WARNING: Michelin front Commander III tires

[NCB]

There is a bad vibration issue with the Michelin Commander III front tires. There is a Tech Bulletin about this. If you search You Tube you will find several videos of the same complaint I have with this tire. There is only 2 size tires on the list, but I spoke with a rep at Michelin and I am in the process of a warranty claim due to the vibration and a high spot on the wheel. The rep said the problem was with the tire tread design! Will let y'all know how this turns out. I have been chasing this issue for some time and finally believe that I have the answer?

Since there is an issue with the treat design I'm not going back with there tire.

Any suggestions on a good brand of front tire??

See attached Technical bulletin:

[Kmartcivic]

Interesting! Luckily we haven't had any issues at our shop about that one but I am bringing this up to the service department. Thanks.

I am running a 21" front wheel, but I like the Avon Cobra Chrome tire I have.

[NCB]

Hope this info helps someone else avoid the frustration I have had with this issue!
I heard but can not verify, that Michelin is changing the tread design? I'm going with another brand until I hear good reviews of the "new" Commander III

[Shores]

Sorry to hear that. I know Metzler has gotten some bad reviews in the past with their 880 tire but I have had very good luck with that tire as well as their new 888. On my fourth set currently.

[Sharpman66]

I'm running the 888 whitewall as well...yes great tires!

[NCB]

Shores, I went with the 888, what kind of milage are you getting with them?

[brianmac]

shores , you are on your 4th commander 3's? have they been out that long, or u thinking comm 2's?

[Ahodge75]

Damn! I’m in need of new tires and had my best results with the Michelin Commander II’s and was going to go with the III’s this time. Winter is coming so I won’t need them until spring so hopefully there will be some updates soon…….the Michelin Commander’s have been the best tire I’ve used so this is disheartening to say the least….

[NCB]

I had 2 sets of Commander II's and was happy with them! Then decided to try the III's. Should have stayed with the II's. Michelin is replacing the tire, I have to purchase a new one and they will reimburse me. I'll update after I have this settled.

[KFallsRider]

A lot of their car tires too..

[Jaybo]

I run the Avon Chrome and am really impressed with it so far.

[davej]

So if they know they had an issue with tread design did they fix it?

[jd750ace]

If you READ the bulletin, it’s only affecting 2 sizes of tire. Both are wide relative to their diameter, and both at TT (tube type) so I don’t know why a bunch of folks rolling on 16 inch wheels would care, or overreact, as many of you do.
There are perfectly valid reasons to NOT run the Commander III over the Commander II. We don’t have to resort to ridiculous extrapolations.

[JHouse]

Metzler white walls,

[davej]

Obviously you never heard of the tread separation and big chunks of tire blowing out of the tire that Metzler had and ignored.

[NCB]

Well, Michelin replaced my 32/19 date defective tire with a 5/22 date tire and it has the same high spot in the replacement tire! So, now the dealership is going to replace the 2nd defective tire with a different brand and handle the second defective tire issue with their Michelin rep. Very frustrating to say the least! This tire should be on the list! 130/90 B16 73H

[brianmac]

tubeless or not?

[brianmac]

Like JD said most of us have 16-in wheels. Are you saying that you're 16 inch wheel is also affected by the exact same problem? But are the Michelin 3s going to replace or supersede the Michelin twos? And you believe that bullshit line that it's due to the thread design? How the hell did it get past their r&d,?the problems that Metzler had was when they went to global manufacturing in third world countries, they lost quality control, do you think Michelin is going to admit that?

[NCB]

This tire should be on the list! 130/90 B16 73H.

[roadiemort]

Well, Michelin replaced my 32/19 date defective tire with a 5/22 date tire and it has the same high spot in the replacement tire! So, now the dealership is going to replace the 2nd defective tire with a different brand and handle the second defective tire issue with their Michelin rep. Very frustrating to say the least! This tire should be on the list! 190/30 B16 73H

[roadiemort]

Is this the size you mean?

[NCB]

Yeah130/90 16
Thanks Mort!
I evidently have dyslexia every now and again?

[KFallsRider]

Those are made in Spain ..Bias Ply come from Thailand

[sta-lor]

No problem on mine ,standard 16" wheel , been on this last 18 months . UK based

[Shotround]

<sup>nuts. I've been riding the front commander iii for the last 11k miles or so in search of 40mpg at 75+ mph. guess I will have to slow down and see if I have that same problem. manufacture date 26/19. can't comment about the rear as it's the dunlop elite 4. they were what the dealer had on hand, when i had the original tires from 2006 replaced.

incidentally, for the less sophisticated such as myself. what does high spot on the wheel mean?</sup>

[NCB]

That the tire is out of round

[NCB]

OK, here is a follow up of what has happened since my last post on this topic.

The dealership started giving me the run around about the replacement tire so I emailed Michelin.

Michelin contacted me after I emailed them about the replacement Commander III tire having the same issue as the first. They said that they should have never reimbursed me for the replacement tire because the Commander series of tires are only recommended for a 2000 1600 Road Star. (check their web site and you will see they only have a 2000 1600 Road Star listed) He insisted that I remove the front and rear Commander III tires and they would reimburse me for a set of Competitor's tires of my choice, mounting and balancing included!

I know, I ask him to repeat what he had just said!

So, I ordered a set of Metzler 888 Ultra Marathon tires and got them mounted and balanced. I just talked with the Rep this morning and received an email with a link to get my reimbursement direct deposited!

The rep said as of early 2022 they changed the tread pattern so that it extends more to the center of the tire to stop the Harmonic Vibration that was happening on some make/model bikes. But for now Michelin does not recommend the Commander series for the Road Stars (other than the 2000 1600 RS). Which means they will not warranty the tire, It would be considered a misfit!

Also, there is no longer any vibration at my front end!!

[Shores]

Shores, I went with the 888, what kind of milage are you getting with them?

I got 19,000 on one set. I couldn't believe it! Double checked my records and that's exactly what I got, front and rear. The next set I got 12,000 but only changed them because I had a road hazard on the front.

[NCB]

I like the way the 888 handle. After looking into a bunch of tires I concluded that the Metzler's we're as close to the Commander 2s as I could get. Time will tell?

[Shores]

I usually go with the metzler's because after about five tire changes I have realized that the handling, quality and mileage is pretty decent and the white walls don't yellow like a lot of other brands do.

[boomerA]

I recentlyhad to replace the Commander II on the rear of my RoadStar with a Commander III. Time will tell if I develop any problems with the rear tire...front is a Commander II. When I was searching for new tires for my 1300 Tourer, the Metzler 888 was the only quality tire that I could find in the required size.

[NCB]

I didn't have a issue with the rear commander 3 just the front. If Michelin won't warranty the tire due to being on a RS I'm forced to go elsewhere.