Changing Tire Brand

Ted Bennett wrote:
>Should I be happy, unhappy or neutral?

Do you need permission to change your point of view?

This is a technical forum, we aren't psychologists.

--
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 >> Stay informed about: Changing Tire Brand 

"Albrecht via MotorcycleKB.com" <u33665@uwe> wrote:

> Ted Bennett wrote:
> >Should I be happy, unhappy or neutral?
>
> Do you need permission to change your point of view?
>
> This is a technical forum, we aren't psychologists.

It was a technical question, sorta.

Are the Anakees better or worse than the TrailWings, and in what way?

--
Ted Bennett
 >> Stay informed about: Changing Tire Brand 

Ted Bennett <tedbennett.DeleteThis@earthlink.net> wrote:

> As part of some needed service, I asked my dealer's service dept to
> install a new pair of tires. There was no discussion about type or
> brand; I assumed I would get another pair identical to what the bike
> came with when I bought it at the same dealer.
>
> It's a 2005 Suzuki DL-650, originally shod with Bridgestone TrailWings,
> now with Michelin Anakees. Same sizes and ratings.
>
> Should I be happy, unhappy or neutral?
>
Happy if it handles better than it did on the OE tyres, unhappy if it
doesn't, neutral if it's the same.



--
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 >> Stay informed about: Changing Tire Brand 

Ted Bennett wrote:

> "Albrecht via MotorcycleKB.com" <u33665@uwe> wrote:
>
>
>>Ted Bennett wrote:
>>
>>>Should I be happy, unhappy or neutral?
>>
>>Do you need permission to change your point of view?
>>
>>This is a technical forum, we aren't psychologists.
>
>
> It was a technical question, sorta.
>
> Are the Anakees better or worse than the TrailWings, and in what way?
>

More rumor then supportible fact, but here is the way I heard it.

The Trailwings were supposed to be a replacement for OEM dual sport
tire. I don't know if you are old enough to remember, but the dual
sports like Yamaha DT-1, Suzuki TS, et cetera were pretty big in the
70s. Dual sports pretty much became an also ran to purpose built MX and
crotch rocket bikes after the 70s. They seem to be having a renasance
what with motard racing but for the most part nothing going on.

Just my opinion and you are welcome to disregard it.
Remember too that I personally LOVE dual sports.

When you design anything be it bike or tires to do two jobs, it ends up
doing two things bad. Maybe half assed would be a better term then bad.
Anyway, you design a tire that is soft enough for dirt with a tread
pattern that is goof on the road, you end up with a tread pattern that
won't work in the dirt and a rubber compound that is too soft for the
street.

So when you replaced those Trailwings you ended up with a better street
tire but something that is likely to give you trouble if you take it
offroading into anything more challenging then a dry lawn.

Perfectly cool if you mostly ride paved roads. If your commute is 10
miles of dirt roads followed by 2 miles of paved, you may miss the
Trailwings.

Rick
 >> Stay informed about: Changing Tire Brand 

Rick Cortese <ricortes.RemoveThis@earthlink.net> wrote:

> Ted Bennett wrote:

> > It was a technical question, sorta.
> >
> > Are the Anakees better or worse than the TrailWings, and in what way?

> More rumor then supportible fact, but here is the way I heard it.
>
> The Trailwings were supposed to be a replacement for OEM dual sport
> tire. I don't know if you are old enough to remember, but the dual
> sports like Yamaha DT-1, Suzuki TS, et cetera were pretty big in the
> 70s. Dual sports pretty much became an also ran to purpose built MX and
> crotch rocket bikes after the 70s. They seem to be having a renasance
> what with motard racing but for the most part nothing going on.
>
> Just my opinion and you are welcome to disregard it.
> Remember too that I personally LOVE dual sports.
>
> When you design anything be it bike or tires to do two jobs, it ends up
> doing two things bad. Maybe half assed would be a better term then bad.
> Anyway, you design a tire that is soft enough for dirt with a tread
> pattern that is goof on the road, you end up with a tread pattern that
> won't work in the dirt and a rubber compound that is too soft for the
> street.
>
> So when you replaced those Trailwings you ended up with a better street
> tire but something that is likely to give you trouble if you take it
> offroading into anything more challenging then a dry lawn.
>
> Perfectly cool if you mostly ride paved roads. If your commute is 10
> miles of dirt roads followed by 2 miles of paved, you may miss the
> Trailwings.
>
> Rick


I'm a little puzzled. The Trailwings were the OEM tire on the DL650,
not a replacement. Both the Trailwings and the Anakees have very
similar tread pattern. Both are similar hardness, as judged by my
carefully calibrated thumbnail.

Whether the Anakees are better or worse on the dirt, I don't yet know
and don't really care, as the DL is too heavy, too top-heavy and just
too big and ungainly for the dirt. It's a great road bike, but Suzuki
is pulling our collective leg when it markets it as a dual purpose bike.

--
Ted Bennett
 >> Stay informed about: Changing Tire Brand 

Ted Bennett wrote:

>It was a technical question, sorta.
>
>Are the Anakees better or worse than the TrailWings, and in what way?

I've never owned a Bridgestone or Michelin tire that I liked,excepting the
BT020 rear tire that's on my FZR right now. It's as good as a worn out
Metzeler Me-Z2.

If you want to find a published dualsport tire comparo, you might google for
"comparison +anakee +trailwing" but you also have to understand that
motojournalists have to be careful what they say about the products they test.


If they are too honest, they don't get more free products to praise, or they
even lose their job at the magazine.

My friend was an associate at a well known touring magazine, but he didn't
know he was supposed to write only nice things about Hondas and he lost that
gig.

--
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 >> Stay informed about: Changing Tire Brand 

Ted Bennett wrote:
> Rick Cortese <ricortes.DeleteThis@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
>
>>Ted Bennett wrote:
>
>
>>>It was a technical question, sorta.
>>>
>>>Are the Anakees better or worse than the TrailWings, and in what way?
>
>
>>More rumor then supportible fact, but here is the way I heard it.
>>
>>The Trailwings were supposed to be a replacement for OEM dual sport
>>tire. I don't know if you are old enough to remember, but the dual
>>sports like Yamaha DT-1, Suzuki TS, et cetera were pretty big in the
>>70s. Dual sports pretty much became an also ran to purpose built MX and
>>crotch rocket bikes after the 70s. They seem to be having a renasance
>>what with motard racing but for the most part nothing going on.
>>
>>Just my opinion and you are welcome to disregard it.
>>Remember too that I personally LOVE dual sports.
>>
>>When you design anything be it bike or tires to do two jobs, it ends up
>>doing two things bad. Maybe half assed would be a better term then bad.
>>Anyway, you design a tire that is soft enough for dirt with a tread
>>pattern that is goof on the road, you end up with a tread pattern that
>>won't work in the dirt and a rubber compound that is too soft for the
>>street.
>>
>>So when you replaced those Trailwings you ended up with a better street
>>tire but something that is likely to give you trouble if you take it
>>offroading into anything more challenging then a dry lawn.
>>
>>Perfectly cool if you mostly ride paved roads. If your commute is 10
>>miles of dirt roads followed by 2 miles of paved, you may miss the
>>Trailwings.
>>
>>Rick
>
>
>
> I'm a little puzzled. The Trailwings were the OEM tire on the DL650,
> not a replacement. Both the Trailwings and the Anakees have very
> similar tread pattern. Both are similar hardness, as judged by my
> carefully calibrated thumbnail.
>
> Whether the Anakees are better or worse on the dirt, I don't yet know
> and don't really care, as the DL is too heavy, too top-heavy and just
> too big and ungainly for the dirt. It's a great road bike, but Suzuki
> is pulling our collective leg when it markets it as a dual purpose bike.
>

Right, Trailwings are the modern replacement currently being
manufactured. They are to replace ~Yokohama Trials, Nitto Trails, <or
whatever the actual names were> that came on things like 70's Honda XLs,
Yamaha DTs, Kawasaki KEs.

Seems like the concept that both the manufacturers and buyers have
embraced is one bike one purpose. That way instead of selling you one
bike that does everything, you spend twice as much and get both a CRF450
and GSX. If anything falls in between it is now something like Adventure
bike => something like exploring back roads rather then off roads which
accounts for the mostly street style treads with the ability to channel
water. Dual sport is a bad word now I guess. Concept of a person riding
a dual sport into a park and getting off the road to run over an
endangered weed or turtle is not tolerable to the general population.

Rick
 >> Stay informed about: Changing Tire Brand 

On Jun 25, 1:24 am, Ted Bennett <tedbenn....TakeThisOut@earthlink.net> wrote:
> As part of some needed service, I asked my dealer's service dept to
> install a new pair of tires. There was no discussion about type or
> brand; I assumed I would get another pair identical to what the bike
> came with when I bought it at the same dealer.
>
> It's a 2005 Suzuki DL-650, originally shod with Bridgestone TrailWings,
> now with Michelin Anakees. Same sizes and ratings.
>
> Should I be happy, unhappy or neutral?

You might want to read some of the tire discussion at <http://
11109.rapidforum.com/>, <http://www.stromtrooper.com/forums/>, both of
which are specific to the V-Stroms, and <http://www.advrider.com/
forums/> which is not V-Strom specific but contains a great deal of
dual-sport knowledge.

I think you'll find that the consensus is that the Trailwings aren't
the greatest tire in the world and that Anakees are one of the popular
replacements--whether they're best for _you_ nobody can answer without
knowing your needs in some detail, but they aren't bad and unless he
overcharged you by some ridiculous amount you didn't get screwed.

IIRC, compared to the Trailwings the Anakees are in performance about
the same on-road and marginally better off-road, but don't trust me on
that.
 >> Stay informed about: Changing Tire Brand 

In article <1183118047.992451.260130 RemoveThis @o61g2000hsh.googlegroups.com>,
jclarke RemoveThis @attglobal.net wrote:

> On Jun 25, 1:24 am, Ted Bennett <tedbenn... RemoveThis @earthlink.net> wrote:
> > As part of some needed service, I asked my dealer's service dept to
> > install a new pair of tires. There was no discussion about type or
> > brand; I assumed I would get another pair identical to what the bike
> > came with when I bought it at the same dealer.
> >
> > It's a 2005 Suzuki DL-650, originally shod with Bridgestone TrailWings,
> > now with Michelin Anakees. Same sizes and ratings.
> >
> > Should I be happy, unhappy or neutral?
>
> You might want to read some of the tire discussion at <http://
> 11109.rapidforum.com/>, <http://www.stromtrooper.com/forums/>, both of
> which are specific to the V-Stroms, and <http://www.advrider.com/
> forums/> which is not V-Strom specific but contains a great deal of
> dual-sport knowledge.
>
> I think you'll find that the consensus is that the Trailwings aren't
> the greatest tire in the world and that Anakees are one of the popular
> replacements--whether they're best for _you_ nobody can answer without
> knowing your needs in some detail, but they aren't bad and unless he
> overcharged you by some ridiculous amount you didn't get screwed.
>
> IIRC, compared to the Trailwings the Anakees are in performance about
> the same on-road and marginally better off-road, but don't trust me on
> that.

Thank you for that useful reply. I won't fret over the change. As for
cost, this is a "free" pair included with some prepaid service.

--
Ted Bennett
 >> Stay informed about: Changing Tire Brand