New Michelin Anakee 3 Tires

[eakins]

Originally Posted by Pecha72

Call me weird, but that looks a bit like Metzeler's old Z4 street tyre (only with some horrible manufacturing defects on the tread pattern)

Michelin already makes Pilot Road 3 sizes to fit the big trailie bikes... kinda hard to follow their thinking here.

I'd say Michelin is going after the larger segment of mostly street riding ADV bikers and offering 5% dirt for those who venture down that dirt county road.

Makes sense as long as they have something else coming in on the more aggressive end to take up the slack.

[ducnut]

Originally Posted by eakins

I'd say Michelin is going after the larger segment of mostly street riding ADV bikers and offering 5% dirt for those who venture down that dirt county road.

Makes sense as long as they have something else coming in on the more aggressive end to take up the slack.

I sent them a message that they should expand the offerings to include sizes for the Multistrada/Tiger 1050/Versys/SV crowd.

[Two Brothers]

Michelin is famous for letting a tire hang around. PR2, PR3, Pilot Power, Pilot Power 2CT. They may let the Ana 2 hang around before getting rid of it. They do this to cover all the markets. The price on the Ana 2 may drop and become a budget version for the ADV crowd.

I have learned this over time with them. We have not got much info on these yet just the pictures and sizes they are showing. They have put out some new things this year for sure.

[CompAcc]

Two Brothers is right, Michelin doesn't always do away with prior models - hopefully they'll leave both in their lineup for a while.

Anyway - look what showed up today:



They definitely have a very interesting design. The beveled edges are at varying angles and come in from both sides. There are also little "serrations" within the grooves... very interesting.



As promised, we will be putting these on a bike and testing them out properly, so stay tuned.

[42 JAY]

I want the Karoo 3's for my 2011 Vstrom 650!

[Tonyco]

Hi,
I just purchased set of Anakee 3 for my Varadero '09. It looks promising tyre and very interesting tread on it. Now here in Bulgaria it is winter and we have snow but I will test them as soon as possible and post here my opinion.

[CompAcc]

Thanks for the interest everyone. We will be getting info out on the new Karoo asap as well.

Here is your first up close look at the new Michelin Anakee 3:

[Rick West]

Originally Posted by CompAcc

If you guys haven't heard yet, Michelin is updating the Anakee 2 to the Anakee 3 in 2013. The new tread pattern is really different, curious to hear everyone's thoughts. Michelin states that these will be longer lasting, and have 10% more grip off road.

10% more off pavement than the 2? I know Michelin makes great tires but it is very hard to understand how this tire can live up to that statement.

[BordenBmw]

Originally Posted by Rick West

10% more off pavement than the 2? I know Michelin makes great tires but it is very hard to understand how this tire can live up to that statement.

10% more... I'm with you on that ? The Anakee 2 rear had enough traction off-road for my riding style and the front needed a bit more off road, but wait and see!

[CompAcc]

Honestly guys I'm a bit skeptical myself. I was riding on Anakee 2's just a couple weekends back, so they are fresh in my mind and we are going to get these on a GS Adventure or KTM 990. Of course we'll bring you some video and I'll give you my honest opinion.

[BluWolf]

Very curious about this tire since my TKCs are about shot and my next big trip will be Deal's gap in April. Will need something more street but that I can still take off road here in Northern Virginia.

[BordenBmw]

[Noobens]

I can't say for certain what Michelin's plan for the Anakee 2 is, but our new Parts Unlimited 2013 Tire book showed up, and there are no Anakee 2s in the book. However, when looking up the part numbers, Parts Unlimited does not have the Anakee 2 as "discontinued." Make of that what you will. And as for that 10% more grip off road... not really sure how they would pull that off with what essentially seems to be a street tire with a few grooves in it. That said, I love the look of the tire. I'll hold on buying a set until I hear some ride reports in deep fresh gravel.

[subybaja]

"20% groove ratio makes for a larger contact patch, which is essential for offroad trips!". Uh-huh. Never mind knobs.

"Great looks" -on your Ninja! Yuk. I hate the looks.

[everycredit]

Having visited the Michelin people where they live (Clermont-Ferrand, France), I can state their designers and engineers are nuts about advanced designs of tires. I wouldn't have thought I'd ever be interested in tire technology, but they turned me into a fan.

Things may not look like they seem. The weird tread pattern was designed by very, very smart people (albeit French).

That said, "more off-road grip" means different things. They may have engineered the weirdest but best sand tire of all time, but falls to pieces on loose gravel. I am looking forward to the review.