Michelin Commander II tires?

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Offcenter

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Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey
A lot of reading seems to show that the Michelin Commander II is the longest lasting tire out there.
They have a 110/90 for the front of my 76 Wing.
The rear of my bike uses a 120/90 17. Michelin doesn't make that in a rear tire, just a front.
My reading seems to indicate that the only difference between a front and a rear is Aramid fibers in
the rear tire. I'm thinking of putting a front tire on the rear.
Anyone done this? Any input on this idea? I can't get a long lasting rear tire in that damned 17 inch size.
 
Omega Man, what do you consider a long time?
Most reports show the Commander IIs lasting upwards of 22,000 miles on the rear.
I don't want to be taking this thing apart to replace the rear tire again ten or
twelve thousand miles from now.
As for looking weird, from the pictures I've seen, there appears to be
very little difference appearance wise between a front and a rear
Commander.
I really don't want a mismatched set of tires from two different
manufacturers. I plan to actually RIDE this thing and I don't
want to have a bike that handles weird because of mismatched
tires.
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=162879#p162879:1qg72wmw said:
Offcenter » Wed Nov 11, 2015 8:09 pm[/url]":1qg72wmw]
Omega Man, what do you consider a long time?
Most reports show the Commander IIs lasting upwards of 22,000 miles on the rear.
I don't want to be taking this thing apart to replace the rear tire again ten or
twelve thousand miles from now.
As for looking weird, from the pictures I've seen, there appears to be
very little difference appearance wise between a front and a rear
Commander.
I really don't want a mismatched set of tires from two different
manufacturers. I plan to actually RIDE this thing and I don't
want to have a bike that handles weird because of mismatched
tires.
After rereading your original post I see the tire your talking about is larger like a rear tire. The bike I saw was a 78-79(?), it had two front tires the same size on Comstar rims and it looked unsafe and weird. I wasn't suggesting mixing brands, I just had really great mileage S11s with Dynabeads.

~O~
 
Have the Commander II's on all my bikes, & couldn't be more pleased with them. :good: Handling feels lighter, more responsive, lean & it will stay leaned easier than any others, & tendency to stand back up is greatly reduced. :yes:
 
Thanks Denver. That's what I've been hearing. Problem is, they don't make a REAR Commander in a 120/90 17 inch for my bike. They DO make a front Commander in that size. Weird.

(venting a bit) This business of putting two different size tires on a bike makes me nuts. I had several 60s vintage BMWs and they used the same size tire on both front and rear. The big Harleys are the same, as well as the Urals and several others. I never understood why they do this. This 76 Wing uses a 19 inch tire on the front and a 17 on the rear! Why not 18s at both ends?? By the 70s, BMW was doing it too. My 74 Beemer uses a 19 on the front and an 18 on the rear. I have a feeling I'm going to have trouble finding good tires for that one when I restore it. (vent off)
 
What size do they make? :headscratch: Same story with my 1500, no rear tire in 160, width but had a 150 which is only slightly smaller, but on the bike still very close to the swing arm, & going that much under, 1 size is done all the time. :read:Rear construction,& compounding may be different than fronts because of torque factor, hear of using rear's on the front all the time, but not the other way in my experience. :nea:
 
Denver, the only 17 inch rear tires that they make are 160/70, and 200.
The 160 is 6.3 inches wide. I seriously doubt that it would fit in my OldWing's swingarm.
The bike originally came with 4.5 inch tires.
 
Ok, just checked the load rating. Their front tire in 120/90 17 is rated 64S, which means it can carry 617 pounds at 112 miles per hour. That should be MORE than enough for my 76 Wing, even when used as a rear tire. (especially since there is no way in hell I'll ever take that bike to 112 miles per hour! 85 is enough for me!)
 
Really too bad no size to fit your bike in these tires :sensored: Elite III's are a good handling tire, as are Metzler's 880's, if they make them for your bike :headscratch:
 
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