Michelin Commander II

[big poppa pump]

Best damn tire ever made.......

Finally got a chance to take a nice long ride after changing out my front tire about 2 weeks back...did the 3 twisted sisters today. Am not a fan of Dunlops and don't give a hoot about the Metz's. I had the MC-II's on my old shadow aero and the bike handled like a dream. As such wanted to go with MC-II's for my front, however they don't make the right dimensions.

So took a chance and got the 140/75 instead of the 150/80. Did the install 2 weeks back but with all the rain never really got an opportunity to test it out. Headed out this morning to the 3 sisters and all I can tell is....WOW!! Grooves, tar snakes, raked roads, lane dividers......they were all there and the MC-II handled all of them beautifully. Handled the curves perfectly, not once did I feel like I was going out of line. Stayed put smack in the middle. However can't say the same for my poor floorboards and highway pegs!!

Hauled a$$ on the way back home and hit 125 on the speedo and absolutely no wobbles (unlike my old Avons)

The only downside (not a big deal for me)...since the tire is slightly smaller, the speedo is off by an additional couple of miles. So give or take, the speedo is off by about 7-8 miles overall.

Bottomline....I am glad I took the chance and went with the MC-II. Can't wait to hit the roads again! 

[BF]

They don't make anything that'll fit the rear too?

[Jess from VA]

However can't say the same for my poor floorboards and highway pegs!!

So you're saying the shorter tire (75 vs 80) made you drag in the turns sooner?  A lot or a little?

[Denny47]

Michelin Commander ll are available in a 180/65/16 but not a 180/70. The 65 is just a wee bit shorter, I have one on my GW and really like it. Have 9k on it now and has very little wear on it. Might even go 20k, more than the Stone that came on it, only 13k from it. It is a bias ply tire but I can feel no difference from the radial. Good traction except in 1st or 2nd gear and heavy throttle on a wet road. Even us old folks like to spin a tire once in awhile, right?

To Jess from VA, the 140/75 is 15mm shorter from the rim to the ground. Example: 140x .75 (75%)=105 mm from rim to gnd. 150x .80= 120mm thereby giving you a somewhat smaller diameter tire.

[big poppa pump]

That plus the fact that I had lowered my bike previously with progressive 11.5 inch shocks. Also, I do lean a tad more to my left than my right. Most of the scrapes was on the outer edge of the floorboards and just a couple of minor scrapes on the highway pegs. It wasn't like I was dragging my bike with the floorboards scraping the ground.

[big poppa pump]

Michelin Commander ll are available in a 180/65/16 but not a 180/70. The 65 is just a wee bit shorter, I have one on my GW and really like it. Have 9k on it now and has very little wear on it. Might even go 20k, more than the Stone that came on it, only 13k from it. It is a bias ply tire but I can feel no difference from the radial. Good traction except in 1st or 2nd gear and heavy throttle on a wet road. Even us old folks like to spin a tire once in awhile, right?

Nice to know that they have a 180. However I still have plenty of life left on my Bridgestone G702 and when it's time to change, I considering going darkside. If I do switch out the rear sooner more than likely I will be getting the Michelin Primacy MXV4.

[Jess from VA]

To Jess from VA, the 140/75 is 15mm shorter from the rim to the ground. Example: 140x .75 (75%)=105 mm from rim to gnd. 150x .80= 120mm thereby giving you a somewhat smaller diameter tire.

Thanks.  I don't think I'm willing to give up 6/10s inch (.59" - 15mm) of ride height.  I am not lowered, and I drag/grind boards all the time.  And I'm pretty sure my 60 car tire up on half the tread in a hard lean is marginally taller than a MC tire.

[F6Dave]

I've run Michelins on my old BMW and they are excellent, much better than the OEM Metzelers.  I've often thought about trying them on the Valk but worried about the size difference.  Now I may try it after all.

[Gunner]

I have the Commander II's on my Aero 750 and love them.  I thought about them for my Valkyrie but they didn't come in the standard size for the Valk.  I checked Michelin's website to see if the Commander II's are made for any of the heavy power cruisers.  From what I saw, they did not have them available for the Goldwing 1800 or the V-Rod. 

I am wondering if the construction of the Commander II is not well suited to the demands of the heavy weight cruisers which not only are heavy, but can apply a lot of torque to that rear tire.

Just a thought...

[cma1]

contrary to what honda would lead us to believe, valks actually do better  on bias ply tires than on radials. i have a mich. pilot on the front of my trike (rear tire running backwards) and at 16,000 miles can barely see any wear (its a bias) i'm going to try one on the front of my 03 two wheeler as soon as the e3 wears out, i need to find a bias for the rear and don't care one bit if its shorter, i use my tach instead of my speedo anyway. now a shorter tire is going to spin the motor a little faster, but maybe not enough to matter. just have to see.

[Farther]

contrary to what honda would lead us to believe, valks actually do better  on bias ply tires than on radials.

A sample of one does not make your statement true.  Do you have any published test results?

[Former BMW Guy]

contrary to what honda would lead us to believe, valks actually do better  on bias ply tires than on radials.

A sample of one does not make your statement true.  Do you have any published test results?

 

[cma1]

my info actually came from my honda mechanic. he said to try bias ply tires. now maybe they won't work for you, maybe you ride different, i use my valk a lot like i did a goldwing, over the road and i seldom hot rod it, this is probably why i get 21K out of elite 3's