What kind of road tires do you favor?

[HMarc]

What type of tires do you prefer for road work (paved or unpaved)? This doesn't include off-road (single track, no track) which is why I didn't list specific knobbie models.

[Beemer]

I've been riding on Conti TKC 80's for the past 5 years, first on a AfricaTwin and nowadays on the 1200 GS. Decided to try the Anakee since the pattern looked very promising and because of the rapid wear out of the Conti, only 6 000 km rear, 12 000 km front. First experience of the Anakee is superb , excellent grip on gravel, works very well in loose sand and even in mud, not to mention the HUGE difference on tarmac. I tried the Metzeler Tourance both on the AfricaTwin and the GS, but did not perform even nearly as good as the Anakee on gravel...

[HMarc]

If you're using a street tire I didn't mention in the poll above, let me know and I'll edit the poll to add it. Those were all the tires I knew of that came in the correct sizes (110/80-19 front, 150/70-17 rear).

[Black'n'White]

I've only used Tourance tires on the bike, and though they don't work as well as the AM24 Gripsters on the R100GS off pavement, they work as well as I need them to on the street. I'm getting about 10K miles on the rear (it's really gone by then) with maybe a few more thousand on the front. Sure beats the 4-6K I was getting on the K12RS!

YMMV!

Scot

[gavin]

I'm using Tourances, but i'm going to try the new 'Bridgestone Battle Wings' next tyre change.

[kriemer]

I have been using the Anakees for the last couple of years and I am very happy with their street performance. I am getting around 4K to 5K miles on the rear tire and around 6K to 7K on the front. What are other Anakee users getting for mileage?

[Julio de Torremolinos]

My rear Anakee needs a change now, at 12.500 kms. Needless to say that I am not a fast driver .
Front Tourance is now 6.000 kms and will stand another 10K. kms.
I will swap the rear one for Toruance, as evrybody in Spain swears that´s the best on earth.. I´ll check it since next week and let you know.
Meanwhile, I must say that I am very happy with the rear Anakee.

[sfigi]

I am using the Tourance and I am happy.
Before I had the Dunlop D607F, good duration, with the front tyre i have done 30000Km but the problem was with the rain, there was not grip, i didn't feel the bike ,especially the rear.
Ciao.

[Beemer]

Originally Posted by kriemer

I have been using the Anakees for the last couple of years and I am very happy with their street performance. I am getting around 4K to 5K miles on the rear tire and around 6K to 7K on the front. What are other Anakee users getting for mileage?

A friend of mine has now 12K miles (20K kilometres) on the Anakee with the 1200 GS! If I reach 9K miles I'm a happy man.

[HMarc]

It seems that Anakees are pretty popular, but I wonder if that's because the rider's bike had the Anakees as OEM fitment, and they haven't tried anything else.

I've tried, in the following order: Trailwings, Tourances, BT-020, Anakees, Pilot Roads.

Going to the Anakees from the BT-020s was horrible. The Anakees (compared to the BT-020s) wiggled and squirmed in the corners worse than any other tire I've tried on the R1200GS. [As a reference I weigh about 175lbs (80kg) in my riding gear, always ride solo, and use 40/42psi front/rear.] A friend put some Anakees on his R1150GS and rode to Alaska and IIRC replaced them in Fairbanks with Tourances because the Anakees were so bad -- but he's a very, very agressive rider.

The best tires by far for pavement IMHO are the Pilot Roads. They are so "round", the turn-in to a corner is perfectly linear. No "falling in" or need for constant pressure to hold a line. Come to a corner, just adjust your entry speed, look toward the exit and apply the faintest steering inputs and the bike will just carve through the corner like magic. Super confidence inspiring -- Pilot Roads both raise my cornering speed and reduce the amount of attention I have to spend on cornering, allowing me to relax more and enjoy the ride.

Surprisingly, they work pretty darn well on gravel roads as well. Though in honesty, if I were going to ride primarily gravel/dirt roads, I'd fit a pair of TKC-80s.