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I've been holding off posting my thoughts about the Michelin Anakee 3 because I wanted to get some miles on it first...
I managed to put about 1,000 miles on the front & rear set before I pulled my ECU and sent it to ECUnleashed for the Gen 2 re-flash, and since it now looks like I won't have my ECU back 'til next week, and I'm twiddling my thumbs, I thought I'd chime in with my "ride review" of these new Michelins.
First off, up until now I have only run Metzeler Tourance EXP V-rated rubber on my Super Tenere. That's what it came with, and I was mega-happy with the performance and wear I got out of the first set, so I figured why mess with a good thing, and stuck with 'em for 28,650 miles. I would average about 5,500 to 5,800 miles out of rear, and 10,000 to 11,000 out of the fronts. That may not be great mileage for some, but for me that meant they wore better than any tires I've had damn near in my life (discounting some of the "made-from-iron" IRC rubber from back in the '70's). On top of that, for me the Tourance EXP's handled wonderfully in the twisty bits as long as the pressures were kept up near the maximum. I would run them at 40 to 42 in the rear and 30 to 33 in the front. Performed like sport bike rubber for me on pavement, and never gave me any real slip or scare, and this was feathering them to the edge. I was always confident in them, and they worked terrific in the rain, too.
Sure, they weren't the greatest off-road, but since about 85 to 90% of my riding is on pavement that was a compromise I could live with. The Tourance EXP's never did anything really *bad* off-road, and for the most part Yamaha's wonderful TCS made them feel like they worked better than they probably, actually did. At least they were predictable off-road, with the rear always sliding away first, and again, no drama from them off-road... Just not a lot of bite. Keep your momentum up and they worked fine, and you could slide 'em like a flat tracker on gravel and cinder roads.
I really had no reason to switch other than I simply wanted to try something else... That, and at the time I was pricing new tires F & R it just so happened that no one had a full set in either the Metzeler Tourance EXP's or new Metzeler Tourance NEXT's anywhere in the country, but there was a set of V-rated Michelin Anakee 3's from an outfit we've done plenty of business with. So a set was ordered up, but ended up sitting on the rack for a bit while I rode the last miles out of the mounted Tourances. Finally toasted them at a wonderful Hill Country ride, cooking the entire left side of the front off - right down to the cord.
So on go the new Michelin Anakee 3's. I got V-rated ones so I would be comparing apples-to-apples, and I have to admit they looked trick with their new tread pattern all mounted up. I had them mounted at my local dealer, and when I rode away the first thing I thought was *CRAP, these are terrible!" I decided I better check the pressure, and sure enough, they were down far less than I run my tires, with 24 in the front and 32 in the rear. As I mentioned, I like my tire-feel best with higher pressures, so I bumped the Anakee's up to the same level I used to run the Tourance's, and put 41 in the rear and 31 in the front... OK, *NOW* we could make a far comparison!!!
First off, the front Anakee steers much lighter than the Tourance, and rather dramatically so. So much so it feels almost disconcerting at first, like the first time you went from a non-boosted steering car to one with power-steering. Was easy to adapt to in just a few miles, but the difference was noticeable. The ride, both front and rear, seemed to be more compliant than the Tourance's, too, but that's where something really interesting came into focus as the miles went on... The Michelin's were more compliant going straight down the road than the Metzeler's, yet they steered sharper and more precise, just like they had stiffer sidewalls. I always loved how the Tourance's handled, but I also always thought their steering reaction lagged just a tick behind input. I always chalked this up to them having to compromise between enough compliance to have grip off-road and a good ride while still being stiff enough to handle decent. But the Anakee's definitely hit a better balance here... With more precise steering yet better compliance and ride. I suspect the Michelin's are closer to being true "radials", in that they have probably close to zero angle in their cord construction so they they have good compliance, yet they probably use stiffer materials to maintain the sidewall stiffness to avoid deflection during steering inputs. That's all just a guess, but that's what it *feels* like...
So here we chalk up one positive point for the Anakee's!
They also work better off-road... Much better. Though I've only gotten to ride them about 40 miles off-road, and that being just on dirt and gravel roads, the TCS light doesn't flash near as much with the Anakee's as it did with the EXP's. IMHO the Anakee's grip level on dirt is much higher than the EXP's, but it's not all gravy. The front doesn't exude the confidence of sticking, sticking, sticking while the rear slides first that the EXP's did. In more than one instance the front definitely let go before the rear, or perhaps I should say they both let go about the same time. Mind you, this was pitching it into dirt road corners at a pretty high clip, but still, with the EXP's the rear always backed out first, giving you nice controlled slides. With the Anakee's it felt like you could go quicker, but when the limit was reached it was a toss up as to which end would let go first. Still, I'd have to give the off-road edge to the Michelin's.
So, here's another point in favor of the Anakee's!
Note, however, I have not ridden them in any sort of wet weather, on-road or off-, so I have no idea how they do in mud. All my dirt road jaunts with the Anakee's so far have been on dry, dusty dirt and gravel, and on pavement I have only ridden them through some light rain, pretty much in a straight line. The jury will have to remain out on their wet weather prowess, at least for me, for the time being.
But, sadly, this is where it all turns a bit sour for the Michelin's... As they have one fatal flaw, IMHO. They simply do *NOT* have the same high-level of grip when you really get to going quick in the pavement twisties. Don't get me wrong, they're perfectly OK for just riding around, and they're great if you're not pushing it in the slightest. But start leaning on them, and then leaning on them *HARD*, and things get a bit dicey. Especially right over at the edge of the tread. At less than full-tilt lean angles they aren't bad, though they never are as confidence inspiring riding quickly as the Tourance EXP's were, IMHO. Mind you, it could simply be my familiarity with the EXP's, but the Michelin's just give me the feeling of confidence the Metzeler's did. That doesn't mean I haven't pushed the Anakee's... I have, and that's the problem. When you get to hustling, and you get them over right near the edge of the tire, the rear lets go like a cheap Kenda. In fact, you can slide the rear tire away, at will, with the Super Tenere set in TCS-1!!! ??? And I'm talking about on good pavement!!!
I deliberately took the Anakee's on some roads I am familiar with, and have ridden hundreds of times on the Tourance EXP's... And there simply is no comparison. Sure, the Anakee's steer nice and light, and they roll into the corner like magic. They behave wonderfully over any bumps or pavement imperfections on entry, mid-corner, or on exit if you're at 6/10th's, or even at 7/10th's. But get to going much harder than that and you can feel the rear slip, a lot... Almost like it's wore out.
I played with pressures a bit... running up to 42 in the rear and as low as 36, and it never seemed to matter much. For me high pressures worked better, but the simple fact of the matter is that IMHO the Anakee's simply don't have the side and edge grip, on pavement, that the Tourance EXP's do. You can ride around it, and you can compensate for it, but I just cannot say they work as well playing hard in the twisty bits. For me that's a deal-breaker, and the whole stack of cards starts falling back toward the Metzeler's.
Now, that said, if I do think the Anakee's are a better off-road tire than the Tourance EXP's, so if you're riding is split something like 70-30, or even 80-20, pavement-to-dirt then the Anakee's might be the perfect tire. I'm sure that's how Michelin designed them. OTOH, if you ride 90% on pavement, and you like to press pretty hard when the road gets curvy, to me the ol' Tourance EXP is a better choice.
Mind you, I have no idea what kind of mileage the Michelin's will provide. Could be they go a lot farther, and that might tip the scales back to their favor... But right now I have to say this - for me and my kind of riding - when these Michelin Anakee 3's are worn out I think I'll be going back to the Metzeler Tourance EXP's, or maybe trying their new Tourance NEXT.
Just my two centavos... YMMV, and perceptions, too. ::008::
Dallara
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