Next set of tires for wethead GS

My 2015 R1200GS came with Anakee IIIs. I got a ton of miles out of that set of tires, but I was a bit concerned that Michelin never bragged on how they did in the wet so I switched to 100 percent street tires.

But when these wear out, I am now leaning towards Anakee Adventure tires, which Michelin and others claim are very good on wet pavement. I live in the East, so my riding is almost entirely on the street, but on big road trips I will at times ride forest roads and other unpaved roads.

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The reviews I am looking at are all positive for the Anakee Adventure tires.

Harry

I love the Anakee Adventure

Harry,

I am 99% road rider just started off road skills last year with a dirt bike but wanted to go with a more aggressive tread as I ran PR4's for many years and loved them. I have been so impressed with the AA's that i would not even consider going back to a street tire on my GSA. I have had some mixed results with the tires on tread wear based on where they are MFG'd The tires from Thailand "rear" tires mostly have only lasted about 6000 miles. My first set ran almost 10,000 but were from Europe can't remember the Country. I am heavy and carry lots of items in my cases (est 900#total weight)and ride as briskly as my capabilities will safely allow.

Best regards,

Chris

Thanks, Chris and Lee. Mostly I want tires I feel comfortable with on gravel roads I will likely encounter on bigger trips, and also on wet pavement, like the last time I rode in Colorado and wound up in rain on a curvy mountain road. I was on Anakee IIIs and wondered about them in the wet.

All reviews of Anakee Adventure tires welcome, good or bad.

Harry

With my 2015 R1200GS I went through two sets of Anakee III's, then switched to Michelin PR4 for several sets. I liked the Michelins on the road, but changed to Mitas E-07+ when I took the RawHyde off-road course. I've used the Mitas ever since. They are a 50/50 tire, not as blocky as a pure off-road tire, but blockier than a lot of "adventure tires". I think they are great on gravel and rocky roads, and much better than I expected on pavement. I don't do hardcore off-road riding. On pavement there is definitely more vibration from the Mitas tires than you get with a street tire, but I'm happy with the tradeoff for better performance on gravel. I buy them from Revzilla and have my local shop install them.

Cheers, Ken

I agree, A3s are underrated. liked the A3s but mostly ran PR4s. Yes, A3 had good grip, it's just that PR4s are quieter as they wear. I tried a couple of sets of TKC70s my first trip from the Lower 48 to Alaska, they were OK but seemed to wander at speed on grooved highways so went back to PR4s. Both A3 and PR4 generally ran 2 rears per front, a front lasted me over 15K, which I thought was outstanding. I've tried one set of Road 5s, which gave me about 11K before both needed replacing. Trying Roadsmart 3 now, all I can say so far is they're fine on clean dry roads. I ride all pavement except when it's unavoidable, like when the road turns to **** as it sometimes does in construction areas in Alaska and the territories. Or where the GPS surprises me.

The only true knobs I ever installed were K60s. They turned out to be far better than I'd expected, then again I didn't demand much of any tire in rainy curves. Installed in Fairbanks, ran them across Canada including the TransLab, and kept them for several months after I got home. 14K, they still had several thousand miles left in them when I put PR4s on again.

LFarling said:

They were the loudest tire I have EVER run. I changed them out early at 5700 miles to get off them.

YMMV

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Same for me. I couldn't wait to get rid of them.
I have Dunlop Mission tires now and they are by far the longest lasting tires I ever have used. 12K miles and the rear is only half way worn... No problems with grip in the wet either, as some have reported. Dry grip both on/off pavement is confidence inspiring but as always YMMV

Which one?

My 2018 R1200GS will be needing new tires before the trip to the Great Falls rally. After several evenings studying the issue of what to get, I have come down to the Dunlop Trailmax Mission and the Michelin Anakee Adventure. The trip will run around 6000 miles or so on my roundabout route, with interstate, US highways, state and county roads, some dirt roads and forest service roads thrown in. I would like to get home with a safe margin of tread left on the tire, yet have good traction. I will be riding solo, carrying my camping gear, tools and gear.

Now to open the can of worms: WHICH TIRE WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

Thanks, Dave

Dunlop Mutant

Once I finish off my 2nd set of Dunlop Roadsmart IV tires on my R1200RS I am going to mount up a pair of the new Dunlop Mutant which might also be a good tire to consider for the GS/GSA models that are primarily used on paved surfaces.

https://www.dunlopmotorcycletires.com/tire-line/mutant/

darrell said:

Once I finish off my 2nd set of Dunlop Roadsmart IV tires on my R1200RS I am going to mount up a pair of the new Dunlop Mutant which might also be a good tire to consider for the GS/GSA models that are primarily used on paved surfaces.

https://www.dunlopmotorcycletires.com/tire-line/mutant/

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Thanks Darrell,

I was not familiar with the Mutant, but after looking it up it might be a bit more road biased than I am looking for. I am coming off a set of Metzler Marathons that were put on by the original owner and after riding on a few packed dirt and gravel roads, I am looking for something with a bit more dirt traction but still good on pavement. After this trip I will be exploring the Forest Service roads of the NC, GA, and TN mountains along with some camping and regional travel. Hopefully I will still have some tread left after the trip to the Rally.

Dave

Last fall I installed a set of Dunlop Trailmax Missions to replace my Shinko 705 tires. The Dunlops have considerably better traction wet and dry and I find them to be quieter. The Dunlop Trailmax Mission are also made in the USA.

DaveSlash5 said:

Thanks Darrell,

I was not familiar with the Mutant, but after looking it up it might be a bit more road biased than I am looking for. I am coming off a set of Metzler Marathons that were put on by the original owner and after riding on a few packed dirt and gravel roads, I am looking for something with a bit more dirt traction but still good on pavement. After this trip I will be exploring the Forest Service roads of the NC, GA, and TN mountains along with some camping and regional travel. Hopefully I will still have some tread left after the trip to the Rally.

Dave

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If you are mounting tires before a 6000 mile trip, and aren't planning on trail riding much on that trip, I'd plan on mounting new, more trail-worthy tires after the trip. 6k miles of pavement are going to really eat into any remaining trail grip by the time you get home... Probably more so if you go with 50/50 dirt/road tires.

DaveSlash5 said:

Now to open the can of worms: WHICH TIRE WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

Click to expand...

I just ordered a set of Anakee Adventure tires. I got a ton of miles out of the OEM Anakee IIIs and they treated me fine, although I was a bit concerned on wet, winding roads. Michelin is now bragging on how well the AAs do in the wet.

Harry

The AAs did fine on a track day:

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Harry

Harry, R0ckrat and Tzgo,

Thanks for the link and the feedback.

Once I'm out of the southeast, I do not plan on travelling on the Interstates much. I do intend on finding places well off the main highways and do some exploring. Since I will be solo I want to have a good bit of traction on the dirt roads as an extra bit of security. I will not be ripping up the trails or doing gnarly single track, just travelling, poking around in some (hopefully) interesting terrain, and doing a bit of backcountry camping. Time will not be too critical on this trip except for the rally weekend.

Thanks again for the input and if you have tried either the Anakee ADV, the Trailmax Mission or another suitable tire, give a shout either yea or nea.

Dave

2020 R1250GSA- Tires ?

This is one mans opinion, but I have used Heidenau K60 Scout tires exclusively on my 1200GS and my new 1250. I first tested them for a trip to Prudhoe Bay Alaska. I wanted tires that were good on dirt/road and would last the trip from central Canada and back. They did that in spades. I never went back. They are reasonably priced, give great mileage and are the best all-round tire I have ever used. I live in Yuma Az in the winter. I spend lots of time carving the California Canyons and they as good as any of the major manufacturer offerings. Many reviews complain about poor wet weather handling, but I have not yet experienced any issue in the rain. The front tire can be a bit noisy until it has a few miles on it.

They can be a little fun installing them, because they are so stiff due to bias ply construction. I use a No-Mar machine and cannot put it on with the mount/de-mount bar. But the tire irons do quick work with installation. A good tip is to put them out in the sun for a few hours before you try to install them.

My current tires have worn down fast in the last 600 miles, so I bit the bullet today and re-tired. I decided to go with the Dunlop Trailmax Mission over the Michelin Anakee Adventures due to the number of good reports on them. I will see how the choice turns out. On the ride home from the dealer, the first thing that I noticed was that they drop quickly into a turn, more so than the Metzler Marathons that were put on by the previous owner. Riding from city roads, county roads and interstate, I noticed that they were as quiet as the street tires. Since these are brand new and still have the whiskers, I did not push the traction in the curves. They also seem "stiff", but I am comparing it to the well worn tires and they may be a bit overinflated- Front 37 PSI, rear 44 PSI. I will play with these pressures and post results in a few hundred miles.

Dave

I had just mounted a set of the Trailmax Mission tires on my '09 GSA. I sold it and got a '17 GSA. The '17 came with Bridestone Battlax tires. When they're gone, I'm putting the Trailmax tires on it.

davidballen said:

I had just mounted a set of the Trailmax Mission tires on my '09 GSA. I sold it and got a '17 GSA. The '17 came with Bridestone Battlax tires. When they're gone, I'm putting the Trailmax tires on it.

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I just mounted Dunlop's on my brother's bike and he likes them even though he said that the bike felt more tractor like...
They do feel different than the street tires he had on his GSA but they will last much longer. I am at 12500 miles and still only half way on the tread....
The Battlax tires were not that great in the dirt and made a lot of noise toward the end of their career on my bike...

Baby got New Shoes - Replaced my first set of the bargain Dunlop Trailsmarts (<$100 per set) with a second set, two more sets on the shelf!.

I got 6769 miles on the rear, the front could have gone another few K but I replaced it for $38, LOL!

Riding on new tires almost equates to orgasms.



The TrailSmarts are not quite as hard to install as the RoadSmarts.

I've just finished my first 1000 miles on the Dunlop Trailmax Missions that I had installed my 2018 R1200GS Rallye last month. Here is what I've seen.

The Good:
1) No discernable wear.
2) Surprisingly good grip when leaned in the curves at speed, even with a full load of camping gear.
3) Good in the rain, again with camping gear on paved mountain roads with 10mph posted curves and down to first gear!
4) Good traction on dry dirt hardpack roads with a top covering of loose gravel.
5) Has lost zero air pressure in the last month. My last tires lost 2-4 PSI in this time.
6) Cosmetics. Several people have commented on the aggressive (gnarly was one description) look of the tire.

The Bad:
1) Moderate noise depending on the road surface. They can be as quiet as the previous road tires or sing a bit; it depends on the road surface. The pitch and volume can change on a road just crossing a county line. So far at it's not hit the "annoying" level while riding on any surface.
2) When in a good lean, the tires will give a sensation like you have hit a rumble strip. This is probably due to the large sipes. After the first few episodes I realized that it did not seem to affect traction and continued leaning. I have dragged the side of my boot while on the GS with these tires.
3) It does slide on wet moss, but what tire doesn't?
4) With a hard turn on pavement from a stop, the rear tire does have a bit more slide than the previous street tires. Surprising at first, fun now.

Yet to see:
Mud or sand.
Long distance wear.
Trails worse (better?) than hardpack dirt roads.

When I get back from Great Falls I should have about 6000 miles and a bit more info on these issues.

Hey John, congratulations on the new TrailSmarts! I agree with you on the feel of new tires!