Back in the spring I chose to put new tires on my 04 RK. The local tire shop recommended Michelin Commander ll tires, and gave me a good price so I went with them. From day one I knew these tires made me feel a bit uneasy but couldn't really figure why. Long story short, I'm going back to the factory Dunlop tires after finding that the Michelins aren't load rated for the weight of my bagger and I was getting sidewall flex that gave me a ride like I was on ice. Now, too late, and more $$ spent for a tire lesson I've figured how to shop for the right tires. The Michelin Commander ll tires may be fine for a sport-lighter weight bike but not for a heavy touring model. BTW, I had replaced my old Metzeler 880's with the Michelin's, and the 880's gave me over 25k miles when I took them off.

 

When it came time for new tires for my Road King I opted to replace them with the same Dunlop OE tires the bike came with. They came off at 14,000 miles and probably could have lasted another 5 to 6 thousand but the work (replacing wheel bearings) was mostly done already, so. Lots of opinions about tire efficiency and performance, but I came from the opinion, if it ain't broke - don't fix it!

 

I did not know about the load rating of the Commander II s & was gonna go with them as a replacement on my bagger. Thanks for letting us know!

 

Another good choice is the Dunlop E3 tires. I tried a lot of different brands, but the E3's gave me the best of them all for milage and handling on my 03 Road King.

 

don't know for sure about the commanders but I would think they make the right tires for baggers , just because you got the right size for your bike did not mean you got the right load rating , your local shop may have just sold you what they had in stock and not the right tire , a lot of people on here like the commanders

 

I tried many over the years ended up back with Dunlop.
On the post 2009 frame the new Elite they offer works well for me

 

Agree! I had about 15,000 miles on my original equipment tires when I replaced them (maybe a bit early). I put the same tires back on and have 10,000 on these so far and they are still going strong. They handle well and last. What's not to like?

 

You should do a tire search...so you don't have to reinvent the wheel.

 

The thing the shop kept repeating was the speed rating, "Not" the load rating. Then I found that they service mostly sport bikes. Pay attention to the load rating that's clearly stamped on the sidewall with the PSI for the tire.
Just trying to help others from spending their hard earned $$ on the wrong choice. I'm not trying to tell anyone what tire brand to buy, I've just chose to go back with the original equipment choice that I had to begin with.

 

They had to order them, they didn't stock them. Michelin does make the correct tires for the bagger load rating, it's the Scorcher.