YATT

[mjc506]

(Yet Another Tyre Topic...)

I really dislike the 'wings that're on my Wee, but the planets seem to have aligned and it looks like the next service and MOT will coincide, and I reckon I can convince myself that the tyres will be dead by then too  

The problem I have is what tyres to get... I ride ~350 miles per week, but can be quite a bit more some weeks. Anakee2's seem somewhat popular 'round here, but I don't do any off-road miles so a full road tyre seems to be the sensible choice. However, on my commute there's almost always a fair amount of road with a nice film of mud down the middle, and I'm not sure how well a road tyre would cope with that sort of thing - I'm a new rider and have no experience of other tyres.

Would road tyres (for example, Mich road pilot 3's, Avon Storm/Azaro etc) handle a bit of mud OK? Or would I be better off on some Anakees (and sacrifice a bit of dry grip) or even a half-way house like the Tourance Exp's?

Any advice much appreciated

[Piglumps]

One of my friends has Pilot Road 3s on his CBF1000 and swears by them, he does fast road and trackdays and says they're all he needs wet or dry..

And he lives in Didcot! Still, never mind...

[mjc506]

And he lives in Didcot! Still, never mind...

poor bloke

Another vote for the pilots

[Sven]

Whatever tyre you buy, they will be better than trailwings...
I have Conti Trail Attacks on mine & am very pleased with them.

[mjc506]

very true!
Have you had the misfortune of being surprised by gravel or mud on the road with the contis? How are they in the wet?

[Sven]

I done Stromtrekkers 2 ( plenty of mud & gravel on that) on the Conti's without too much problem. Didn't even drop it...
I changed the Trailwings because I didn't like them in the wet. They're fine in the dry but I had no confidence in the wet (particually the front). The conti's are much better - don't get the sliding & movement on cats-eyes or white lines!
I was losing more & more confidence in the wet on trailwings but have now regained it.

[rascaltrousers]

Still on Trailwings that cam with the bike when I got it last January. Now up to 10,000 miles and have loads of life left. I see to be in a minority of 1 on this site as I think the Trailwings are fine. I don't have any grip issues wet or dry and feel very happy to thorw the bike around on them. Might try the dunlops that appeared in a tyre list for the strom 111 in a recent ride magazine article as they are cheapest by far and past experience of dunlops was good.

[firestrom]

I had the same opinion as you about the trailwings rascal, until I swapped them to anakees, wow what a difference. 95% of my riding is on tarmac but I wanted a tyre in keeping with appearance of the bike so went for anakees. Like has been already said you won't be disappointed whatever tyre you choose compared to the wings.

[2112]

very true!
Have you had the misfortune of being surprised by gravel or mud on the road with the contis? How are they in the wet?

My mate had a set on his Varadero and raved about them. Excellent wet weather grip but never used off road. Good mileage potential too.

[mjc506]

Thanks for the advice   As expected, it seems like I can't make a bad choice haha (I agree, TWs are OK in the dry, but I get no feel from the front in the wet)

I don't suppose anyone's tried a set of pr3's or trail attacks and a set of annakees back to back?

[Juvecu]

Another +1 for Anakee 2 tyres. They are excellent in the wet and ideal for cold conditions, last longer than most and I've been through a few sets in the worst of weather on them and still not considering any other tyre. They also perform well in rougher road conditions and the wide tread channels handle very wet road/standing water very well.

[Keith Cross]

I have the trail wings on my Wee and after 5000 miles they are starting to act up in the wet and cold, I won't be replacing them any time soon though as I am tight with my money and the Trailwings seem to be just over half worn, with the front looking like it will wear out first and the rear starting to be nicely squared off .  
Had a go on a close friends Vee today that's got Metzler Tourances fitted and they seemed quite good, not to sure what the wear rate on them is though.

Keith

[mjc506]

Good stuff, looks like it might come down to cost/availability

[Keith Cross]

BTW forgot to mention, don't worry to much about tyres for off road as road based tyres work OK as long as its not deep mud.  Used to ride my Baghira off road with supermoto wheels.  Only time I had any real trouble was in mud on cut slicks
Used to get good results all round with Avon Distanzas BTW.  They look good and if you want they do a softer compound 150/17 rear (meant for supermoto use) if you ask

Keith C

[mjc506]

To be honest, I'm unlikely to do any serious off-roading (and if I do, I've no problems with getting a set of tcx's on there), its just that 'nice' slippery film of mud that the tractors leave everywhere on my commute - I know no tyre will stick to that sort of thing, I'm just worried that a full road tyre will have brilliant grip, then no grip at all if I stray onto the mud! I imagine the anakees will retain more grip than a full road tyre in that situation...

[mjc506]

So I'd just like to say...

Anakee's are great

[Juvecu]

And I'll say... told you so!

[2112]

Now got Anakees fitted to the Guzzi, sadly not used in anger yet due to the house being a building site... First impressions are that they are a lot chunkier than the Pirelli Scorpion Trail they replaced and they look at home on the Guzzi. Single sided swing arm means rear wheel in and out in seconds with no drama at all (not as easy if you have the huge standard exhaust on mind). The front's not too bad to remove although I had to go to Halfrauds to get a 32 mm socket for the front wheel spindle ! That's bigger than most rear spindle nuts ?

[mjc506]

And I'll say... told you so!

Indeed you did

[Bruce Wee]

I am on trail wings,done a couple of thousand miles on them,go round corners just fine,tend to ride slower in the wet anyway,this death wing business almost makes you tense up in the wet but no drama's so far,have avoided being tipped over on banding etc.
I feel that on country roads the extra tread is more reassuring for those rivers of gravel,fields full of mud and the occasional spilt fertilizer beads that you expect to find round ever corner