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Alternative to Pilot Road 4 for XRX low

7K views 27 replies 14 participants last post by  swilso 
#1 ·
Word in the Forum seemed to indicate that the PR4s were the best alternative to the Metzeler Tourance Next OEM tires I have on my 2016 xrx low, seeing as I do 99% road. Sadly, Michelin doesn't make a front tire in my size (100/90-19). I had the rear tire in my cart at Revzilla already - bummer! So - what is my best alternative? I am looking for grippy, plus good in wet weather. Longevity isn't as much of a priority. I have looked at the Anakee 3, and a couple of Pirellis (Scorpion Trail 2 and Sport Demon). Suggestions?
 
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#3 ·
:wave Hey Carol!

I absolutely LOVE my Anakee 3's. I haven't done any serious off-roading with them yet so I can't comment on that but since putting some street miles on them I can say they are a great tire on road. I was talking to a buddy the other day while we were looking at my tires and he commented on the fact that my "chicken strips" are only about a quarter of an inch wide, which for me, is pretty impressive. All of my previous rides were "sport" bikes and I always had really wide strips on the tires that I never used. It looks like I've been pushing these tires almost all the way to the edge and they haven't skipped a beat or made me uncomfortable at all. I've also ridden in moderately wet conditions(in rain mode & not really "pushing" it of course) and the tires seem to have held the road quite well.

My vote is for the Anakee 3, I love them and with all the other great reviews out there you really can't go wrong with them.
 
#5 ·
I have run Anakee 3's on my Tiger 800 and I find them to be a great tire. They handle well in all conditions wet and dry, turn into the corners nicely, very stable, and excellent tire wear. I am installing a fresh set of Anakee 3's as opposed to my typical tire TKC-70's for my upcoming road trip in early May as I won't be doing any serious off road riding. I personally prefer the TKC-70 over the Anakee 3 for the off road riding I engage in. As mentioned, you can run a 110/80/19 on the front with no problem... :doublethumb

Bob
 
#6 ·
This is odd - I was on the Michelin site, and when I input my specific bike, there were no tires. When I input 2016 tiger 800 (alternative front tire fitment) it spit out the PR4 Trail, and the Annake Wild. There isn't a listing for the Annake 3s, even under the tire list (not specific to any bikes), or if I searched by name. Has Michelin stopped making them? They are still for sale (in my cart at Revzilla along with 6 other tires).
 
#9 ·
I ordered my anakees from moto superstore for $313 shipped. They might be a bit cheaper(on sale) now.
Front 100/90HB-19 SKU#506780
Rear 150/70VR-17 SKU#506772

You might want to see what your local shop will sell them to you for. You might pay a bit more for the tires themselves but save money overall because they might not charge you as much for mounting if you buy the tires from them.
 
#10 ·
Full Bore Adventure tires for the win for me! I'm running my third set now, 2 sets on the old Roadie and one set on my XCx. Great tire and dirt cheap. The front is even a radial in the Roadie size unlike my factory tires were.
 
#11 ·
I realized this morning during this discussion when I ordered my new set of Anakee 3's I had ordered the stock front tire size... 100/90/19 which is a bias ply tire. I previously switched over to a 110/80R19V for the front to match up with the 150/70R17V rear tire. I also run a 110/80R/19 on the front when I am riding on the TKC-70's. I have always been curious why Triumph uses a bias front and a radial rear. I have ridden with the bias front early on and it wasn't an issue... I just feel better having radials front and rear and in the case of Anakee 3's both having a "V" speed rating.

So I swung by my dealer this morning and returned the 100/90/19 I had ordered in and had them order me a 110/80R19V for the front. The price difference was only $11.00. The Michelin distributor is located in Idaho for my region and the replacement tire will be in next Tuesday or Wednesday.

I am curious why Carol is not finding them listed... maybe she should do a search with Revzilla or the Motorcycle Super Store. I know Performance Motorcycle here in Denver stocks them at very competitive prices. I have my local dealer price match them and I purchase from my local Triumph dealer.

Bob
 
#13 ·
I am curious why Carol is not finding them listed... maybe she should do a search with Revzilla or the Motorcycle Super Store. I know Performance Motorcycle here in Denver stocks them at very competitive prices. I have my local dealer price match them and I purchase from my local Triumph dealer.

Bob
Bob - I have found lots of Anakee 3s for sale online - I have a front and rear in my Revzilla cart right now. It was on the actual Michelin site http://motorcycle.michelinman.com/US/en/tires/name._ts-name.html that does not list the Anakee 3 tires, which made me wonder why not? The only Anakee listed is the Anakee Wild.

I called the service guy at my dealership and told him the brands I was thinking of, to find out what other Tiger 800 xr owners have used, but he wasn't much help, compared to you guys actually responding with real life experiences here.
 
#14 ·
Yes Carol, I checked the Michelin site and noticed the same thing... No idea why that would be as the Anakee 3 is still currently available. You might want to check the price you have with Revzilla as it appears the Anakee 3's are more expensive from them in comparison to the Motorcycle Super Store and both offer free shipping it appears. Motorcycle Super Store prices are in line with Performance Cycle of Colorado which is a family owned business here in the Denver area... they offer free shipping as well.

If you decide on getting the Anakee 3's I believe you will be happy with them. I have gone through a few sets and for a 90/10 tire they perform very nicely as I have mentioned. Keith, aka Punisher, switched over to them when he was having stability issues with his OEM tires and he reported back the Anakee's fixed his issue.

As I stated in an earlier post I am installing the 110/80R19V front tire along with the 150/70R17V rear tire for my upcoming road trip in early May.

Bob
 
#15 ·
Yeah, Revzilla is no longer having good deals since Cycle Gear bought them out. The only thing they really have going for them now is the Revzilla Bucks and a good return policy but most online places have that now. Definitely shop around. I've found Rocky Mountain ATV and Chaparral to have good prices.
 
#16 ·
Yeah, Revzilla is no longer having good deals since Cycle Gear bought them out.
I think most were thinking and hoping that when Cycle Gear bought Revzilla that the prices would get even better. Doesn't seem to be the case from what I've noticed. As I mentioned previously their tire pieces for the Anakee 3's were higher than other Internet outlets.

Revzilla used to send out emails with offers and specials from time to time... when Cycle Gear took them over that increased to an insane amount of emails from Revzilla. I ended up unsubscribing from their email notification because of the stupid number of emails they would send... :Spammer

Bob
 
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#18 ·
I can vote for the Anakee 3 as well. I installed a set of 100/19 150/70 for a trip on the West Coast an did the twisties of my life. Always felt confident, exept once were I lost the rear a bit but the road was a bit dirty, hard to tell. Never rode them in the rain. They are a bit noisy. But since I use earplug it's fine. http://motorcycle.michelinman.com/US/en/tires/products/anakee-3.html

Doing 100% street I would be tempted to try the PR4 Trail.

Others I tried:

Tourance Next: big NO-NO. Unstable at high speed and lack of feeling in corners.

Scorpion Trail: Not bad but didn't like the way the front behave during his last half of life.
 
#19 ·
I've had pretty good luck with Dunlop Trailmax TR91s. The first set lasted 15078 miles, and the second set lasted for 16696. They're pretty decent in the rain,
have good grip and seem to last. I was really happy with those, and was set to try their (pending) 80/20 tires but they were late to market with them when I
needed a new set so I went with Continental TKC-70s. I was really happy with those, but only got 4500 miles on them when the bike was totaled. When I have
to replace the tires on the new Tiger, I'm going with TKC-70s. They're quiet, grippy on the dirt and in the rain, and have the potential to last a while.

Also, if you're looking to buy tires online, you might try: www.americanmototire.com. They've been pretty good to me.
 
#20 ·
@carolIT, if you,want a road based tire for your Tiger, Bridgestone makes the T30's in a 110/80/19 and 150/70/17, I have run these and their BT023's, Continental make their new RoadAttack 3 in adventure sizes, Metzeler makes their Roadtec tires to fit the Tiger. The T30's grip well and do well in the rain, I'm currently running some Continental RoadAttack EVO2's and they have been a good tire also, great wet grip. I have a set of the Metzeler Roadtec's to try next, they have had good reviews and bought most of my tires when there are rebates to help save on cost. Currently Bridgestone and Metezeler both have rebates right now, I think Bridgestone's rebate end the end of month, not sure about Metzeler.
 
#21 ·
Dunno why anybody would feel the need to change from the OE Metz Tourance Next that mine came with, on the XRx I find the handling brilliant, I corner quicker & more confidently on this bike than on any other Triumphs I've owned. Maybe it just suits me. So, unless I learn that other tyres give better handling or longer life, I'll stick with the Metz's. I have the PR4 road tyres on my Tiger Sport, getting great miles from them.

Anybody see any downside to fitting the PR4 trail front with road rear to the XRx?
 
#23 ·
That's great that the Tourance tires work for you, I come from riding sport bikes and doing track days, I like a road oriented sport touring tire for the better grip, I'm hard on tires because I keep my bike in the peak rev range most of the time riding, I get 4-5k miles from a rear, when it hits the wear bars, I will change it and the front even if you can more out of a front, it feels better to change both tires at the same time. I am fortunate that I don't pay for mounting and balancing, my friend has a NoMar setup and he helps me out and I reciprocate by helping him when ever he calls, he takes take offs that are worn on the sides from track days and sells them to people that would otherwise run tires to the cord, to some people a tire isn't worn out until it's bald. I value traction and safety and good tires are the biggest safety feature you can have on any vehicle.

Like I said I shop around and find deals for tires, so far the most I've spent for a set of tires was $240 on the Roadtec 01's, after a $50 rebate, the Bridgestone tires were all around $215/set and the Continental's were $189/set on a close out deal, I have a cool, dry and dark basement corner to store tires, I try to keep an extra set on hand when I get fresh ones mounted. Sport touring tires offer good grip and decent mileage, they are as good or better than tires I started racing on in the mideighties. My 2012 Roadie is used more as a sport tourer than adventure bike, I may access graded gravel or dirt roads but 99% of the time, I'm riding pavement. I live in a state(WV), with great roads close by so I rarely feel the need to leave my home state to ride. The Tiger as well as other adventure style bikes do offer a pretty broad range of use even in a sport riding environment, most of the time you will run out ground clearance before you run out of grip, plus the comfort level of an adventure bike is another plus. Safe riding to all, now that riding season is here.
 
#22 ·
I just done a search & found this review on the PR4's:

https://www.carolenash.com/news/910-michelin-pilot-road-4-review

This bit is relevant to the Trail tyres. Now I see why the trail version rear doesn't last like the road version, can't see any reason why not to mix them, yet.


Tread pattern - 2CT (Dual Compound Technology)

The standard and GT versions have the same tread layout, with the front offering a wide 40% band of medium compound across the middle and 20% of soft compound on the shoulders. The rear sports a hard compound across 20% of the middle to help with longevity and the medium compound covering 40% each side of this. The trail version is the same front and rear, with a 60% band of medium compound across the middle and 20% of soft compound on the shoulders. It all makes a lot of sense when you think about it.
 
#27 · (Edited)
I'm running Anakee 3's at the moment and am finding excellent rear grip. Front is a 100/90/19 and find that on turn in, it always feels like the front is going to tuck under on slow to medium speed corners, especially roundabouts.
Maybe the 110/80R19 would help and will probably try the Pilot 4's next, although I do like to hit the odd fire trail now and then.
 
#28 ·
I've had a few sets of PR4's on my F700GS, I didn't like the way they wear differently between the centre and sides, I'm not shy on cranking it over in the bends but still ended up with a ridge between the two compounds and flat in the centre on the back tyre. Will see how the Tourance performs over time.
 
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