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. 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, w...