18 months and over 29,000 miles later, ..."
DimitriT -
January 22, 2017
18 months and over 29,000 miles later, my R1200GSA seems to be liking the new tires even more than I do!
I received the Anakee Wild set in July 2015, right before the GS Gypsy Tour and the MOA Rally. What a better test-ride than 3,500 miles of mixed highway and off-road single tracks and ATV trails! Since I already had a little bit of thread on my existing tires,
The tires where extremely easy to fit. I even had to break and seal the bead on the rear twice, due to aÉ user error. I had no problems either breaking or sealing the bead with the trail tools.
The tires, especially when placed side by side to the competition, are clearly more aggressive with more spread out knobs and quite aggressive on the edges. Features which would make some riders skeptical regarding the stability of the tire on pavement. Remember, this is supposed to be a dual-sport purpose tire.
On the road, the tires are noisy. Very noisy. To the point that a long trip would be unbearable without earplugs. But on the other hand, I consider this to be a knobby tire and consequently a certain level of noise is expected. I had the opportunity to try the tires on the twisty Colorado roads. Having decided that the earplugs were necessary and the noise unavoidable, I concentrated on the grip and performance of the tires.
The Anakee Wild tires will have absolutely no problem holding you on the road on the tight Colorado turns. Not even once, I felt any loss of traction. Having my bike fully loaded with the side aluminum cases, the only reason I would not scrape the pegs was because the paniers would find the road first. Of course, this is not a tire to put on the track but after over 20,000 miles with nothing but the competition 40/60 tires, it was nice to remember how it feels to have great grip using a dual-sport tire again. While still on paved road, the Anakee Wilds will perform equally great on the wet surface as well. Brake times were not significantly longer than with a 70/30 tire such as the Anakee III. Generally, the tire will perform absolutely great in almost any situation on paved roads.
The rubber compound is as almost as soft as it is required for hard packed terrain. But in some cases, it was too soft. After 3,500 miles on fist-sized sharp rocky single-tracks, we noticed that the knobs are taking a huge hit and pieces of rubber are tearing apart from the tire. But this is expected as a harder tire would not perform as good in such conditions.
However the biggest advantage the Anakee Wild has to offer is riding in soft sand. For the first time on a 600 lb bike, I actually felt a grip. The tire was equally great on the deep, sticky South Carolina mud. The tireÕs more spread out knobs will allow sand and mud to evacuate from the tread faster. Also the more aggressive design on the edges allows the tire to grip in soft ground all the way through turns.
As for the durability, after 6 sets my rear lasts anywhere from 3,500 to 6,500 miles depending on my riding style. The more aggressive I get, the less the tire will last. But that's how every tire works, right?
The tire overall meets and exceeds my expectations. I wanted an aggressive tire which can be safely used in paved road and I found it. Although the noise becomes an issue, the performance off-road is making up for the inconvenience. In my opinion, Michelin could easily promote this as a 30 on / 70 off tire. Easily. And although I feel confident enough to follow the single-cylinder bikes on the track with my 1200GSA, it is still not a dirt bike.
PROS:
Surprisingly good traction on paved dry and/or wet roads
Extremely great in hard packed rocky terrain
Unmatched performance on soft sand and mud
Superior durability over the competition
CONS:
Very noisy on the paved road
A little bit too soft for very sharp rocky roads
