The results are in on my Commander II

2930 Views 6 Replies 5 Participants Last post by Propduster, Jan 18, 2015

Dirtwiz

Discussion Starter · Jan 16, 2015

Pictured is my 170/80/15 Michelin Commander II rear tire after 9,012 miles. I had hopes of making it 10K but it wasn't to be. This thing is a rag after these miles but still lasted about 2,000 miles longer than my Pirelli RT 66's. You can see it is beginning to get into the cords and I consider it unsafe for my riding conditions which includes a lot of highway riding (see chicken strip) about 40% of which is in heat 95 to 105 degrees and over 70mph. Its a little sad that I can only make 9K on a rear tire but I guess it's the cost of doing business. I rode 18,000 miles last year but fortunately I get this rear tire installed at my local Kawasaki shop for $187 including tax....that's a ride in ride out install so very cheap in my opinion. I have heard people on this forum say they get a lot more miles on theirs (like 15,000) but I have to believe its urban legend or something because this is the best I can do. Great tire though and performs very well in the conditions I ride. I will continue to use them until I hear of something better that is in this price range. I run it at about 37 to 40 PSI.

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rick

· #2 · Jan 16, 2015

So many things can effect tire wear, including the road surface itself. Would hope to get more miles reguardless. Its not for everyone, but have you considered going darkside? That price sounds good, but its a hassle changing tires twice a year.

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Wild Bill

· #3 · Jan 16, 2015

Looks like my stock Dunlop at 5,500mi. I will try the Commander 2 next with 32 psi, hope to get at least 10K out of it.

I wish your dealer was close to me, most around me want close to $300 to replace the rear tire.

I will also try counteract balancing beads they are supposed to help increase tire life

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BrewinProf

· #4 · Jan 16, 2015

Commander II

I have about 8000 miles on mine and still have plenty of tread left. I estimate that I should get 10-12K before needing replacements. Probably 70-80% of those are highway miles.

Dirtwiz, how's your front tire looking? The reason why I ask is that my tires tend to wear out in front before the rear, maybe indicating that I'm a bit less "aggressive" on take off.

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Dirtwiz

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 18, 2015

rick said:
So many things can effect tire wear, including the road surface itself. Would hope to get more miles reguardless. Its not for everyone, but have you considered going darkside? That price sounds good, but its a hassle changing tires twice a year.

I do ride on some chip sealed roads but not that much. Mostly nice smooth asphalt but it is usually hot so I'm sure that doesn't help this problem. I am not really a fan of the darkside look so hadn't really considered it but on some bikes it gives an interesting look. I just turned 30,000 miles on mine so will probably only need 1 more tire after this one since I doubt I will keep it more than 50,000 miles. My bike shop is less than 10 miles away so not a big deal for me to drop it there and have a tire put on but I hear you.

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Dirtwiz

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jan 18, 2015

BrewinProf said:
I have about 8000 miles on mine and still have plenty of tread left. I estimate that I should get 10-12K before needing replacements. Probably 70-80% of those are highway miles.

Dirtwiz, how's your front tire looking? The reason why I ask is that my tires tend to wear out in front before the rear, maybe indicating that I'm a bit less "aggressive" on take off.

My front tire is in good shape but I will change it when this new rear tire wears out. Its maybe 1/3 gone after 9,000 miles and the front is quite a bit cheaper anyway. I definitely don't baby my tires and don't ride with tire wear in my head. I ride pretty hard but don't do burnouts or anything that would intentionally shorten tire life. I'm sure it depends on braking habits and wether you favor front or rear braking is probably a big factor.

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Propduster

· #7 · Jan 18, 2015

Thanks for the report!

I just put Commander IIs on my 2010 and probably have about 150km on them so far. The bike had about 9200km (about 5700 miles) on the OEM Dunlops when I got the bike in November and they were toast...seen more tread left on a used Ramses Sensitol! A buddy recommended the Michelins as he put over 20,000km on a set on his 1100 Honda and they still had tread left, so glad to see your experience with a Vulcan has proven similar.

The heat sure won't be an issue for me...more likely I'll need to find strap-on mukluks for the bike to extend the riding season.

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