Michelin Anakee Adventure | Tire Review

DaveM

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Anakee Adventure Suzuki V-Strom
The new Anakee Adventure from Michelin is an 80/20 on-/off-road ADV tire, and we put it to the test in both scenarios. Photo by Drew Martin.

Adventure bikes have been gaining traction in recent years, with numerous offerings from BMW, KTM, Ducati, Triumph, Honda and Yamaha, to name a few. Tire manufactures have responded. Michelin’s new Anakee Adventure 80/20 ADV tire now gives riders with off-road aspirations a third option, joining the heavily street-biased Anakee III and the 50/50 on-/off-road Anakee Wild tires.

The Anakee Adventure features a new profile, tread pattern and silica compounds, and it includes a Two Compound Technology 2CT front and 2CT+ rear. Four separate compounds are used in a set, with the softest residing on the sides of the front tire for grip and the hardest being used in the center of the rear for optimal tread life.

Anakee Adventure
Michelin hosted a weekend riding and camping event in Death Valley to celebrate the new Anakee Adventure. Photo by Drew Martin.

To celebrate the launch of the new tires, Michelin held a weekend riding/camping event near Death Valley. With a fresh set of Anakee Adventures mounted on a Suzuki V-Strom 650, I was looking forward to seeing how these 80/20 tires would perform in a typical 700-mile ADV weekend ride.

Most adventures, sadly, start with freeways. The Anakees exhibited great high-speed stability, tracked well though a variety of man-made rain grooves and seams, were compliant over square-edged transitions and, most importantly, were not noisy.

After a few hours’ slog, finally: Nevada back roads. The Anakee Adventure’s tread pattern resembles a dry lakebed, with grooves that gradually open toward the sides for shedding water and dirt. They worked well and were predictable, admittedly at a restrained pace on one road in need of maintenance, with sand, rock slides and running water that covered the entire aging road surface.

Anakee Adventure Suzuki V-Strom
On hard-packed dirt, the Anakee Adventures shone, offering this experienced off-road rider plenty of grip and feedback. Photo by SixSpeed/Michelin.

With an experienced off-road rider on packed dirt, these tires punch above their weight. Throttle control and momentum are key, particularly in steep terrain whether descending or climbing. We sampled steep rock-embedded trails, jeep trails and high-speed desert roads. I did hit one well-disguised patch of deep sand at speed, causing the old “sand wash swap.” Thankfully, I rode it out.

Back in the twisting canyons near my home, it’s all grins, with the Anakee Adventures offering excellent turn-in, grip and feedback at a peg scraping pace. Both tires felt planted and stable under spirited corner braking and acceleration, thanks to bridge blocks that stabilize the tread where the grooves are at their widest points. Things went from dry to wet with a well-timed rain shower, providing the opportunity for repeated panic stops. The Adventures proved to offer impressive wet grip, and the V-Strom’s ABS kicked in much later than I expected. I wasn’t willing to push it to peg scraping pace, but at sane speeds cornering grip in the wet was more than competent.

Anakee Adventure Suzuki V-Strom
The group cruises along a graded gravel road near Death Valley. Photo by Drew Martin.

The Michelin Anakee Adventures are a solid 80/20 ADV tire option for those looking for impressive wet and dry pavement performance, along with the confidence to tackle some surprisingly rugged terrain, and they paired nicely with the V-Strom 650. We’ll check back in with an update on tread life once we’ve had a chance to put some more miles on them.

For more information and pricing, see your dealer or visit motorcycle.michelinman.com.

Anakee Adventure Suzuki V-Strom
It’s not a knobby, but with throttle control and some momentum, an experienced off-road rider can tackle some surprisingly technical terrain with the Anakee Adventure. Photo by Drew Martin.

Source...
 
Although I've never used this brand of tire on any vehicle, everything I've head about Michelin has been very positive.
 
Like Rocky, I have never used Michelin's on any of my vehicles. They are apparently very good tires. I have used another brand of 80/20 tires on my Tiger and 80/20's are the very least aggressive tire I want for an adventure bike. My Tiger came with 90/10's OEM which were not aggressive enough for my style of off road riding. I am currently running Metzeler Karoo 2's which are a 70/30 tire. I am really pleased with the handling and wear.makes the Karoo 2 and apparently Metzeler no longer produces the Karoo 2 and has replaced it with the Karoo 3. At any rate, the 70/30 tires are the best adventure tires for my style of riding.

When riding slowly, the handlebar pulses as tires roll from tread block to gap. That took some getting used to. At speed, things smooth out and the tread is less noticeable, except the din of the aggressive treads on pavement. But it is not intrusively loud, just noticeable. Metzeler says the asymmetrical tread design helps cancel noise. On pavement handling is not as crisp as with 90/10's, but they stick well. I have no problems in the twisties. I am conservative with my entry speed into a corner; but aggressively ride through and out of the curve.
 
I will probably try a set of these . They are currently a bit more expensive then the A 3 model which have served me well for years . Would enjoy the better off Road ability hopefully while maintaining the mileage and pavement sticky of the 3’s. Would be a nice bonus if the front tire wear is improved, 3’s on the Tiger last 13 k km front 17 Kim rear ??
 
Was on another site and was looking at adventure bike tires and came across these. They are relatively new but are getting good reviews; Motoz Tractionator GPS Tire.
 
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Was on another site and was looking at adventure bike tires and came across these. They are relatively new but are getting good reviews; Motoz Tractionator GPS Tire.

Motoz state that this tire mounted in the off road mode is a 50/50 tire. It doesn't state what it is mounted in the mostly on road mode.I will try to contact them and find out.

MOTOZ in USA
Pacific Powersports
Tel: +1 951 719 3663
 
The 50/50 position is the on road position. Reversing it makes it an off road tire.
 
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