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Michelin Launch the Anakee 2
Published by Neil Everett
12 May 2008, 09:40
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Nick Sanders, Ewan McGregor, Charlie Boorman, its all their fault. Showing the world that you can travel around with nothing more than a rucksack and a motorbike has led a new generation into the unknown. Making us think it would be easy to stack up the miles and travel across entire continents, encountering a barrage of changing and challenging terrains without so much as a compass and a water bottle for company.
Travelling the globe by motorbike is a daunting and challenging task and one that should not be taken lightly. However the little boy or girl inside each of us wonders what it would be like to one day take on that big adventure. All that open road, the wind through your hair all the exciting new people and places that you would meet on your journey of a lifetime.
However don’t expect to jump aboard your Yamaha R1 with sport performance tyres on and think that you’ll breeze through country after country with blissful ease. Planning a trip like this takes a lot of careful consideration, planning and preparation. Making sure you have the correct kit is essential.
Thankfully the motorcycle industry has picked up on this new trend and has embraced it with open arms. The latest manufacturer to do so is the tyre company Michelin, who have just announced the release date for its new brand of tyres designed for touring bikes, called the Anakee 2 series.
Michelin claim that their new tyres will provide users with enhanced tyre longevity, while at the same time providing superior grip on wet roads compared to that of its competitors.
This is a bold claim to make indeed. As a rule soft rubber will provide better grip on dry or wet roads, however with soft rubber your tyre life will suffer. It has been an age old trade off for riders when picking new tyres in the past whether they would prefer to have longevity or improved traction, a choice which Michelin claim you should have to face no more.
So how does it work?
Its all down to a new rubber compound called C-RAO (Compunds- Racing Optimisation) It is made with exclusive 100% synthetic elastomers (called Michelin Racing Synthetic Elastomers) which is a new silica compound used in MotoGP rain tyres, and new 100% synthetic resins (High Tech Synthetic Compound) another example of how motor racing has helped to provide advances in general road safety.
Another original feature of the new brand of tyre is the use of different rubber compounds for the front and rear tyres. Previously tyre manufactures have tried to sway customers away from mixing and matching tyre compounds. However with the Anakee 2 the front tyre has been designed to provide the rider with precise handing, while the rear tyre has been developed to transmit the engine power out on to the road allowing you to eat up the miles.
Michelin has a huge racing pedigree, so when they make claims the world listens. Since 1984 Michelin has won 350 races and 26 world championship in the premier class of motorcycle racing. However when a company like Michelin makes such bold claims about it’s new product it is always nice to have an external party who is willing to put it to the test. Thankfully for us CERM (the Centre d’Essais Routiers Mecaniques) has performed an independent test pitting the new Michelin Anakee 2 against two rival products.
Three BMW R1200 GS bikes were fitted with the three different tyre brands and were put through there paces on a 4,872km trip. At the end of the trip the tyres were compared and it was concluded by CERM that the Michelin Anakee 2 would provide its users with 29% longer tread life than that of its rivals.
The Michelin Anakee 2 will be available from early June.
Front tyre sizes:
110/80 R 19 59H
110/80 R 19 59V
Rear tyre sizes:
150/70 R 17 69H
150/70 R 17 69V
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