TKC - German versus Korean - FEEDBACK PLEASE.

[Adventurer]

I spoke to some dude at Continental today regarding the differences between the German (no longer available) and the Korean manufacturer.
He thought I was talking kark when I told him the German ones are better, I am asking everyone to put their opinions on an email and send it to me at knbauto@mweb.co.za
I will put them all together and forward them to this dude, who will in turn (he promised) forward them to Germany, who will apparently give us feedback/explanations.
We are paying an ever increasing amount for these tyres and they are not as good as the German ones.
GIVE ME THE AMMO PLEASE..........
 

[brettp]

What, in your opinion, is the main points of difference between the German and Korean tyres?

[FortyZA]

Compound, possible laying of the different layers in constructing the tyre?

My ADV came STD from Deutsland with TKC's (Made In Korea). If they were available in Germany, it would be cheaper to use the local that import.  So it is safe to say that they don't maufacture them in Germany anymore.

The other thing is this: The Korean TKC's are more expensive that the German one's? The Yen seems stronger than the Euro if that is the case???

[brettp]

The Yen seems stronger than the Euro if that is the case???

isnt Yen the Japanese currency?

[Adventurer]

Brett, the German make used to last longer than the Korean one, this dude at Conti didn't beleive me and I WANT TO PROVE HIM WRONG......
And the powers that be in Germany Conti must wake up and start having them made 'ze same vay' as the originals.
I was told that Conti Germany has 52% shares in Conti Korea, so they CAN tell them what to do!
I just need enough evidence to show this Conti SA guy, please don't leave me hanging.....

[FortyZA]

The Yen seems stronger than the Euro if that is the case???

isnt Yen the Japanese currency?

Ya, you are right, seems they still look the same but the tyres stiil cost more or the importer is making a lot more ching!!!!

[Leo]

Hey Adv - I'll send you a mail with my comments! 

[Adventure MX]

@Adv
Can you be a little more specific why the Korean Brand is not as good as the German one.  Asking for interest only!

My take on the Korean brand is probably due to consolidating certain lines eg the TKC's to one factory.  I am sure they have certain QA specifications which are kept in line with Brand expectations.  You will probably find that certain car/truck tires are manufactured in Germany and the balance of the range in Korea.

I doubt that their raw materials would vary that much according to QA specs otherwise they would be shooting themselves in the foot if it suddenly came about that changes were made for the worse.  They would loose customers and certainly market share.  They have always been known for quality.

We all know the TKC's are brilliant off-road tyres which are somewhat pricey, and milage has always been an issue.
As the saying goes: you can't have your cake and eat it!

[Beemer Man (RIP)]

A couple of us fitted them before the 2005 GS challenge, by the time we had arrived +- 1000kms the tyres were already showing signs of bad wear, only then did we notice they were the Korean manufactured ones, Leo had the German one's which he had ridden the first challenge with, they looked in a lot better condition than our's, by the time we got back to JHB the back tyres were virtually throw away, just got 3000kms, so it would certainly seem that the Korean tyres are not as good, my 2c worth.

[Brink]

I have taken over some second hand German TKC's from a friend after he did 3000km in Namibia (mostly dirt but approx one third tar) and have subsequently done a further 2500km dirt with an additional 500 tar with these tyres now near the end of use.

My friend have toured another 3000km Namibia trip on a new set of Korean TKC's with the same two thirds dirt - one third tar and his tyres are shot - knobblies are tearing which points to a different rubber compound.

Not the best experience for R2500 and there should be truth to the Korean vs Germany story.

[Adventure MX]

Interesting!

Perhaps they have changed the recipe.

[Obi -Wan]

I searched high and low for German made TKC'S last year but they are all gone now. I bought the  Korean made versions and put  them in storage in a nice cool dry spot in my garage  ( R2,500 from Mosskays)  in anticipation of the GS Challenge but the BMW pricing mechanism has put paid to that plan. Anyway , I am hoping that by giving the rubber time to cure from new, the tyres will live a little longer. Time will tell.

Adventurer is right though. I have had feedback from some mates who went to Namibia that the Korean TKC is only good for 3500 to 5000 km of mixed use riding and then you can chuck it.      

[Pom]

My thought on this is do the different manufacturers "blend" the rubber different for different climates? Also is there a difference between the tyre compund quality on new vehicles compared to those you can buy as replacements for OEM. Take any new car you've ever bought. Why do the original tyres always last twice as long as the replacements? 

[Adventurer]

Thanks for the emails so far, keep them coming, I need LOTS of ammo.

[Leo]

My mate Glen Grundy from Witbank seldom gets more than 1000 kays on his tyres.

I must say his Harry Potter 2 bike is a bit hard on tyres, especially with his riding style.

Seemes to have the same problem whether it's Karoo's or TKC's.

On his first set of TKC's, when he got his ADV, he rode to Witbank from Lyndhurst, and the tyres was farked.

Fortunately they replaced them for him. Got something like 87 kays and they were farked!

Ya your eyes are not cheating you - eighty seven kays. Maybe MikeDaBike can give further comments.   

[Fenderbender]

Also have same issues with these Korean TKCs Theyre just not up to standard.

[Welsh]

Tried to find out from the UK boys, no response? Maybe they are blending them for the mud island cold and wet?

Welsh 

[Adventurer]

Anything on the ADV Rider site? Do the yanks read what's on their tyres?

[michnus]

You need to test both tyres in a controlled environment with exactly the same tyre pressures and throttle input and temperature control to even start trying to tell them the Korean last longer, they will just laugh at you and deny it vehemently.
On heavy bikes like the KTM's and the BMW's just something small as tyre pressure  form 2bar to 2.5 or 3bar and a hot tar surface would shorten the life of the tyre drastically.

It's is more a case of monopoly games and if you look at the tyres on offer overseas we pay dearly for ours. We need to import them as grey or parallel imports

You are chasing the wrong goose.

[Ballies]

The Yen seems stronger than the Euro if that is the case???

isnt Yen the Japanese currency?

I had a girl called Yen