Michelin Anakee Adventure Tire
Adventure and adventure-touring motorcycles have become increasingly popular over the past few years. Motorcycle tire manufacturers have responded by introducing a slew of tires that perform well on both asphalt and dirt—like the Michelin Anakee Adventure tire.
Released to the riding public in 2019, the Adventure tire is the middle child of the Anakee family. They’re knobbier than the heavily street-biased Anakee 3 or Road tires, but not as rough as the 50/50 Wild tire.
The Anakee Adventure is an 80/20 tire that seeks to enable motorcyclists to tackle most any road they wish. In our experience, they fulfill that role.
These adventure tires use Michelin’s proprietary 2CT compound, originally introduced in the Anakee Wilds. This structure features different silica blends in the center of the tread and shoulders, which—together with the specific tire pattern—improves traction.
On the rear tire, Michelin has opted for the 2CT+ compound, which adds additional layers of rubber to the main contact patch. This construction aims to make the rear tire more rigid and stable at both highway speeds and on bouncy trails.
Based on our rides with these tires, this isn’t empty marketing talk. The Anakee Adventure provides a smooth moto tour.
The tires have plenty of grip and remain stable when leaning into curves. On the interstate, they’ll keep you firmly planted at 80+ mph, even in strong crosswinds.
When transitioning to off-road, the Anakee Adventure tires do a fine job of navigating hard-packed dirt and gravel trails. They do start slipping on looser or softer stuff, but hey—they are 80/20 tires, so you can’t expect them to bite into the ground like their Wild siblings. Even on more difficult surfaces, they’ll get you by with careful riding.
Where the Anakee Adventure’s tread pattern and 2CT/+ compounds really shine is on wet pavement. They fling water away from the contact patch with commendable gusto, offering excellent traction when the skies open up. The tires keep even a fully loaded ADV bike planted and stable in the wet.
The only real downside we can think of is that the tires are pretty noisy. But that’s why you wear earplugs opt for a quiet helmet, like Shoei Neotec II.
In their role, Michelin Anakee Adventure tires are tough to beat. If you’re an adventure rider who does mostly asphalt with some trips to well-graded and packed trails, you’ve found your rubber.