Final thoughts on Michelin Anakee Wilds fitted to BMW R1200 GS LC
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- Опубликовано: 11 окт 2024
- I've had the Wilds on for over 4000 miles now and these are just my concluding thoughts on the tyre. Overall I've been very impressed with it. Probably more off road oriented than official 50/50 split, but still very usable and competent in the dirt.
One of the best videos proving the use of the tire in the natural habitat. Congratulations. I really liked this video.
Thanks Nathan...one of the best tire reviews I've watched...and unfortunately after 10 years on a 990, I've watched a lot. Not only do you have some very useful points, I LOVE your video behind your comments. Practicing...falling, picking these pigs (I can say that I have a 1200 as well) up, practicing and so on. I particularly appreciated the time lapse of the pick-up sequence where it started getting dark. Most would have edited that out...not you...good on ya! . So many people love to "review" but show little proof that the rider has the skills to provide the context for the comments they make. I just love it when a reviewer has 20 minutes of off-road comments doing a vlog from the M5. :) If you are ever out in the US and want to trade the mud for some time in the desert here in Utah, let me know.
Lad excellent review well done it's my first GS and I love it and I'm looking for some new tyres this review is excellent thanks
Thank you Nathan! That is some beautiful country and real slippery conditions you are running in. I spooned a set of these on my Super Tenere and am very happy with them. I do mostly pavement with forest roads and some 4wd roads. Other than the noise they work as advertised. And also thank you for the sound advice on the weight of these beasts.
Went from Anakee 2 to Wilds, first couple of miles to get used to them and really surprised how planted they are on tarmac, pushed them on corner till I've scrapped my pegs, and they were completely stable.
Took them off road and push them again, 60mph on gravel and front end grip put big smile on my face. Stuck in deep mud, mostly because I went to slow.
7 40 mins absolutely spot on , people who are capable or can afford to drop these bikes 👍
That place is paradise!
I have a 2020 Africa Twin. I’m still running the stock tires which are completely useless in anything muddy. But Im still tearing up the dry stuff! These are on my wishlist right now.
I've had a pair on my 1150 for the past month and I too am pleased. I've taken several long trips and done some off-roading around northern/southern California and they've done everything that I've asked of them. I've definitely given up some road performance (when in fast corners), but not so much that I wouldn't buy another pair.
Thanks for the review, answers a lot of questions for me. If you have the chance could you give an opinion on the Motoz tractionator gps, and the rally. Looking to p!an a trip when we can start travelling again.
Brilliant vid cheers
Thank you nathanthepostman, I enjoyed your thoughts,comments and wisdom my local BMW salesman tells me GS is German for on road off road. I later learned after 1997 the "S" actually stands for SPORT ! A little misleading to me as I felt the marketing threw me and had me believe its off road capabilities because of the GS badge. Infact the dearer Adventure, may be the more capable, mmm,well I do not own one, but am looking to buy a 1200 GS.My concern is the eye watering expense of a holed valve cover and the surprising admission to me by the same aforesaid salesman who said BMW's lower crash bars will be fine for a dropped bike but at any speed over 10 mph no, they would not necessarily prevent body work damage.He said the idea is to buy another set of crash bars for the top half as is on the Adventure.It is almost as if BMW are implying there is a design problem without actually coming out and saying to potential buyers look you wish to go off road ?Ok, but there may be a problem." YOU NEED A WHOLE LOT OF CASH FOR WHEN THINGS GO WRONG" e.g a fall or dropped bike,this is my greatest worry.
Hi Richard, thanks for the feedback. I guess the reality is that all bikes weighing as much as the GS are always going to be susceptible to damage. Even the new Africa Twin isn't very well guarded with it difficult to get guards to make the bike properly crash proof. I'm probably bias but the GS is arguably the easiest to protect. The standard bars can be a little flimsy, but I'm using the AltRider crash bars and they've been brilliant. I crash a lot and so far no damage to the bike. Unlike the standard engine bars they bolt to the bike in 3 places rather than 2. If you're unlucky and drop the bike on a raised stone then you can still crack a cylinder cover so ideally I'd fit some of these as well machineartmoto.com/r1200gsa/2013-2014-gs-2014-adv_lc/x-head_lc/. It's worth bearing in mind though that the official BMW off road school in the UK until recently didn't fit any crash protection. When dropped if the crack wasn't bad they'd patch it up with plastic metal and if worse they'd fit a new cover, which aren't too bad at about £150. Obviously if you have a big smash on road then it'll do more damage to the block, but off road drops it's never that bad. As for needing the upper engine guards, I think your dealer is just trying to sell you a more expensive bike. I have them fitted to mine but I don't think they've ever taken an impact, and personally the regular GS is the better off road bike, simply because it's more manageable and lighter. The GSA has an extra bit of ground clearance, but unless you're a confident rider you're not going to need that. It also sits taller so harder to keep upright if you start to lean. For road oriented touring then I'd probably consider the GSA. Hope that helps. Let me know if I can help some more. Just remember, despite the marketing, all these big bikes can be a hand full off road, and even for me aged 36, once I've dropped it 4 times in a day I'm knackered having to pick it up. The good thing about the GS is that it never falls flat. The cylinders keep the weight off the ground and allow you get under it much easier than some of the other big bikes. I'd probably say the Triumph Explorer is the hardest to get back upright, just because all of the weight is quite high up, and once it's fallen flat it can be a right pain.
Thank you for your prompt reply .You have allayed some of my concerns and I like those head covers ,will check out Altrider lower crash bars.I remember years ago coming off my Kawasaki GTR 1000 nearly a quarter of a tonne, on a wet corner and adding up the considerable bill for new parts plus having to wait 6 months for one part from Japan ,so a 1200 GS with crash bars is looking favorable ,Cheers.
GS = Gelande und strasse (land and street)
Agree with all of this, available grip is excellent, but rocky high country riding absolutely destroys the the rear in a few hundred miles.
I’ve got 85% still on the front and the rear is chewed to bits
Excellent vlog! Your advice is spot on. Nice job. Thanks. ;-)
I just find your channel... pure refreshment. :) Tell me, would you combine rear K60 and front Wild? I am looking for replacement set for new Africa Twin stock tires.
Thanks for the review. I recently put these on my Explorer 1200, and have only covered 2000 kms so far, mostly tarmac but did some hard off road in the Flinders Ranges (South Australia). Love the grip levels and just went out today in the wet, again very confident grip levels. My only bug is the wear. Looking at the rear now and I think I'll be lucky to see 5000 kms out of it. Maybe I'm just too hard on them, just saying.
Sound advice Nathan, excellent review one of the best I've seen. Heading off to the Pyrenees hoping to do some parts of the TET been looking at a compromise tyre for the GS. Looking at Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR's don't know if you've tried these would be good to hear your thoughts if you have
Thanks Peter. That should be a great ride out in the Pyrenees. I have ridden a Ducati Desert Sled that was wearing the STRs down at Salisbury Plains and to be fair they were pretty awful, but on a wet Salisbury Plains everything's pretty awful! I thought they were less off road biased than the Wilds and wouldn't offer the same level of grip, though be better on the road perhaps - not that I have a problem with the Wilds on the road, and in fact I got 5500 miles out of a rear on the Wild so longevity is pretty good. I guess it depends on how muddy/claggy it's going to be. If it's not going to be too bad then maybe the STRs, but personally I'd stick with the Wilds. Safe travels!
nathanthepostman Cheers Nathan just find tyres for these adventure bikes so confusing I guess it's more of a weight issue and how long they last maybe I should just take my old trusty KTM 690 just wanted to be able to walk when I got there as I'm riding down from Cean and fancied a swim in the Balearic sea
hey man
thanks for the review
i push my gs1200 adv 2015 off road more and more
just had tkc 80 for 3000 (rear is almost shot)
i do a lot of sand...do i have to reduce pressure with the wild for off road ... i heard you dont need to but i am sceptical
thanks for your feedback
Hey Oliver. I guess it's one of them where optimum grip might be achieved by reducing pressures to somewhere around 25psi but I've found there's enough grip leaving them at road pressures and so to save me the hassle of re-inflating the tyres I just leave them at that. If I was doing a lot of sand over a number of days then I would probably experiment with lower pressures. I think I've realised over the years that most things are just one person's opinion and they don't suit everyone so just go with what works best for you.
And that's about what I got out of the TKC80s as well.
ignore my last comment, just watched the whole video and seen the end bit :)
Hey mate. That's alright. To be fair my dad got me and my brother into motocross when we were kids. We only did it a few years but I guess it teaches you the basics. Then the postie bike trip from Sydney to Alaska gave me more time on the bike and more slow speed skills, then working in the magazines I got to ride the bigger bikes quite a bit and went on a few of the training courses and now go out occasionally on the trails with other guys. So I guess just gradual trial and error really. But I recommended the Si Pavey BMW school because you go there and in two days you genuinely learn how to ride a big bike off road, mainly because it's not your bike and you overcome your nerves of dropping it. I'd say half of it is confidence that you develop and the second half is slow speed control. These big bikes it's all about slow speed throttle and clutch control.
nathanthepostma
Great review!
Where did you learn to ride offroad? Trial and error or did you do numerous courses? I see you riding in these videos and look on with envy!
Nicely presented,thks
Try lower tyre pressures for on road performance I run around 32 psi on my t700 and it gives me more than adequate on road performance for a tyre I can still use off road
I just bought myself a f650 dakar, Its fucking HEAVY but I'm loving it. Are you just doing reviews on this gear or are you gonna be riding this kit on a new expedition?
I would love to see some more travel videos :) the postie series was excellent.
Ha. Yeah I had a regular F650 GS with Dakar suspension for a short while and I found the same. I could actually pick up the 1200 easier than I could the 650 because the weight's lower down and those big protruding cattle bars I have on the bike stop it falling so flat. This was just a video I did because I guess I'm not as active with the travelling now. I got married. I've got bills to pay. I''ll look to do something else, but like all men and women, I have restrictions on my ability to just go. Which is no bad thing. I'll post a video up shortly where I do get out on Dorothy. You might recognise the trails.
Right on, I just Re-watched long way down round last night and I was kinda noticing that with the big opposed twin gs's the cylinder heads keep them propped up at like a 40 degree angle off the ground, I think If I ever do some long distance trips on It I'm gonna get an adventure trailer like the moto mule to keep the weight off the bike itself.
Yeah indeed, it's a heavy old bus but at least when it topples over it doesn't fall flat and gives some chance of getting it upright. I know when I've been out with a guy on the Triumph Explore for example, when he dropped it it took 3 of us to get the bugger up. Just top heavy and obviously fell completely flat. Watched one of the BMW promo riders use a technique where he almost completely picked it up just on the power. Rocked it down, then up, just as he hit the gas, and the power pulled the bike upright. Going to practice that one next time I come off!
Woah I've never heard of that one, I've seen the one where you lift it up behind you kinda pressing your lower back into the seat as you lift with your legs. I've dropped the 650 a couple times now and I find turning the bars so the wheel is pointing at the sky then lifting straight up on the handlebar in the ground is the easiest for me.
There's just something not right about owning a bike you cant pick up.
Yeah that's the technique they teach you at the BMW off road school; the old turn the front wheel to the sky, cup the lower bar end and lift with your knees. I did find the back to it approach worked a few times on the F650GS, but I find that method only works when the floors dead flat. Throw in some ruts and mud and it just doesn't work for me. Here's the video with the nifty pick up technique at the beginning ruclips.net/video/sM559-NyAZk/видео.html
nice real world review. I installed these on my tiger800xc for a small road trip to neighboring Kyrgyzstan. I planned around 200 kms off road which turned to be around 400 kms. the rest was very bad tarmac road with holes and bumps. The first couple of hundred kms I was getting used to the tire. The front felt really strange compared to anakee 3. but then I either get used to it or they worn in. the first off road part of aroung 40kms I was very surprised about how planted the bike feels and how much grip it has especially during hard braking or turning. I could actually lean the bike on hard pack. :) could not do that on anakee 3s on the same road. It inspired even more confidence further down the road :). Then it started raining really bad and I was aamased of the traction I was still getting with these tires. they also performed reallly well on tarmac both wet and dry. I could also ride pretty fast in the twisties on tarmac and leaned them almost as deep as I could on road oriented anakee 3s. I am not sure of the wear I will finally get on these but the confidence they give me off road is just great and I expected them to be a lot worse on pavement. .
Hi Nathan,
Great review of the Wilds. Where in Wales is this please? Could I have the road number or grid ref please. I wanna take my GS there for some fun. (sorry if you've already answered that question)
What does the LC stand for??? Thank you.
Good question. Liquid coold. So bikes from late 2013 onwards
@@nathanthepostman In the context of tires though, I've seen it used. Thanks for your reply.
3:49
heh, that's why you need 100 or 150kg lighter bike on that grass...
Definitely. But then you wouldn't have as much fun trying to pick it up!
We all know if we wanted a better off road experience to get a lighter more dedicated bike. However, the on road experience won’t be half as much fun. I will stick with the GS jack of all trades...
Do not chew talking my friend....;
Dejan Urukalo thanks. But if you're struggling to understand then go elsewhere.
ur right i was to rude broter