Michelin Commander II

[tstorey823]

Originally Posted by hueygunner

Looking for info. I have a friend with a Harley Limited and he had the catalytic
converter removed. He says it runs cooler and it does sound pretty good. I know
V&H and Cobra have no converters. Does anyone know if there is a header
pipe (without the converter) that matches up with the stock mufflers. I know that
without the converter the pipes would run cooler. That converter in there is like
a hot brick!

State of Confusion! I somehow thought this thread was titled "Michelin Commander II. I didn't know it was "catalytic converter". My bad...

[king_arthur1953]

Originally Posted by IsAnOzzie

ALL cars here have a tyre plate fitted stating the size, pressure suitable for the vehicle ( a police officer can book you for incorrect tyre pressures, are we over governed or what

I am not sure that we are actually required to have tires on the rims here in Arkansas. Yes you may be over goverened in the land down under.

[spicermech]

Just replaced the front with the commander 2!

Wow what difference, it handles a lot better. Feels lighter, less input to start a turn. I did a 30 mile ride. Very nice, smooth.

Only one think to get used too. At very low speed it seams top heavy or harder to stay balanced. But great after I get moving.

[NMGoose]

I, for one, have experienced the wobble with the Commander II tires on my 2009 Vulcan Nomad 1700. As long as I have a grip on the handlebars, no wobble. But, if I release my grip slightly for a few seconds, at any speed above 40, the front end will start to wobble quite aggressively. I have about 2000 miles on them so far. I never experienced the wobble with the stock Dunlop tires.

[VagaBond661]

The service department at my dealership said the ABS might be affected with going with a bigger tire but he wasn't 100% sure.

[Windburn Bill]

Originally Posted by NMGoose

I, for one, have experienced the wobble with the Commander II tires on my 2009 Vulcan Nomad 1700. As long as I have a grip on the handlebars, no wobble. But, if I release my grip slightly for a few seconds, at any speed above 40, the front end will start to wobble quite aggressively. I have about 2000 miles on them so far. I never experienced the wobble with the stock Dunlop tires.

I wouldn't blame the wobble on the tire until eliminating the possibility that it wasn't installed right. After having a shop put a Commander 2 on the front I was experiencing bad wheel hop at highway speeds. Took it to a friend with a tire changer set up. He broke it down and found water inside the tire. A LOT of water. Don't know how the kid at the tire shop got water in it but I don't do business there anymore.

Got tired of wearing out a rear tire every 10 K/10 months so I thought I would try a set of the Micheline Com 2's. Haven't reached the 10K mark so I don't know about longevity yet but I'm so impressed with the way they grip when blasting through the twisties and the smooth ride that I'll probably buy another set when these wear out. BTW...no problem fitting a 180/65-16 on the back of my '05 Vulcan 1600 Classic. About 1/4 inch clearance between the tire and swing arm, lowered the rear 1/8 inch, speedometer is 3mph off now instead of the factory 5.

[OverHillAndDale]

I put the Michelin Commander II on my Voyager last week. 130/90 B16 in front, 180/65 B16 on the rear. No problems with fit. I only got about 5000 miles off my 1st two rear tires (Bridgestone then Dunlop), so I'm looking forward to improved mileage on these.

[Windburn Bill]

Originally Posted by king_arthur1953

I am not sure that we are actually required to have tires on the rims here in Arkansas.

LOL! Now thats funny right there! As Jeff Foxworthy said "they prefer you put your boat on a trailer before dragging it home from the lake" too!

[Windburn Bill]

Originally Posted by OverHillAndDale

I put the Michelin Commander II on my Voyager last week. 130/90 B16 in front, 180/65 B16 on the rear. No problems with fit. I only got about 5000 miles off my 1st two rear tires (Bridgestone then Dunlop), so I'm looking forward to improved mileage on these.

Had the same experience you had with the OEM Stones and Dunlops. Had a Dunlop E3 front for a while. Couldn't get that tire off soon enough. Roughest riding tire I ever bought. Felt every little rough spot in the road and the sidewalls started to Spider web after only 4K. Hated the E3. Maybe I just got a bad one but between that and all the reports of the Dunlop H402 coming apart I'm done with Dunlops.

[IL Vaquero]

Hey guys I had put commII on front and back of my vaquero and had front end wobble from the start. Took to dealer and rep said wrong size back tire I said adj head bearings rep said normal wear and tear mind you this was at 6400miles. kaw would do nothing about it because back tire size I just got my vaq back from shop that installed tires because dealer would not install different size rear tire. Anyway new tapered head bearings and wheel bearings and no more wobble. Handles sooooo much better so I would say if they wobble adj head bearings or go with tapered one seems better to me . If this is all messed up I feel at work thur and craked 4 ribs and i'm on pain killers THank You Doc.