Michelin Anakee 2's, V or H rating

My F800GS came with Michelin Anakee 2's, They are H rated and have actually been fine for the type of riding I do. I'm planning a long ride for this summer and need to order a new set. I see they are also available with a "V" rating. Has anyone used both and is there a difference in mileage or handling? I plan to put TKC 80's on for part of the trip, then back to the Anakee's for the trip home.

I have read a lot about the Hedeneau's but am concerned about changing a tube beside the road because of their hard sidewalls so think I will go the Anakee/TKC route. .

Thanks.

My experience with “V” rate tires is they wear faster then “H” rated tires. I assume they must be made from a little softer compound. In the hopes that they are sticker then a “H” rated tire, I run a V on the front with an H on the rear.

V rating has less plies of tread.

Good idea..

Thanks. Just ordered the "H" like what came on the bike originally.

Not stickier. Less plies, which means they don't overheat as quickly.

You don't gain traction, it just doesn't last as long.

I agree though, a softer front is a good idea.

I have read that before and I tend to agree. I have seen evidence that it is true. But I have also read that “V” rated tires use a softer compound.
Perhaps both are correct, I don’t know for sure.
Anyway, I don’t worry about wearing tires out. None of them seem to last me for very long, it would be a pointless exercise.

One of the problems with the "softer" argument is that soft tires build heat. That is a bad thing for high-speed tires.

Racing tires are very soft.
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V rated tires have a different casing then H tires. The sidewalls are very stiff and don’t allow as much flex which contributes to the heat issue.
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I measured the tread depth on a “V” rated rear Tourance and it was 1 mm less then the H tire. That supports what you are saying. But I have been told, this not true for all tires

I'll take the one that last longer

Yep, I get about a 10% loss of mileage out of a “V” rated tire. As I said, I have been using a “V” rated tire on the front of my GS in the hopes that it is sticker then the “H”.
I have read that they are but....

Well I'm puzzled by all of this! These ratings are their speed capability, H being 210kph and V being 240kph. Curiously my wife has an F650GS twin and it has come with a V rated rear Bridgestone Batlewing as original equipment.

However, when investigating the availability of a replacement rear I find that only Bridgestone Battlewings and Metzeler Tourance EXP are available in a V speed rating. Neither Dunlop, Michelin, Pirelli, Avon, nor Continental make a 140/80 17 R in a V speed rating.

So I'm wondering why BMW are specifying the V rated tyre, and, if I don't use one as a replacement, then what happens if the bike is crashed and a pedantic insurance assessor says the bike is fitted with tyres not specified by the manufacturer. So even if I can get better mileage out of an H rated tyre, should I fit one and run the risk? I can't imagine my wife ever doing anywhere near 210kph on the bike!!! :eek1

Any thoughts? Interesting that the 800GS had an H rated tyre as original fitment!

Forgot to say I don't know how the construction of the tyre changes as the speed rating increases, and what effect this has on wear, grip etc. would be interesting if any tyre engineers out there could tell us please...

The tire rating is always 2 pieces of information. A speed index and a load rating. The rear Anakee 2 on my R1200 GS is rated at 69V. There is an ISO table that shows 69 means that it has a maximum load of 325 kg or 720 lbs. at the maximum air pressure, not to be exceeded. The ISO speed rating is V which, as previously stated, means a maximum sustained average speed of 240 Kph or 149 Mph. I would be more concerned if the H replacement was of a lower load rating or smaller number such as 64H or something. Overload/under inflation is the major cause of almost all tire failures on the road.
If I could find the same load index in the same size tire I would not worry about fitting an H tire vs a V on most North American domiciled bikes. The speeds are not likely to average over the 210 Kph or 130 Mph of the H rated tire. The V and H rating is not anything, as a rating, to do with traction.

Thanks Bib for your reply. A good bit of additional info.
What I am really asking is two questions - why BMW specify a V rated tyre for the F650GS twin, and
- what difference is there in the "physical construction" of the tyre to make it a V speed rating from an H rating, especially as the load rating isn't altered.

Hope someone knows a bit about this.

Cheers

Because it's a lot faster than other bikes on the market?

Because Bridgestone gave them a kickback for getting rid of inventory?

IMHO the difference between H and V rated tires are going to be relatively minimal to street riders. However, the difference between radials and bias ply should be more apparent, and V rated tires are typically radials.

I used to run V and H rated Tourance radials on my 1150 GS and could never tell the difference so I stuck the cheaper H.

On a Tiger 800 now, and tried a OEM sized 100/90-19 Anakee2, H rated bias ply... was just about hitting the side wear bars by 2.5k. Michelin chipped in with some warranty assistance (shortest lived tire I ever had), and I replaced it with a Anakee2 110/80-19 V rated radial. At 4k now and I say it's only half worn.

Maybe it was a defective tire, or had something to do with the size, or perhaps it being a bias ply?

Don't know about the H rated but the V rated Anakee 2's wear pretty well, I seem to get about 10k miles out of a rear tyre and a little more from the front on my 955 Tiger. My riding is mostly road with occasional light gravel tracks. Handling is excellent and they hold the road well wet or dry. Imho great tyres for all seasons.

As Snapper says the biggest difference in construction that the average rider would notice is radial vs bias.
Comparing V vs H in the same construction, ie: radial vs radial, the difference will be in the quality of materials the tire is built with. Not b quality vs a but heat resistant vs more heat resistant, higher strength vs not so high. Every tire is the result of may decisions made about cord material, rubber compounds and placement of same. In an average passenger car tire there are more than 25 different rubber compounds used the its construction.

H-rated rear Anakees last about 8.5 k (R1200GS), V-rated last 6k miles, at best. I eventually went with Tourance, and get 12-13k miles out of a rear now.