are no longer a bmw dealer but just yamaha with hardly anything in the store....that was a good waste of my time...

But the good side is that I met with the owner Gary from Todos Santos motorsports and he could get me tires in a reasonable time manner and price but I had to leave the next day to La Paz to catch my ferry.

He was super helpful, friendly and knowledgeable about BMW as he is a Certified Bmw mechanic and Ducati also , anyone looking for help in Cabo San lucas should contact him, great guy, great service, even gave me tips on what road to travel as he knows Mexico very well, I guess it does help to marry a Mexican lady...

Everyone be aware that even DHL and UPS are apparently not so reliable in Mexico as Gary has seen tires being ordered for delivery of 2-3 days and actually take 3-4 weeks in the end He uses his own very reliable new shipping company and they are always on time apparently as they ship everything from San Diego.

Anyway, I'm still without heidenau tires in mexico and will have to get to Guadalajara or Mexico City

Baja is different. Tires are widely available throughout Mexico. Most cities have at least a few bike shops and you can find something that will fit.
Price and selection are the wild cards. The BMW shop has been closed there for about 2 years now. Few businesses, like bike dealerships, stay open past 4pm on Saturdays.
Regarding your tires, of course it would have been easier if you had fitted new ones in the US before heading south. But if your tires got you down the Baja, they should get you to either Guadalajara or Mexico City and you'll find something there. Metzeler, Pirelli, and Michelin can usually be found in a city just by looking around. In many cities, the bike shops are conveniently located in a certain block or a few blocks of the city. You will often find a much better deal at the smaller independent shops. Dealerships charge a massive mark up on items (usually) especially BMW. The difference can often be $300 to $500 pesos or more.
Importing anything from the US takes time, and if the item carries any ID on it that says "Made in China" or a few other countries, you will be paying a big tariff on it and it can often lead to a longer wait. Bringing in tires from the US by a service like DHL or UPS (both are better here than FedEx) is going to be expensive, very expensive. I see a lot of riders coming through here (south east Mexico) with many different tires. Ask yourself seriously how much off roading or dirt road riding you are going to be doing. A dual purpose tire on a KLR is about all you will need unless you plan on riding your bike fully loaded off road, which most people don't do.
The only time I have felt limited by tires on my F650GS was trying to summit the Cofre de Perote on two occasions with Continental Trail Attacks and a Metzeler/Continental combination. It's the 8th highest peak in Mexico at over 14,000ft and you get there on a gravel and then broken stone/gravel road. Unless you are doing something like that, you should be fine with Continental Trail Attacks, Pirelli Scorpions, or any Metzeler or Michelin offerings. Bridgestones wear well, but suck off road. Heidineaus are expensive and difficult to source, most people don't bother with them.
If the tire holds on greasy, wet tarmac or not, that is the real question in Mexico.

Hola Mike , it must have been the combination of tires . Next time try it with Metzeler only and you should be able to make it
La tercera es la vencida !!!

I do light off road as I'm quite loaded but the reason behind the heidenau is that I love them, they have been just unbelievable until now, my rear can probably handle another 2000 km, and the front another 4-5000k, but the roads have been a mix of gravel, hwy, and nasty sharp rocks on roads so I have less of a chance of punctures on a fresh set of Heindenau than tourance metz or Continental attack which are a lot less agressive knobbies I had in the past on my 800 and 1200gs, but in the end I will take what I'm offered, any recommendation as to which tire shop in Guadalajara I should try first ?
thx

Not one in particular, but just shop around a little. You will likely find 3 different prices, choose accordingly. If in doubt, just ask a pizza rider or a pharmacy rider where you can find good prices and selection of tires and they will point you in what should serve as the right direction. The shop you end up at might have only smaller sizes for delivery bikes but they will likely send you in the right direction or you'll find yourself in the part of town where the bike shops are found. It isn't often you will get a good price at a dealer unless they are having some kind of liquidation sale or promotion.

Guaterider, I had a feeling I would hear from you! ha,ha! The first time was a weather problem when the front moved in with sleet conditions really fast and I didn't want to have any issues as I was solo and there wasn't going to be anyone around that day, the second was that damn corner, the second one above the big, old, rusty, abandoned fuel tank. It was all torn up and I took the inside line and that was it, game over. I think that was the same corner that JL had trouble with, no?
I won't quit, yet! LOL! Next time I'll walk if I have to!

Just to add my dos centavos ... Chef , it would be good not to fixate too
much on getting those Heidenaus . I am sure they are good tires and you like
the way they look and handle but there really is no need to tax your credit card
and patience in efforts to secure that particular brand and model.
If as you say you are only doing gravel roads occasionally you could easily
find happiness with cheaper rubber that is more readily obtained.
For instance ,may I recommend a set of KENDA BIG BLOCK tires good for 50/50 dirt/pavement. A few weeks ago in Guatemala City we bought some new tires and my riding companion bought a set of those BIG BLOCK tires( that is the actual model name) and he is verhy pleased with the ways they have been performing on his Caponord on pavement AND gravel these last 4000km
For all I know the Kenda may be a good knockoff of the Heidenaus but without the cachet of exclusivity.
Do be flexible and do not limit yourself to one specific tire. Try some others , you may be pleasantly surprised . If you don' t like a tire then wear it out and try something else .

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http://advrider.com/index.php?thread....207964/page-5 then scroll down to post #93

Just the idea of seeing you walk up the Cofre de Perote is reason enough to come back up to Veracruz and spend another night in Perote