I'm looking for anyone that has tried these tires

Continental

https://www.conti-online.com/www/mot...estone_en.html

I put on Michelin Commander 2 tires front and rear about 11 K ago, and the front is cupping bad, making a horrible growl and the back is starting to cup also. Front is down to -3/32nds and rear about 6/32 (still looks good) but cupping.

I'm really surprised at whats happening to these tires, from all the reviews I've read, most folks seem to get much better mileage so I'm trying to figure out is it the tire or maybe a fault with the bike.

2013 CVO Ultra currently about 22K. I ride 2 up 70% of the time, load up the bike for trips to Sturgis Etc, always check tire pressure, always..! 36/40 as recommended, check them in the garage before heading out. Always check rear shock pressure also and adjust for loading..

Front end has always felt a little skitterish to me, mention almost every time I take her in to the dealer, nope "can not duplicate customer complaint" everything checks out..Yah right!!!

Long and short of it is I now need new tires again, the Michelin's didn't go the distance and I'm looking at alternates; I've seen these Contis and they look and sound interesting but I can't find much feedback on them. So if anyone has any info it would be nice to hear it so I can add it to the pot and I'm sure there are others out there that might be interested too..

Oh and I'm gonna replace the Front wheel bearings and check the neck bearing play along with replacing the fork tubes with double cartridge ones...Just to cover all the bases......


Thanks

 

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I am surprised in the cmndr 2's because i know guys that have used them getting a min of 2x more miles out of them vs dunlops for HD's.

On the cupping,tires dont normally cup for no reason ,thats can be caused by balance being out just enough to cause cupping over many miles but not enough out of balance to be noticed if front fork setup is mushy enough to soak it up .

Other front end issues like mushy fork springs and or mis-aln of wheels front to back can add to that issue if front tire was out of balance too.

Also,on your next tire install install Ride-On thats a great tire balancer and also pritectes tires from up to 1/4" punctures from nails/screws etc adding a nice margine of safety to riding too.

Another plus for rise is it also adjusts to keep proper balance thru the tires complete srvc life so that not only extends the tires srv'c life/miles you get out of the tires but it also ensure always have best smooth ride thru tires full life too where ,ech ballance with wt's cant do that where as tires wear they do go out of balance so chk out the ride-on website for details.

I have used Ride-On in last 3 sets of motorcycle tires i had installed on my past 2 bikes i had with great results ,no messy cleanup either when changing tires as the ride-on only coats inside carcus of tires where the tubes would normally be in tube tires leaving the wheels & rims clean.

BTW,I bought my current 09 FLHTCU 11/2014 with 9,700 original miles that still had stock original dunlops it came new with and the front was cupped bad howling & moaning just like you described.

The back tire would not pass insp but wasnt cupped ,front tries had 1/4 tread life left but was shot in my mind because it howled and was cupped so i installed 2 new Mich cmndr 2's using the ride-on so time/miles will tell how they do miles wise on my bike vs the stock original dunlops.

When i bought the prior bike some yrs back it had 5k original miles on it with stock original dunlops and front was cupped bad & howeling driving me nuts and back tire was 3/4 worn out too .

So after that i went thru new 2 sets shinko tires on that bike using ride-on and the front never cupped again thru the full srv'c of both front tires which was appox 13-14k miles on each front tire on that bike,back tires had normal tire wear & miles on them lasting approx 7500-8k miles each using ride-on in them.

Scott

 

Looks to me like they dont make a rear tire for your bike. CVO's have 18" agitators, they dont make a rear 18, only 16s, if I'm not mistaken.

 

Can't speak for their motorcycle tires, but Continental is the best I have ever run on my Mountain Bikes and Road Bikes. They make great tires.

 

For an 180/55/18 rear for a CVO try the Pirelli Night Dragon. One of my riding buds just changed his at 11250 with a fair amount of tread left although it was quite cupped and he is vigilant with tire pressure. The only other high mileage tire for that is the stock tire which costs quite a bit more.

 

Thanks for the replies.

When I replace these Michelins I will double check the balance just to make sure. I think it is probably more than one issue that is causing the premature wear, and I guess it will be a process of elimination in order to figure out where the culprits lie.
The rears on the 13 CVO Ultra are 180/65 B16 and it seems they make the Conti in that size. But I'm going to have to do a bit more due dilligence before I convince myself to go that direction.

While doing some research here on the site and the CVO site, it seems that a few folks have had issues with the 13 CVO from wheels and that replacing them with a different wheel has solved the problem, but I really can't see any obvious defect with the wheel that stands out when being spun on the jack it looks true.

 

Had Continental Milestones put on my 2010 UC last year. I'm very pleased with them so far. IMO, they ride much better than the Dunlops they replaced and perform great in the rain.

 

Looking at my tire book, the Milestone Mileage Plus rear 180/65/16 has the same load rating as the stock rear which is 81H. I thought that all CVO's pre 2014 came with 18" rears but i was wrong.

Someone has to try one of these so we can get some real world thoughts on it.

 

mcain49: How many miles do you have on them so far?

I was surprised at the lack of mileage on the Michelins also; a couple of riding buddies have them and have also had good luck with them so far, and not the same cupping problem I've had but certainly not the high mileage that has been reported by some. I'm sure my issue may be related to some additional wear factors also, but i'm game to try another tire like the Conti's if I can find a few more facts and reviews on them..If I do go that route I'll post a review for those that may be looking for more info in the future..

Thanks for the replies.

 

Out of curiosity why not try the Dunlop American Elite? Compared to the original 407/408 the AE's have been awesome. Much better wear overall and they feel a lot better too.

Wscot: The original front Dunlops on the '09 had the cupping issue, they replaced the 407f with the 408f but never issued a recall. If you complained enough they gave you a tire or prorated on depending on mileage. I haven't had that issue with the AE or the replacement 408f.