Michelin Anakee Wild

Michelin says

The new MICHELIN ® Anakee® Wild is aimed at bikers who seek adventure, whether on solo rides, passenger rides, or group rides over a weekend or longer.

The tyre is perfectly aligned for those who view biking as an expedition and a means to experience and discover exciting journeys. It is aimed at riders who want to break away from paved roads and fully exploit the potential of bikes designed for roads or the most uneven, sandy, stony and muddy tracks.

MICHELIN Anakee Wild was designed to adapt to all terrain types and situations, as well as the most varied climates. In short, it is a “multi-purpose” tyre that demonstrates its performance according to the conditions it encounters.

The mission of the development engineers was to combine three performance characteristics: on-road stability and comfort; resistance to overheating and wear; and increased wet-road and off-road traction.

The new MICHELIN Anakee Wild achieves these goals through the new tread composition, optimized tread depth and the innovative design of the tread blocks, which was inspired by those used on MICHELIN Desert tyres that won the Paris-Dakar Rally 33 times. Additionally, the tyre is the first radial made available on four different sizes of knobby tyres.

Owner Reviews

“18 months and over 29,000 miles later, my R1200GSA seems to be liking the new tyres 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 tyres, The tyres where extremely easy to fit.

I even had to break and seal the bead on the rear twice, due to a user error. I had no problems either breaking or sealing the bead with the trail tools. The tyres, 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 tyre on pavement. Remember, this is supposed to be a dual-sport purpose tyre.

On the road, the tyres 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 tyre and consequently a certain level of noise is expected. I had the opportunity to try the tyres 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 tyres.

The Anakee Wild tyres 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 tyre to put on the track but after over 20,000 miles with nothing but the competition 40/60 tyres, it was nice to remember how it feels to have great grip using a dual-sport tyre 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 tyre such as the Anakee III. Generally, the tyre 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 tyre. But this is expected as a harder tyre 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 tyre was equally great on the deep, sticky South Carolina mud. The tyreÕs 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 tyre 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 tyre will last. But that’s how every tyre works, right? The tyre overall meets and exceeds my expectations.

I wanted an aggressive tyre 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 tyre. 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” – Dmitri

Tyre Sizes

Front

110/80 R19 59R
120/70 R19 60R
80/90 -21 48S
90/90 -21 54R

Rear

110/80 -18 58S
120/80 -18 62S
130/80 -18 66S
140/80 -18 70R
150/70 R18 70R
130/80 -17 65R
140/80 -17 69R
150/70 R17 69R
170/60 R17 72R

Press Reviews

“A big ADV bike like the GS is especially heavy on the front tire, and a good test of an off-road tire for this bike is how well the front end works. I found front grip to be acceptable, and most importantly quite forgiving—I lost the front in gravelly sections on a few occasions, but it always came back. Rear grip is a lot easier (and more fun) to explore, especially in dry terrain. The Anakee Wild-shod GS made quick work of all climbs I attempted in the OHV area, scurrying over exposed rock, loose gravel, and sand alike.

So the overall design of the tire seems to work well, though I can’t say the Anakee Wild showed me anything in the dirt that the competition could not achieve. Left to my own off-road devices I still think the TKC 80 would go on my bike for challenging adventure terrain. Lastly, I should say I didn’t play with pressure. Gritty ADV riders will surely air down their tires for maximum grip, but since Michelin doesn’t “recommend” doing that, I rode with pressures in the mid-30s in both tires. (What Michelin recommends, incidentally, is manufacturer pressures—in this case 36 front and 42 rear—but I couldn’t bring myself to put that much air in.)”

“It’s a bold step for Michelin to take into a very competitive category, full of educated and experienced consumers. Even with admirable pavement grip and stability, decent off-road chops, and longer life, I’m not sure it will take the place of the TKC 80 as the go-to choice for ADV riders. Time, and the market, will tell!” – Motorcyclist Magazine

—

“I found that while the Anakee Wild is characterised by excellent road handling combined with good ride comfort and amazingly low wear, when wet it doesn’t reach the same level of grip as a good road tyre. And off asphalt, it still prefers dirt roads and trails, including graveled paths. If this kind of ‘off-roading’ is sufficient for you, then this Michelin will work well for you.

For the more serious off-roader, however, who would like to tackle cross-country ski runs, sand pits or wooded paths, it remains well short of the knobbly competition. It does offer traction on clay soils but longitudinal stability is as poor as it’s self-cleaning properties. Here, Continental’s ancient TKC 80 or the somewhat younger Karoo 3 are more suitable tyres that actually deliver what their rugged profiles promise.

Having said that, the competition doesn’t achieve either the excellent handling or riding comfort of the Michelin on the road. Therefore, everyone will need to weigh for themselves where their priorities are set, before a tyre purchase.” – Andy Schwietzer, BMW Motorcycle Magazine