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Posted by Troll
- August 01, 2012, 16:18:44 PMThe front one is on, now. It's about 1/4" smaller in diameter than the Metzeler, but the same size as the stock Bridgestone. The tread depth is 5/32. Michelin recommends the factory pressure, so I have it set at 28 psi. So far, they are very smooth and quiet. I had the bike up to about 90 this morning and it's quite stable, no head shake in corners. I haven't noticed any ground clearance problems, but I haven't practiced any ERC exercises, either...only time will tell. If these tires perform as Michelin says they will...if only I could believe it......
Posted by Troll
- July 30, 2012, 15:07:06 PMI put the rear one on today. The picture shows the difference in width between the correct size tire (the Michelin) and the tire I have been running. I measured the ground clearance before I changed the tire and after...there is a 1/2" change. The bike is now lower, so I will have to get used to the new limit of lean, all over again. I'll be checking and calibrating the speedo healer tomorrow, as well as running in the new tire, experimenting with handling differences, etc. The tread depth is 9/32" and it's inflated to 34 psi...have to start somewhere. Just in case you noticed... I was a flat rate auto tech for over 40 years... you don't remove anything that you don't have to. After you take off the fender, the bags and rack are something that you can easily work around...The new front tire will go on Wednesday....
Posted by Troll
- July 29, 2012, 13:55:49 PMOK...I put 400 miles on the bike yesterday, doing a class at Road America, and today, I pulled off the rear wheel. I won a $75 gift certificate at the local Kaw dealer, so I'm taking the wheel over there tomorrow to have them mount the Michelin, with a new tube, for free. I only have the ability to raise one end at a time, so I figured I'd get the biggest PITA done first...The Metzeler still has 5/32 tread left after almost 15,000 miles, but it was really getting feathered on the tread edge, and you could hear it sing when you banked into a turn. I'll get the front done this week, too, but first things first...I have a local class coming up this weekend, so I'll be putting on about 250 miles going to that, plus whatever I ride during the week. I suspect I'll have around 500 on by next Sunday, so i should be able to give some kind of report about the frog skins...
Posted by Troll
- July 20, 2012, 11:11:40 AMThe speedo healer, with an initial set up gave me 64.3 mph actual @65 indicated...not too bad. I think I can live with that...however, the odometer is off, now. When I put on the new tires, I'll have to do it all over, but it's pretty easy to set up, and for now, it actually works as advertised!
Posted by Troll
- July 19, 2012, 15:58:30 PMSooo, the Michelins arrived today. Both made within the last 3 months, both come from Thailand......hmmmm. I bought a speedo healer with the correct adapter cable from the only distributor in the country, for $116. That little gem took all of about 15 mins. to install. I'm going to check it out tomorrow. This morning, I had to make a computer house call, so I used my big boy handy dandy MSF stop watch to check my speed on the interstate. Speedo read 72, the watch said 69.9. Programmed in a -2.9 correction factor in the speedo healer... testing it tomorrow. The difference in tire diameter between the sizes is the reason for the calibrator box. The stock, 150/80-16 is 26.5" in diameter, the tire I've been running, 160/80-16 is 27.4", and the Michelin is 26.06"... don't want people on mopeds passing me.
Posted by Troll
- July 16, 2012, 19:01:34 PMWell, I didn't wait for any feedback. I had a deal cooking and it was time sensitive...so I pulled the trigger. $130 for the rear, $116 for the front. I talked to a guy who's been the business for almost ever, and he couldn't say enough nice things about them. Says he can't keep them in stock, been putting on 2 or 3 sets a week. On line reviews make them sound wonderful, but you know how that goes...I decided to order a speedo healer since I'm going to be running the 150/80-16 instead of the 160/80 that I have had on. Hopefully I can tweak the speedo close enough to make me happy. I'm in no rush, the Metzelers are still quite usable. I'll probably be putting them on in August, when the bike has about 70,000 on it.
Posted by aclone
- July 16, 2012, 15:27:01 PMI just put Metezler's on my 1500 they are pricey. Had the dunlop's got almost 15,000 out of the back and 18000 out of the front. The Metz handle better than the dunlop's just hope they last as long. Very intrested in hearing if you like the michellin it's always good to have another choice. Good luck in your search.
Posted by chief
- July 16, 2012, 15:01:06 PMWhen we bought our Aurora the ride wasn't what it should have been for that particular "advanced" feature automobile. The dealer replaced the stock tires with Michelin ... they absolutely lived up to the hype in this instance. We continued to use them on that vehicle until we gave it to our son... who still uses that brand.
Strangely... I use dunlop on the goldwing - have replaced them twice. They are very good on that bike. On the Drifter, dunlop sucked... have used several other brands but stuck with Metz... That said, Avon and Continental have new offerings which look interesting. The August issue of Rider has an article on bike tires.Posted by Troll
- July 16, 2012, 08:17:43 AMMy tradition, at least. I've been running Metzelers since about 1980 or so, but now I'm considering replacing the tires on my 1500 with the new Michelin Commander II. I've never been a Michelin fan, when it comes to car tires. I believe they have an undeserved reputation for quality, and their wet weather traction has never been as good as it could be...that said, I've been reading some reviews for the Commander II. So far, it seems that they may have a winner here, but I was wondering if anyone else might have some thoughts about it...