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|  | Topic : New Michelin Commander 2 on the Thunderbird 1600 |  |
| | | Bussa | | Set |  |  | | Reg. Date | : | 01/10/2012 | | Posts | : | 442 | | Location | : | Sydney, NSW, Australia |
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| | Posted : 02 Jul 2013 - 14:01 Post title : Re: New Michelin Commander 2 on the Thunderbird 1600 (Re: Leethal) | | |
Leethal wrote:
Bussa wrote:
rabbi wrote:
Who gives a flying fuck if you only get 10,000 km's out of a tyre on the Bird, that ride down the road on the weekend after a stressful week at work is worth much much more than the price of a tyre..... |
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Gotta agree 
Trying to squeeze those extra few kms, and frying the brains cells through a bend and hoping your gunna pull out "ok", NA, not for me. I enjoy riding too much.....
Metzler Marathon : 8500 km on quality spirited riding, would have got 9000km to bald centres
Pirelli Night Dragon : will get similar kms and qualitiy, BUT, not as good as metzlers, they take too long to warm up, cool down too quick, they slip and make noises, typical pirelli...
Am considering Avons, but will probably go back to Metzlers. they stuck like shit to a blanket, in my opinion, thats pretty good, taking into account, torque, speed weight and momentum.
Iv'e dealt with a workshop manager for about 7 years (over a Sports tourer, track bike, sports bike and the 1600), and he firmly states,
"when a tyre is half used, the optimum quality is gone, the rest is mileage" and I agree to that.
Besides,The Manufacturers, can but Won't, produce quality tyres with longevity, Bike riders are their CASH cow. 
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Pirelli Night Dragon : will get similar kms and qualitiy, BUT, not as good as metzlers, they take too long to warm up, cool down too quick, they slip and make noises, typical pirelli...
Can't say I have experienced any of this so far maybe our warmer climate makes a difference.Only slips I ever had were on the Commander. |
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G'day Leethal,
Goes to show, everyone has a different experience and response to each brand of tyre, and it does not necessarily mean they are totally bad tyres.
This is my 3rd set of Pirelli's. The Rosso's and Night Dragon's give off similar results. When they are hot they work well, but under moderate to cool conditions, was and am, always conscious of what could happen next.
With Bridgstone Batlax's (previous bikes) and the Metlzer Marathon's, each ride was in 100% confidence, allowing me to focus on everything ahead, the way a ride should be.
In a nut shell, Every rider should govern their tyres on what makes them feel totally confident under all weather conditions, which can sometimes take up to 3 different brands to find the right ones.
We all own smick tbirds, like to ride a little spirited, and want to see another day to do it again.
For some riders, it could be, "Spare the Bucks and Spoil the Ride".
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| | | davetac1 | | Thunderbird | | | Reg. Date | : | 06/09/2010 | | Posts | : | 8,379 | | Location | : | Haverhill, Ma., United States |
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| | Posted : 02 Jul 2013 - 18:48 Post title : Re: New Michelin Commander 2 on the Thunderbird 1600 (Re: Smitty) | | | Smitty wrote:
E>
Is this guy riding or driving   
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YES!!!! And what's the big idea showing everyone my secret to getting excellent fuel mileage.One cup of coffee equals 50 miles. Dave!!!
| | Post edited by davetac1 on 03 Jul 2013 - 00:06 |
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| | | curtis41 | | Set | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 28/08/2010 | | Posts | : | 191 | | Location | : | United States |
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| | Posted : 02 Jul 2013 - 23:23 Post title : Re: New Michelin Commander 2 on the Thunderbird 1600 (Re: davetac1) | | | I finally found and ordered the Michelin Commander 2 in a 120/70-19 ZR W60. Initial price I got was $189.95 plus shipping. Found it on sale at the motorcycle superstore for $141.99, DELIVERED. I was going to install the Avon Cobra, but decided to put the Michelin on the front to match the back Michelin in a 200/55-17 V with the high weight rating. Will let you know how it performs. They do not yet stock this in their warehouse, but the wait is one to two days and then ship. I would assume as the tire gets more requests, it will be a regular warehouse item. Hope this information is of interest to some of you riders. Ride often and ride safely. Anything THIS much fun is probably illegal.
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| | | Leethal | | Zeus | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 24/01/2011 | | Posts | : | 6,410 | | Location | : | Australia |
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| | Posted : 03 Jul 2013 - 03:34 Post title : Re: New Michelin Commander 2 on the Thunderbird 1600 (Re: Bussa) | | |
Bussa wrote:
Leethal wrote:
Bussa wrote:
rabbi wrote:
Who gives a flying fuck if you only get 10,000 km's out of a tyre on the Bird, that ride down the road on the weekend after a stressful week at work is worth much much more than the price of a tyre..... |
|
Gotta agree
Trying to squeeze those extra few kms, and frying the brains cells through a bend and hoping your gunna pull out "ok", NA, not for me. I enjoy riding too much.....
Metzler Marathon : 8500 km on quality spirited riding, would have got 9000km to bald centres
Pirelli Night Dragon : will get similar kms and qualitiy, BUT, not as good as metzlers, they take too long to warm up, cool down too quick, they slip and make noises, typical pirelli...
Am considering Avons, but will probably go back to Metzlers. they stuck like shit to a blanket, in my opinion, thats pretty good, taking into account, torque, speed weight and momentum.
Iv'e dealt with a workshop manager for about 7 years (over a Sports tourer, track bike, sports bike and the 1600), and he firmly states,
"when a tyre is half used, the optimum quality is gone, the rest is mileage" and I agree to that.
Besides,The Manufacturers, can but Won't, produce quality tyres with longevity, Bike riders are their CASH cow.
|
|
Pirelli Night Dragon : will get similar kms and qualitiy, BUT, not as good as metzlers, they take too long to warm up, cool down too quick, they slip and make noises, typical pirelli...
Can't say I have experienced any of this so far maybe our warmer climate makes a difference.Only slips I ever had were on the Commander. |
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G'day Leethal,
Goes to show, everyone has a different experience and response to each brand of tyre, and it does not necessarily mean they are totally bad tyres.
This is my 3rd set of Pirelli's. The Rosso's and Night Dragon's give off similar results. When they are hot they work well, but under moderate to cool conditions, was and am, always conscious of what could happen next.
With Bridgstone Batlax's (previous bikes) and the Metlzer Marathon's, each ride was in 100% confidence, allowing me to focus on everything ahead, the way a ride should be.
In a nut shell, Every rider should govern their tyres on what makes them feel totally confident under all weather conditions, which can sometimes take up to 3 different brands to find the right ones.
We all own smick tbirds, like to ride a little spirited, and want to see another day to do it again.
For some riders, it could be, "Spare the Bucks and Spoil the Ride". |
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Hiya Bussa, , I have no problem with the Metz handling, it's very confidence inspiring, if they didn't flat centre so quickly I would probably still be using them, although aren't they now discontinued? The Commander was good, although it needed to be coaxed to lean I felt ,and it didn't last any where near what it was supposed to. The Dragon rear has been excellent so far, wet and dry although I don't push it in the wet. The dragon front is ok, although I think it tends to track with longitudinal rises in the road. The Metz front was good, lasted well but was very PSI sensitive, I could tell if it was 2 psi down straight away.
The biggest PIA with all the rears is when planning a long ride, several thousand kms or more, is not being able to get home on the same one and having to either fit a new one when you don't need to or buying whatever you can find when on the journey.
| Experience is something you get just after you needed it 
1600,Foran Razorbacks, Meerkat bypass, Dyno tune, real headlight,plenty of chrome,switchblade pegs, Hagon Nitro shocks & Ikon progressive fork springs etc. Scorpion Western Low handlebars. PH adjustable fork caps.
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| | | wal | | Set | | | | Reg. Date | : | 19/09/2011 | | Posts | : | 142 | | Location | : | WA, Australia |
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| | Posted : 03 Jul 2013 - 19:38 Post title : Re: New Michelin Commander 2 on the Thunderbird 1600 (Re: Leethal) | | | G'day Leethal,I was reading this thread yesterday thinking I wonder if Lee's front wants to track it's own path , so funny you should mention it,while I'am happyish with the rear , I don't reckon I'll be putting another dragon on the front. I'm hearing Bussa and if I was in the city or somewhere you could get more even wear over the whole tyre the Metz would be the go, but money aside it's fine to keep putting metz on as they wear , if you ride in areas that you can get a new tyre as you need one,but as Calverto found out when I rode to Eucla with him a couple years ago on his way to Tassie , the metz flogs out in the center fast and he ended up 3 1/2 days there waitng for a tyre.I'am with you in trying to find a good compromise for the areas we ride.
| | Post edited by wal on 03 Jul 2013 - 22:58 |
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| | | Leethal | | Zeus | | | | Reg. Date | : | 24/01/2011 | | Posts | : | 6,410 | | Location | : | Australia |
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| | Posted : 04 Jul 2013 - 00:22 Post title : Re: New Michelin Commander 2 on the Thunderbird 1600 (Re: wal) | | | G'day Wal, how are you mate? I'm glad it's not just me with the PND front, Peter (peteronkarra) has the same set up but doesn't notice it. Even when my second front Metz was at 17000kms it didn't do this, I think next time I will use the Cobra for the front, it seems to get the best reports from the fellas here.
I suppose if the rear PND doesn't get decent distance I would have to look at the Commander again IF I was planning a long ride. Not sure if we can get the American Elites here, see how Daz goes with that, but I would like to know how they are in the wet first. I have another PND at home to go on next (repaired one) so it will be a while.
Are you coming over to Bright next year?
| Experience is something you get just after you needed it
1600,Foran Razorbacks, Meerkat bypass, Dyno tune, real headlight,plenty of chrome,switchblade pegs, Hagon Nitro shocks & Ikon progressive fork springs etc. Scorpion Western Low handlebars. PH adjustable fork caps.
| | Post edited by Leethal on 04 Jul 2013 - 00:23 |
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| | | curtis41 | | Set | | | | Reg. Date | : | 28/08/2010 | | Posts | : | 191 | | Location | : | United States |
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| | Posted : 10 Jul 2013 - 15:01 Post title : Re: New Michelin Commander 2 on the Thunderbird 1600 (Re: Leethal) | | | FYI - I found the information on my front new Thunderbird tire for those interested in giving this tire a run. Looks like the Avon Cobra front was giving the best mileage for many riders. This information is directly off my tire label:
Michelin Commander Cruiser Front Tire
Part - 0301-0436
Manufacturer -Michelin
Color - - -
Size - 120/70ZR-19 60W
SKU - 483473
Some dealers (and riders) did not know how to order this tire. Right now, the tire is $142 delivered from Motorcycle Superstore, off E-Bay and shortly, J&P cycles. There will be other sources carrying this tire shortly. IF it exceeds the Metzeler and at least closely matches the Avon Cobra in mileage, I will order another. If not, I will likely put on an Avon Cobra front. I already have the 200/55-17 rear Michelin Commander 2 on the rear, already with over 7,000 miles on it and looking good. Wanted to try to actually put two Michelins on the bike. I have no problems with the Metzelers, they are good tires, but they were never designed with longer mileage in mind. I hope this information of interest to some riders out there. Enjoy your riding, ride often and ride safely. Curtis41, older than dirt.
| | Post edited by curtis41 on 10 Jul 2013 - 15:02 |
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| | | daz | | Zeus | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 12/05/2009 | | Posts | : | 7,686 | | Location | : | United States |
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| | Posted : 10 Jul 2013 - 16:00 Post title : Re: New Michelin Commander 2 on the Thunderbird 1600 (Re: curtis41) | | | Even if it matches the avon you would do well to try the avon next anyways. It's a great handling tire that was immediately apparent from the first couple miles. I'd wager much better than the michelin. Definitely much better than the metzeler. It's perfection. I wouldn't go with another tire even if it did 50% more miles. Yet the avon has already gone more than far enough to make me buy it again given the outstanding handling. But i don't have to sacrifice mileage, as i'm at 9k now and it still looks almost new ! So IMHO there no reason to look elsewhere. This is a serious performance tire that doesn't give up longevity in the least to accomplish that. Can't ask for more than that. Combined with the dunlop american elite which I'm finding also handles great and according to Dave got him almost double (12k) the mileage he gets from others, i now have my go to set unless for some strange reason i get 30% of what Dave got from his elite.
| 2010 Blue/White Thunderbird, "Brutus". 1700 kit, short tors, gutted cat, UNI filter, filter seal off, custom tune. Brutus in his native habitat: Link
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