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Decisions, Decisions -- Ankee 3s or PR4s?

3K views 16 replies 14 participants last post by  Duegi 
#1 ·
99% street riding. I live in the South so it does rain a bit. I would still like the ability of offroad if the opportunity presents.
About 9000 miles on the original Trailwings -- worn in the center with good outsides = too many straight roads. so I'm liking the harder centers on the PR4s. :confused:
Please opine --
 
#3 ·
PR4

I've used both. I prefer PR4 and, for your riding conditions, I'd recommend them. I was generally pleased with both but prefer PR4.
 
#6 ·
I've used both. I prefer PR4 and, for your riding conditions, I'd recommend them. I was generally pleased with both but prefer PR4.
Edit -

While I owned my '07 Wee I had all three versions / generations of Anakees on it. Got generally good mileage from all of them, but did the best with PR4s (one of which (front?)) has to be trail (size for our Stroms). 10K miles on the front and 8K miles on the rear. Both were really, really worn out though (as were the Anakees). I don't have experience with others (other than the TKC70s now on my '12 Wee), but I'm probably heading back to PR4s when the time comes - probably next spring or early summer. I ride steep mountain roads with very tight curves all the time. I'm rough on tires. Yes, PR4s are expensive.
 
#4 ·
I had Anakees and they squared off really bad doing a lot of highway and started to drone a lot. I intend to try more dirt & gravel so just put on TKC-70's; otherwise, the PR4's would have been my go-to for touring around on all asphalt. I love Michelin's and ran PR-3's and 4's on my Honda for years and they are excellent for both wet & dry grip and handling.
 
#5 ·
I sure cannot recommend PR4's, at least not the "Trail" versions! I mounted PR3's front and rear to start with. Got 8,500 miles out of the rear PR3. New PR4's were out with advertised better mileage. Well, the PR4 might have gone 6500 miles if you ran it to the wear indicators. For tires that are well over $300 that is simply NOT acceptable mileage for a street tire. Tires had almost identical riding conditions. We were getting 8500 miles out of Bridgestone BT-023's. FYI-the Trail version has a softer center tread compound than the regular PR3-4's. The carcass does not seem to be heavier, so I am not sold on it being a good tire for gravel roads.

There are tires just as good for about 2/3 the price!
 
#10 ·
Bridgestone has their new A40, which is an upgrade for their Battlewing, which is an upgrade over the Trailwing. Consider the A40 if your off-pavement is a bit challenging (and Bridgestone calls the A40 a 90/10 tire). BATTLAX ADVENTURE A40 | Motorcycle Tires | Bridgestone Corporation

Other good on-pavement tires are the Bridgestone Battleax T30, Avon Storm 3D X-M, the Angel GT, Continental ContiRoadAttack 2 EVO.
 
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#13 ·
The motorcycle magzine MOTORRAD did a 50000Km test with the DL1000ABS and went thru 6 pairs of tires. Bridgetone BW 501/502, Bridgestone A40, Continental RoadAttack2, Dunlop TrailSmart, Metzler Tourance Next and Pirelli Scorpion Trail II. Result translated:
"For the V-Strom the Scorpion Trail II is the clear tire recommendation. Precise steering and comes with clear feedback around the corner. On the highway it moves directionally stable. The Pirelli conveys a lot of confidence and lets the Suzuki appear 20 kilos lighter. The wet grip is at top-level and distances itself from the competitors significantly."

Suzuki V-Strom 1000 - Motorrad-Dauertests - MOTORRAD
 
#14 ·
I just ordered a set of PR4's.. i'll let you know in the spring lol
 
#15 ·
I have a PR4 (regular, non-trail version) on the back, and just replaced a badly cupped PR3 on the front with a PR4 Trail. I've had the PR4 on the back for about a year, and although I forgot to mark down the mileage at which it was replaced, I'd estimate it's close to 4.5k - 5k. I was checking it yesterday after getting back from scrubbing in the front, and it looks like I'm almost at the wear bars. This is the version that it supposed to have the harder compound in the center for improved wear, but I'm doubting I'll get over 6500 miles on this one. That's not very good, in my opinion.

What pressures are you guys with the PR4s running? I usually run 36 in the front, and 38 in the back (one up, lightly loaded). Like I said, the previous PR3 was cupped pretty badly running those pressures, and I'm wondering if different pressure might help. I thought I'd read in several reviews that the Michelins liked a little more pressure than the Suzuki recommended.
 
#16 ·
What pressures are you guys with the PR4s running? I usually run 36 in the front, and 38 in the back (one up, lightly loaded). Like I said, the previous PR3 was cupped pretty badly running those pressures, and I'm wondering if different pressure might help. I thought I'd read in several reviews that the Michelins liked a little more pressure than the Suzuki recommended.
I run 36 in front and 39 in rear riding solo. My PR3 Trail on the front lasted 21,000 and it was cupped badly but lots of tread left. The rear PR4 lasted 12,000 worn down to a dangerous level.
 
#17 ·
I've run PRx's on my BMWs (R1150/1200GSA/RT) for years with very good wear, traction, and good water sharing. Picked up an '07 Vee last year with low miles, came with Dunlop Battlax tires which wore very poorly mileage wise. Shed water fine and traction was good, then again with the advancements in tire building and compounds very few of us are capable of pushing the a good tire to it's limits.

Putting PR4s on the Vee for 2016, not yet as watching it snow in Iowa. Standard PR4 on the rear and PR4 trail on the front since there doesn't seem to be a standard PR4 in the 110/80R19 size. All my offroad riding is on a Husky TE310 due to flickability, I've buried a GSA once in the mud, took 5 people to pull it out, never again with a big bike offroad...
 
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