New Michelin Commander II

[Money Venture]

I had installed a new Michelin Commander II on the back of our Gen I. Last night was the maiden trip with the new tire. I expected it to perform good from the reviews. It handled awesomely. I felt great leaning in the turns and felt really in control of it. Of course the tire I was replacing was worn out, but I hadn't felt this much confidence in any bikes before with other tires. I have the Conti on the front Puc had mentioned being on sale. The two tires seem to get along together as well. Definitely glad I got both of these tires. YMMV.

[Wade 2000]

Excellent choice!! I'm very happy with mine. I have the 18" Stratoliner front wheel so I was able to get a matched set. About 5000 miles so far and they are wearing very well (much slower than the Venoms I had previously

[IronMike]

I got a rear for the front 130 90 It looks good, get it on next week. Going dark side on the rear. This will get me 30K on one tire change.

[VentureFar]

My two cents. I wanted to put MC2 on my RSV. I called my motorcycle tire only store yet I have been using for 10 years. I called to make sure they had the 2 in stock for my rear- just wanted to make a change from Metz.

I was told he had first hand experience with mc2. An RSV customer had them mounted and they started cupping at about 3000 miles. The customer called Michelin and they advised him that the MC 2 was not rated for the RSV and to take it off immediately. In addition Michelin recommend the RSV owner mount the Shinto tourmaster. They did and about 3+ thousand miles.

But the Shinto is expected to last about 6500 miles vrs the Metz 8500 I got on the 880 but it is $100 less cost.

My 2 cents.

VentureFar

[Bert2006]

I have 2000miles on a set on Commander II's and highly recommend them. Went for the smaller 130 front and handling improved substantially. They look like they are still brand new.

 

[rowdy7]

I got a rear for the front 130 90 It looks good, get it on next week. Going dark side on the rear. This will get me 30K on one tire change.

 

I have over 4k miles on my 130/90/16 MCII on the front with a CT on the rear and I am satisfied with the results. The bike shop that mounts my tires only uses dynabeads to balance and I have been satisfied with that also. A different shop mounted my rear CT so I have lead weights on it. I run 40 psi front and rear.

[IronMike]

That makes no sense at all, But when you go to their web site and use their find my tire feature, it comes up blank for our bike and says they do not make a tire for our bike. Near as i can figure because it is a radial and our rims are designed to run a Bias.

 

http://motorcycle.michelinman.com/tire-selector#s=0

 

My two cents. I wanted to put MC2 on my RSV. I called my motorcycle tire only store yet I have been using for 10 years. I called to make sure they had the 2 in stock for my rear- just wanted to make a change from Metz.

I was told he had first hand experience with mc2. An RSV customer had them mounted and they started cupping at about 3000 miles. The customer called Michelin and they advised him that the MC 2 was not rated for the RSV and to take it off immediately. In addition Michelin recommend the RSV owner mount the Shinto tourmaster. They did and about 3+ thousand miles.

But the Shinto is expected to last about 6500 miles vrs the Metz 8500 I got on the 880 but it is $100 less cost.

My 2 cents.

VentureFar

Edited June 22, 2014 by IronMike

[Bert2006]

That makes no sense at all, But when you go to their web site and use their find my tire feature, it comes up blank for our bike and says they do not make a tire for our bike. Near as i can figure because it is a radial and our rims are designed to run a Bias.

 

http://motorcycle.michelinman.com/tire-selector#s=0

 

They do make the standard rear size for our bike in bias ply. The front one no. You have to go to 130-90 for the front. It is a bias ply and also reinforced-it is not as wide as the 150.

 

Check out this page for sizes and weight ratings

 

http://motorcycle.michelinman.com/tires/michelin-commander-ii#dim

Edited June 22, 2014 by Bert2006

[VentureFar]

Friends. I am going to phone Michelin and ask personally and report back. VentureFar...

[VentureFar]

OK here is the answer from Michelin about fitment of the MC 2 on the second Gen.

The reason they don't recommend the MC2 on the back of the second Gen is because they do not have a stock front tire to match

150/80-16 Front - do not have.

150/90-15 Rear - have

 

Michelin will not suggest fitment to a bike unless they have both the front and back stock sizes. NO OTHER REASON. So, when/if my Shinko wears out in 6500 miles ( unless it goes 8000+ ) I am going to buy an MC2 for the rear because I don't care as much as they do about same tread pattern front and rear. - I guess that is a topic for a whole other discussion - what do you think as this fitment issue that I raised is put to bed.

I love getting answers from the source.

 

VentureFar...

[Bubber]

Thanks VentureFar, it is nice to get the right answer from the horse's mouth.

[gibvel]

OK here is the answer from Michelin about fitment of the MC 2 on the second Gen.

The reason they don't recommend the MC2 on the back of the second Gen is because they do not have a stock front tire to match

150/80-16 Front - do not have.

150/90-15 Rear - have

 

Michelin will not suggest fitment to a bike unless they have both the front and back stock sizes. NO OTHER REASON. So, when/if my Shinko wears out in 6500 miles ( unless it goes 8000+ ) I am going to buy an MC2 for the rear because I don't care as much as they do about same tread pattern front and rear. - I guess that is a topic for a whole other discussion - what do you think as this fitment issue that I raised is put to bed.

I love getting answers from the source.

 

VentureFar...

 

Did you inquire if and when they might have a stock front tire?

[Mike G in SC]

I have MC2 on both my Royals rear. Got 20-22k miles on my first one on the RSV and it had more left when I replaced it on a road trip.

I matched them up with stock size Dunlop E3's. But would also consider Avons.

 

 

Glad you cleared that up on Michelin not recommending them for RSV.

The E3's ride well with the MC2 rear. Got plenty of miles on the pair.

[IronMike]

Well I just got back from the dealer who pretty much told be the same exact thing! AND that they don't meet the weight rating a Venture requires. SO! THIS is GIGANTICALLY good news for me! Thanks Venturefair for the post! Dealer checked it all out using the tire manufacture books and I am greatly exceeding the Specs running the MC II REAR on the FRONT! He said it should do great, run cool and shed a crapload of water run in Reverse rotation!

 

I am SO glad we got to the bottom of this one! I was almost thinking of not spending the $12 next year LOL but that one answer makes it worth it!

 

STILL Michelin What the HECK! If I was not going to the Dark side of all the tires I hear about I would want to run a set of these tires! Wake up for us! Build a tire for our bikes!

 

Know a guy who runs a Repair shop and he says he sells a Crapload of these tires everyone just loves them!

 

Now I have heard of guys that do have a set on as in two, From what I get they should be checking the weight rating. They do not make one that is rated for our Venture.

[Bert2006]

IronMike

 

The Commander II's have the same weight rating as the Dunlop 404's that come on the bike from the factory so I do not understand why you keep saying they are not rated for the RSV.* The rear CMII has a reinforcing aramid layer and the front is also reinforced.* The front is a smaller than stock size of 130-90.* I have now run these for about 2000miles and they are way better handling than the 404's.* Look at the info on the Michelin site as your dealer is misleading you.

 

As stated above the only reason Michelin does not recommend the tire for the RSV is because they do not make the stock frontsize.

 

Sorry for being stern in my response but this debate has been going on for a few weeks

 

Going riding now on my CMII's

 

[IronMike]

Well he showed me in the book that the front 130 90 did not have the weight rating maybe he was talking what the bike calls for. I didn't pay all that much attention nor do I care.

 

If it does meet the weight rating they should have it pop up as the bike handles better with the 130 on the front anyways.

 

In fact they should fix their tire calculator period because it says they don't make any tire for a second gen. If you are running them and they have not peeled off the rim then we are good to go. IMHO I think everyone should run that set up. A farmer lives next door and I weigh my bike on his scale to see how my passenger and luggage ride. As I remember you will never ever ever be even close to being over on the front anyways its always the rear that is over the load rating.

 

The one guy in the thread said michelin told him to take em off ASAP. Not me I would want to know why.

 

Either way I'll be running a rear on the front its of no concern to me. But that's how these problems get hashed out.

 

I bet if ten of us call Michelin all at once we will get ten different answers. I read every word if their motorcycle tire Q&A. That's an hour of my life I'll never get back. All scare tactics to me.

 

Excuse me while I go ride my dark side bike. 30k miles before the next tire change. At least.

[Chris44092]

Hi,

IM new to the forum. I just bought a 2004 Midnight Star & love it. I will be mostly riding 2 up on & between the 2 of us were pushing about 470 lbs. Any one have much two up riding on Commander II's or find a better tire? I want to take trip from Ohio to NC & want to put new feet on bike before trip. Also if Commander II's are the way to go, who has best pricing & ships fast?

[Money Venture]

$131

 

http://americanmototire.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=33_176_1025&products_id=5813

[djh3]

Actually the MC2 front in the 190 size is rated higher than the manual calls for. Manual calls for a 71h front and the MC2 is a 73, weight wise thats 761# to 805# and both rears are at 827#. the Shinko tourmaster is an 80v rated tire 992#.

[VentureFar]

I have the Shinko on the rear of my 07rsv for about 2500 miles. No signs of wear but the dealer said expect only 6000 miles from it. Me880 on the front with 11,000 miles and still very full of tread.

Not sure if e3 or mc2 is the way to go next time.

Probably will ask the same question as everyone else does when the time comes...

VentureFar...

[VentureFar]

Hi,

IM new to the forum. I just bought a 2004 Midnight Star & love it. I will be mostly riding 2 up on & between the 2 of us were pushing about 470 lbs. Any one have much two up riding on Commander II's or find a better tire? I want to take trip from Ohio to NC & want to put new feet on bike before trip. Also if Commander II's are the way to go, who has best pricing & ships fast?

By the way do you mean midnight "royal" star ? Just checking. If so are you familiar with the narrower front tire to make the steering lighter? VentureFar...