Have you heard of Full Bore Adventure tires? They are similar to Shinko 705 but with more spacing in the tread. ....and 2/3 to 1/2 the price of heidenau.
Never until now;
Full Bore Tires - Adventure Touring
Let me know if you try them. I prefer the tread pattern on the K-60s , and have seen a similar tread on another tire (like the full bore) both the Shinko 705 and the Bridgestone "Trailwing" which is affectionately referred to as the
"Death-Wings".
I've done a lot of research on tires, but have never come across this one before.
The Heidenau might be expensive, but the
value considering the mileage is amazing. As an Example, I really like the Continental TKC-80 front
and rear, but by 8000 km the rear was
done. The front gets a bit more (around 10,000) but is totally scalloped off and rides really weird by then. They are about $80.00 more (per) than the K-60'S (UP HERE ANYWAY) and get far less mileage (nearly half the life-span)
So many shops won't mis-match tires, but since I do my own now, I currently run a Michelin T-63 up front (they run about $65 dollars down in the US) and a K-60 scout out back. The T-63 is
by far the best wearing (most even) tire that I have tried up front thus far and despite having 2/3 the tread depth of a TKC-80 it wore better, more evenly and had just as much traction as the Continental. Great 50/50 tire for the front.
Any 50/50 tire will be a compromise in both dirt and on pavement. Wet conditions will highlight this in both areas as well. Of all the tires and combinations that I have tried over the last 50,000 kms on the Big Adventure, my favorite is T-63 up front and K-60 out back, giving both good adhesion in all conditions on and off road. I have even dragged saddlebags and boots cornering with this tire combination on dry pavement, so you don't have to worry about losing the "fun factor" for an aggressive rider.
Link:
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/19852/i/michelin-t63-dual-sport-rear-tire
Link:
http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/heidenau-k60-scout-rear-tire
For rear tires, more dirt biased you should also consider the Dunlop 908 (606 front match) or the Michelin Desert (T-63) both should be far better off road, but less lifespan on road. Mileages in around 7-8 thousand which is similar to the Continental TKC-80 rear, and all of which will be noisy on pavement.