best tyre or touring

[Zola]

Hi will be doing a lot of touring next year all in England at the moment, any suggestions on tyres will b going of road dirt/gravel on some occasions to find wild camping sites will be fully loaded on my 1050xt kind regards zola   

[Youngman]

I've been using Michelin Pilots on my Strom. Grippy straight out of the box.
If you are touring the UK, there's not a huge amount of accessible dirt to be honest - but there are some rough access roads into wild camping areas. My advice would be stick to road tyres for comfort and safety. Nobblies don't work too well at speed down a motorway or zipping round corners in the wet IMHO.

[UK_Vstrom650]

I guess a compromise would be Michelin Anakees which are heavily road but designed for light off-road work (gravel/dirt tracks)
That said, I used Anakee 3s once and I think the most off-road I went was a gravel car park and parking in a field. I've stuck to 100% road tyres since & not had any issues.

[Rixington43]

I've got Anakee Adventures on my Vee.
Caveat of coming from quite squared Anakee IIIs so not a completely fair comparison but....

Loved the feel of them straight away, really nice smooth transition from centre to shoulder and they feel as solid as the Anakee III did, no squirm or wobble from them being a tiny bit knobblier. They don't howl or buzz at motorway speeds and they feel a fair bit better on loose gravel and grass than the IIIs did. They are also super confidence inspiring in the wet and you are talking the UK here ;)
I've no idea what the mileage will be like, probably worse than a pure road tyre for sure but my bike is a toy not a commuter and so I'll pay a bit extra for a good time over a long time ;)

That being said, my friend goes everywhere I do on a set of Road 5 Trails so I probably don't 'need' the 20% off road capability.

[kwackboy]

Another endorsement for the Anakee Adventures... 

Managed a few off road excursions and found them to be very capable on gravel etc but if you hit the mud be prepared to get stuck . 

[The Doctor 46]

I used Michelin Pilots on a BMW R1150 GSA. Brilliant tyres and lasted ages, can't remember how many miles but a lot.

[rikpward]

Mich Road 5 - simples - it's the best all weather tyre on the market and the rear should last around 10,000 - 15,000 miles (I have heard them lasting 20k)

[porter]

I must be doning something wrong then as I struggle to get 5k mile's out of the Road 5 rears I've used, standard and trail.

[rikpward]

I must be doning something wrong then as I struggle to get 5k mile's out of the Road 5 rears I've used, standard and trail.

How often do you do burnouts, quarter-mile wheelers or carry a 25 stone pillion?

[UK_Vstrom650]

I think it'll depend on what you class as usable. I'm happy to run my tyres until they get down to the wear bars, even though they're very squared off (to the point where they can almost stand up straight when off the bike) but I was mainly doing motorway miles so a squared off rear tyre wasn't an issue.
If I was to be more interested in good handling, and riding more twisties, I'd be replacing them much sooner - probably <10,000 miles (my last tyres went to 19,000 miles)
I think this is why some get much higher mileages, but also why some notice a massive difference in handling when they eventually replace tyres - my last tyres change initially felt like the bike wanted to fall to the side compared to the old ones.

[porter]

No wheelie's or burnouts though I do carry a pillion some weekends but not 25 stone, half that and not that often lately and I take every tyre to the wear bars. When I was younger and skint I'd file the wear bars off and get a bit more!  I must stop twisting that thing in my right hand.
 The 1000 is much harder on tyres than the 650, more weight, more torque.

[bazza950]

well I have booked the bike in for a new front tyre at Demon Tweaks-yes an indulgence but I once spend 2 days trying to "break a bead" so happy to pay an expert £24 to take the wheel off ,do the fit,balance etc .As the Battleaxe rear is like new think I will stay with same on the front ,then maybe change both to Pilot 5's next time.

[Hugo Magnus]

Fast 'getaways' and excess motorway speeds soon eat up any brand of tyre, add wife and baggage and you won't get much change from 5-6,000 miles.

[pichulec]

Michelin Anakee Adventure, have them for a year. Done about 11000miles so far and front is still good, rear a bit squared due to motorway riding. Very good in the wet.

[AdvntureSi]

Slight thread resurrection...
Just purchased a 2014 1000...
Rear tyre is a bit squared, front has some wear..  and so thinking of popping on a set of new boots before I use it in anger..
My Varadero has Avon storm 3D and I have been very impressed with them.. superb grip in the wet..  my brother (been doing 30k a year on bikes) has used them of several different bikes and really rates them too.. Anyone tried them  to compare to the suggestions here??