The Commander II I put on the back of my Heritage is 100% better than the Dunlop that came off. Put a little over 5k miles on it so far, probably close to a third of which in the rain. After reading another thread on here about someone saying they were having problems with wet roads and Commander II's, I took my bike back out in the rain for a test ride. Unless I was extremely aggressive, enough to even spin the tire on dry pavement, the only time I could get the tire to spin was on painted surfaces. Lines or crosswalks. Bike doesn't follow cracks in the road or tar snakes anymore either. I know I'll be sticking with the Commander II's when this one is worn out, which by the looks of it will be twice as long as the Dunlops. I'll let you know tomorrow how they handle in the snow, they're calling for rain/snow showers tomorrow morning. I rode the bike to work yesterday morning so I'll be stuck riding it to the guard base tomorrow morning and home tomorrow evening..

 

You do realize this test was conducted by Dunlop and is biased?

 

Indeed. A bit like reading a politician's election campaign pamphlet!

 

Last Summer, Michelin threw the gauntlet in Metzeler's face when they announced that their new Commander II tires would handle as well as the ME880s, AND would also last almost twice as long! My FXRP was due for tires, so I mounted a set of the Michelin Commander IIs to try them out myself.
I now have over 2000 miles on the MCII's and I must say that they are now my favorite tires. I have tested them on milled roads, steel grate bridges, and over 300 miles in the rain at Interstate speeds (70-80 mph). Handling is phenomenal in dry conditions and for the first time in my riding career I feel absolutely confident in the rain.
Seriously, if you couldn't see that the road was wet you would have no idea that it was raining; these tires feel completely solid and planted. I have never felt this relaxed on a motorcycle in bad weather.
We'll have to wait a while to see how they are wearing compared to the Metzelers (I always got 15,000 miles from my ME880's) but even if they only go a little farther, these Commander II's are now my #1 tires.
I always run my tires at the sidewall maximum psi. After more than 100,000 miles of experimentation I have found that my tires last and handle much better than when set to H-D's recommended pressure.

 

Spend a few $$$ Buy acurate gage , set the presure at max on sidewalls and check often .

 

Wouldn't traction suffer if at max pressure??

 

I am no expert but I would think maybe only slightly on a straight take off where you are lining up like drag strip and just dropping the clutch and hammering on. In the curves I don't think so. the thing about it too is motorcycle tires are have such a strong sidewall which is why you can not tell that they are low usually without a gauge so you do not get that tire spreading out and grapping for more traction. that is why drag racers and off roaders will lower their pressure to get those tires to spread out and grip.

 

Those pressures on the tyre sidewall are misleading and often misunderstood, as we can see here. They state the maximum load that the tyre is rated for, at the pressure given. They are not the best pressure to run the tyre at.

If the bike is fully loaded, such as a dresser 2-up with luggage, heading off on that trip of a lifetime, the sidewall pressure will probably be just right, but if the rider is solo, those sidewall pressures are likely to be too high.

Running tyres too hard reduces grip in all circumstances, is likely to cause high wear in the centre of the tread and also give poor stability, especially at speed. A degree of judgement needs to be excercised!

 

I have about 8000 miles on my set of Commander ll's now with very little sign of wear. I have run Metzlers and Dunlops and the Commander ll's are by far a better tire in wet or dry. I have a whole new feel of confidence on wet corners, these tires are amazing and extremely smooth and I will be buying them again.....WELL DONE MICHELIN!!!!!!!!!! LOVE THEM!!!!!!! (I have these mounted on my Road King)

 

After working for Harley dealers and performance shops for 30 years, three years working for Drag Specialites and over 200,000 miles on many brands of tires, I've found that the maximum pressure, for most brands of street tires, is where you get the best handling (wet or dry) and definitely the best longevity. As I stated before, we have been told by manufacturer's reps from Avon and Metzeler that running their tires at less than 10% below maximum (which means that a tire with a max pressure of 42 psi should be kept at 38-42 psi) causes excessive internal heat and can damage the tire.
Any time we get complaints about the way a tire feels we check the pressure. Every time, we have found low tire pressure. (This year our "winner" came in with 5 psi!) And every time we bring the pressure back up to the maximum the customers report that they are now happy with their tires.
Drag racers who lower their pressure are simply trying to spread out their contact patch for more straight-line traction and they don't care if they have to replace their tires after one day of use.