i HAVE ABOUT 7,00 MILES ON THE Michelin Commander II's, they grip great when its dry, but I think they don't have a very good wet grip. I have slid a couple times, pucker moments, of course I should have been going a little slower, but with 7000 on them they look like new.

 

I put the Avon Cobras on my Fat Bob last October, bias front, radial rear. I was surprised about the mix, but Avon lists that mix for the FatBob. I was going to get the MCII's, but my indy suggested that his customers who preferred winding back roads over highways were happier with the cobra's better handling. Put about 2k on them before it started snowing and they are vastly better than the stock Dunlops wet or dry.

 

Related question:
What are the widest tires and brand you can put on front and rear on my 2013 street bob.
My indy says there is nothing much for front and possibly 170 for rear. Would like to use a 130 on front an 180 on rear. Can this be done without any major modification>
Thanks,
Roger

 

About a month (Aug/Sept) after putting a set of Commander IIs on my '07, I felt the rear lose traction going through a small curve coming out of NYC heading into one of the tunnels.

Since I do like to ride aggressively at times, I don't think these tires are good for that. I had much more confidence in the stock Dunlops than I do in the Michelins.

JMHO

 

Hi,

the streetbob can take the gt502 screaming eagle dunlop, its same rim as wide glide which used to run that tire stock, it will fit under fender

The dunlop a true 180mm wide to others seem to be thinner once fitted

Dont know about the front

 

agree with the lack of grip but especially poor performanceon wet pavement. IMO the mcII lasts a good long time but no traction.

If you want real grippy tires go with pirelli night dragons but they wear quickly.

Avons are probably grippier thn the mich's no idea how long they last.

My next choice will most likely be metzelers decent life but mucho traction. Ask target64 I know he has metzler 880 and he thinks thyre awesome

 

My supermoto had spoked wheels and radials on the front and I never, not one time, had an issue with tank slapping or wheel wobble at any speed up to the blistering 100-105 I could squeeze out of the little thumper. I think something else was going wrong there chief.

On mixing types, you don't want radial in the front with bias in the rear. Radial in the rear and bias in the front is generally ok, however.

 

That's my experience and Avon verified it when they told me what would happen having both radials or a radial in the front with tube and tubeless wheels. They didn't even know what I went through. I just asked them the difference between running Bias vs radial on my bike and why they recommended a bias front with a radial rear. The wobble would only happen as soon as the rear tire warmed up. Maybe it was the brand radial in the back, I don't know but that's what happened. When I put a stock Dunlop back on the rear the wobble was gone. 110-120 mph is solid. But being I still had a radial front still it cupped and went out of round having the bias rear and radial front. Now I have Bias on both and it's rock solid. Once the rear is a goner I'm putting an Avon radial on the rear and hope it stays solid based on Avons recommendations. Trust me when I was searching for the wobble I did everything. New motor mounts, rear wheel alignment, whole vehicle alignment several times. Motor alignment. Checked fasteners, bearings and spent a lot of time and money that year. Changed out the rear tire back to stock and it was gone. Plus a super moto weighs like 300lbs less. Also I don't know how you ran but It's spoked wheels with inner tubes that are the problem. If you have tubeless spoked wheels you would be fine with a radial front or all around. Here's a video of the Roadsmart tire I ran after it sat in direct sunlight 85-90 degrees outside. The bias was impossible to squeeze this much or at all. Before I made the video when I pulled it right out of the sun I was able to squeeze the bead to the middle of the tire with one hand and that was supposedly a Dual compound tire.

Crappy radial rear = my tank slappers.

The fronts as radials just don't wear like they should with inner tubes no offense to anyone here, but I'll believe the word from the Avon Techs over anyone else's here plies my personal experiences. And from what I read and emails from tire manufactures is not safe.

 

Have you done any suspension mods?

 

i run michelin commander IIs and I have never had a loss of traction with them. I also have progressive 444 shocks and fork springs up front which made a huge difference in the way the bike handles. I love Avons but dont think they last as long as the michelin tires. If you lose traction with the commander II's i would guess there is oil on the road.