You just plunked down a sizable chunk of change for that gleaming brand-new adventure bike. As you pull out of the dealer, you envision mountains, woods, fire roads, and single track as you explore the spectacular backcountry of the US. When you finally find that first stretch of unpaved road, regardless of your off-road experience and skill, you quickly realize that the stock, road-biased tires that came with your beautiful new machine aren’t cutting it. Now comes the most important upgrade to your adventure bike: appropriate tires for the riding you’ll be doing.
Many years ago, I saw a picture of a rider on a BMW GS in the middle of the Rocky Mountains with no asphalt for miles. I saw myself perched atop the rugged GS, exploring the vast wilderness, spearing salmon in remote mountain streams with one hand while wrestling grizzlies with the other.
Many years and many dual sport bikes later, I have realized that remote mountain streams are challenging to get to, and the only wrestling you do with your 600-pound adventure bike is against absurdly rough terrain. Reality ain’t as much fun as promotional posters would have you believe.
I have resigned myself to the fact that fire roads and jeep trails are all the adventure I need with open-class ADV bikes. That being said, I do love having the ability to go down any road on a map with very little fear that my bike can’t handle it.
While modern adventure bikes are technological marvels, they’re only as great as the tires they ride on. So, I’ve been on a long quest to find those perfect tires. I want tires that take me on the tarmac for as long as I want to go, pushing the fun factor in the twisties before jumping off onto the fire roads and single tracks with confidence.
I have been testing several tires on my three bikes—a BMW R 1250 GS, a Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE, and a Ducati Desert Sled. All three bikes are capable in the dirt, with the Triumph and Ducati having about a 100-pound weight advantage over the BMW.
There are more scientific methods for testing tires, and a wealth of technical information is available for these tires, covering everything from rubber compounds and tread technology to shape and estimated longevity. That’s not this test. My test is intended to be an unscientific, seat-of-the-pants exploration of what all that technology and marketing information actually feels like in the real world.
The first thing I learned was that the stock 80/20 tires that came on most bikes worked better than expected and are perfect for most adventure riders. Simple adjustments, such as lowering tire pressure, can provide an ideal amount of control on hard-pack fire roads and firm dirt. They have a bit more movement than I would like, but I was always in control. Regardless, I wanted more performance in the dirt.
I tested four adventure tires with a variety of on- and off-road splits, and it turns out that these on-road/off-road split designations are more subjective than promised by stark numbers. What is supposed to be 70/30 performs like a 50/50, while a supposedly 50/50 tire is closer to a 70/30 tire.
The tires I tested included the Pirelli Scorpion STR (stock on my Desert Sled), the Michelin Anakee Wild, the Dunlop Trailmax Mission, and the Moto Z Tractionator GPS. There are plenty of other tires out there to try, including the two most popular—the Continental TKC 80s and Heidenau K60 Scouts. But in researching those tires, I was concerned about tread life, road noise, and vibration.
I evaluated the tires based on many factors, including on-road grip, vibration, sound, and off-road performance. I rode all of the tires on the same set of fire roads and jeep/ATV trails to best compare the feel of each tire on the same terrain.
Dunlop Trailmax Mission on 2019 BMW R 1250 GS
I covered a lot of ground on the Dunlop Trailmax Mission tires, including about 6000 road miles, some dirt, and a 125 mph run on the Bonneville Salt Flats with the bike fully loaded with gear. The tires crushed it!
Although the Dunlop Trailmax Mission tires are a superb choice for touring, they do have one interesting characteristic. Coming from the GS’s stock 80/20 tires, the Trailmax pair initially felt sluggish. Once they broke in, the Missions felt great. The Dunlops like to fall into a turn and hold the line. Unlike other tires that return to center more easily, once in a turn, the Missions like to stay there. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, and a slight adjustment to riding style is all it took to get comfortable.
This characteristic became a bit more challenging once the bike was loaded down for touring. Fully loaded with gear, the Mission tires increased the big GS’s top-heavy feeling a bit, so marginally more attention was required at slow speeds. Again, it was not a huge issue; once the bike was moving, everything was fine.
Overall, the Dunlop Trailmax Mission tires performed exceptionally well and have held up, with a significant amount of tread life remaining.
Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR on Ducati Desert Sled
Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tires came stock on the Ducati Desert Sled. At first glance, they looked more off-road biased. I have put over 7000 miles on these tires, including lots of highway riding, rainy conditions, and plenty of dirt. Off-road, they are comparable to the Dunlop and the MotoZ tires, with reasonable overall grip in loose gravel and dirt.
The on-road performance of the Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR pair stands out. In short, they’re fantastic. On a three-hour ride, pushing the bike to its limits on Angeles Crest Highway, which ranges from high-speed sweepers to ultra-tight corners, the STRs perform flawlessly. The only drawback was the rear tire life, as it barely lasted 7,000 miles.
MotoZ Tractionator GPS on Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE
MotoZ is a boutique Australian manufacturer with a strong following among the ADV touring community. The Tractionator GPS tires perform similarly to the Pirelli and Dunlop tires, both in the dirt and on the road.
The rear tire features a unique bi-directional design. The rear MotoZ Tractionator GPS can be mounted in one direction to achieve a more off-road bias or in the opposite direction for a 50/50 balance. I chose the off-road direction and found no significant on-road issues regarding performance, noise, or vibration. That said, you can feel the tread vibes at slow speeds.
The MotoZ Tractionator GPS tires work well in the dirt and planted on the road. They didn’t feel as heavy as the Dunlop Trailmax Mission tires, and the Tractionator GPS tires returned to center more predictably. The MotoZ has a bit more grip in the dirt, albeit at the expense of less smoothness on pavement, particularly when mounted in the off-road direction. I put the least amount of mileage on the MotoZ tires, with the tread life looking to be comparable to the Dunlops.
Michelin Anakee Wild front on the Ducati Desert Sled
Coming off the stock Pirelli front tire, the initial impression was that nothing had changed. Pulling out of the dealer, the Michelin Anakee Wild tire felt surprisingly similar to the Pirellis—no heaviness, excessive vibration, or knobby feel, plus it had excellent turn-in.
Accelerating up to highway speeds, the Desert Sled felt great, with no excessive road noise or vibration. Although lane changes felt normal, the front Anakee Wild likes to hold the turn rather than easily return to center—similar to the Dunlops Trailmax Mission tires. At higher speeds, the tire is a little less planted than the Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR, though still solid in turns. The Anakee tires are a little bouncy due to the knobbies. As I spent more time on the Anakee Wild front tire, I noticed some tire howl over 50 mph, though the noise was never too excessive or annoying.
Off-road is where the Michelin Anakee Wild front tire shines. Its more aggressive knobbies provide the best grip in the loose stuff of all the tires I tested. As I tested all of these tires, I found myself gravitating to the more off-road-biased ones. Each set sacrificed very little on-road performance or increased vibration, while providing sure-footedness and stability on dirt and gravel.
Adventure Tire Showdown Conclusions
As you can tell, I was pleased with all the tires. I would choose the MotoZ Tractionator GPS or Dunlop Trailmax Mission tires for my big GS because it is typically used for long-distance pavement rides. I value on-road manners and tread longevity over off-road capabilities for the BMW. For my scramblers, which I take on shorter, off-pavement trips, the Michelin Anakee Wild is my choice.
