Michelin Commander II update

[smokey]

Got this answer from Michelin with regards to the complaint I made about the wearing out of the tires

Michelin makes tires for over 3000 motorcycles but does not make tires that are approved for the 2010 Kawasaki VN1700 Voyager ABS.

We are sorry but the Commander II tires installed on the 2010 Kawasaki VN1700 Voyager ABS is a misapplication and not covered under warranty.


We appreciate your business and thank you for choosing Michelin.


What a bunch of bull.

[redjay]

It is strange that you got so little miles from the Commander II when many others using the same application got many more miles.

[smokey]

The main point here though is that Michelin will not warranty them in any way, now go to the scenario where a commander II fails and causes an accident, anyone making a claim against them for whatever, will be out of luck. I would like to know where in their advertising it states they are not approved for the voyager?

[redjay]

If the size you used are not exactly the size of the stock tire then Michelin has an excuse for voiding the warranty I guess.

[smokey]

If the size you used are not exactly the size of the stock tire then Michelin has an excuse for voiding the warranty I guess.

I just got off the phone with them, regardless of what size it is the load rating, if the tire is not rated, according the Michelin they should not be used on the bike, so as the tire is only rated at 825 or so and the voyager weighs 895, the tire is unsafe. According to Michelin this is a dealer issue as the dealer is not checking to see if the tire is suitable for that bike, apparently they are running into the same problems with rapid wear on other heavy bikes like the gold wings and full dressers. So it is a case of the customer asking the dealer and the dealer not selling what is an unsafe or not recommended tire. Either way Michelin will do nothing.

[redjay]

I never had an issue with rapid tire wear on my Voyager, neither have many others.

I wonder which bikes weigh 825 lbs or less and use the same size tire as fitted to the Voyager and are suitable for a what the Commander II tire is said to offer ie high mileage and good grip ?

[johnberryus]

Looking at their website it looks like any of us using their tires on the big Vulcans would be screwed if there was any failure since none of the big touring models seem to have a tire made for them.


Very disappointing, as this is a great tire.

[highwayman2011]

What size were you running on the back? The 180/65/16 is rated for over 1,000 pounds. Almost 13,000 miles on my rear and still looks good.

[BBAZEN]

The weight limit for a single tire is not the reason for not covering your issue. To correctly figure out capacity you need to add up both / all tires. (OEM) 853 # rear + (OEM) 677 # front = 1,530 # total capacity.
The stock Bridgestone rear has a cap. of 853 lbs.
The stock Bridgestone front has a cap. of 677 lbs.

I am sorry to hear of you issue of premature wear. I just put my second set of Commander II's on yesterday.

This rear that I took off had 22,000 miles on it.

I edited this post because I was mistaken about the Commander being a bias tire. Thanks for the heads up Sin City! No clue why they are giving you the run around.

http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t461/bkthbazen/AFE4B94C-4FDF-4CD5-B24D-BE9B06D0FEC6_zps5wkxwiac.jpg (http://s1061.photobucket.com/user/bkthbazen/media/AFE4B94C-4FDF-4CD5-B24D-BE9B06D0FEC6_zps5wkxwiac.jpg.html)

[Sin City Stan]

Most likely the reason why Michelin told you what they did is because Kawasaki wants you to put on Bias tires on your Voyager 1700. The Commander II is a radial tire.



I have Commander IIs on the front and rear. Both are bias belted. The Nomads and Voyagers are not listed in their fitment guide and that's the pretense for refusing to warranty the tire. Pretty much the same "get out of jail free" card used by all tire manufacturers.

[smokey]

What size were you running on the back? The 180/65/16 is rated for over 1,000 pounds. Almost 13,000 miles on my rear and still looks good.

according to Michelin it is rated at 825 pounds, I sent them the info on how to do a load rating because it seems they are expert at nothing except how to piss off a customer.

"After talking with the rep, I have to dispute what I was told, even though I know I am not going to get any satisfaction, the load rating on a tire is not an indication of the total load rating, the load rating on tires are a combination of all tires on the bike and also applies to the car tires, a car is not rated at the total weight of the car, the same for a motorcycle tire, the load rating for the Michelin Commander IIs are for both tires combined, with in my case would have been approx 1400 lbs total and as the bike is 895 it would have been within the acceptable limits.

If what the rep said was a fact, then why are the load ratings on car tires listed at 1000 lbs for the tire in some cases, I have yet to see a car that weighs that. "

[gwdriver]

This is the exact reason I only run factory spec sizes on both of my bikes. Had a Bridgestone Excedra Maxx go bad on my Nomad at 3500 miles. Bridgestone not only replaced the tire, they also paid for the mounting and balancing.

[toogun]

I just got off the phone with them, regardless of what size it is the load rating, if the tire is not rated, according the Michelin they should not be used on the bike, so as the tire is only rated at 825 or so and the voyager weighs 895, the tire is unsafe. According to Michelin this is a dealer issue as the dealer is not checking to see if the tire is suitable for that bike, apparently they are running into the same problems with rapid wear on other heavy bikes like the gold wings and full dressers. So it is a case of the customer asking the dealer and the dealer not selling what is an unsafe or not recommended tire. Either way Michelin will do nothing.
Sounds like a load of crap to me. I would ask to have your warranty claim escalated to a higher level. I am surprised with Michelin being like that, whenever I've had issues with tires I went back to the shop where I bought them and they handled everything, mind you I'm talking car and truck tires but same manufacturer.
Good luck. :tup:

[smokey]

This is the exact reason I only run factory spec sizes on both of my bikes. Had a Bridgestone Excedra Maxx go bad on my Nomad at 3500 miles. Bridgestone not only replaced the tire, they also paid for the mounting and balancing.
The front was spec size the rear wasn't as they don't make that size

[blowndodge]

Michelin's commander II's 180/65/16 bias rear tire as a weight rating of 81 or 1,019lbs. One of the highest in the industry.

[dshelly]

Running a non stock commander II on my non-stock Harley 18" front wheel . I've got 4000 miles on it.... still looks brand new. :tup:

[Dave]

You have a tire installed not recommended for your bike and you're are mad at the manufacture?

Why not blame the dealer that installed it or yourself for not doing some investigation prior?

Always someone else's fault now days. No personal responsibility.

[Silent Sam]

..I'm no tire rating's expert, But I believe the max load stamped on a tire carcass..is for that one tire's position on the vehicle....a 800+ lb bike will not put that entire 800+lbs on one tire...calculate the weight that the tire's position actually carry's then dont buy a tire for that position that is rated for less weight !

On the other hand...the mutli national corporations, are now so powerful, that they are legislating their own laws..and you cant expect to have any actual warranty...or durability in your tire... Listen to your fellow bikers for info on best wear and safety !

[smokey]

Michelin's commander II's 180/65/16 bias rear tire as a weight rating of 81 or 1,019lbs. One of the highest in the industry.

You are right, it was the Michelin rep who told me it was rated at the lower rate, it just goes to show that their expert is not really much of an expert. I checked with my dealer and it is indeed 81H.

[highwayman2011]

It sucks they won't take care of your problem. I got the CommanderIIs because I wanted better wear than the Bridgestones and got that. But I also got better handling.

[highwayman2011]

This is the exact reason I only run factory spec sizes on both of my bikes. Had a Bridgestone Excedra Maxx go bad on my Nomad at 3500 miles. Bridgestone not only replaced the tire, they also paid for the mounting and balancing.

I ran two Bridgestone Excedras on the back of my Voyager and didn't get 10,000 miles that's why I went to a Michelin. 13,000 so far.

[gwdriver]

highwayman- The original Exedra's didn't last long. The Maxx is a much better tire. The issue with mine was a defective sidewall that bulged out. Bridgestone stepped up to the plate and took care of the problem. Just put new Shinkos on the RoadKing. Been wanting to try them for a while. Many of my friends are running them. I'll post a progress report when I get some miles on them.

[smokey]

You have a tire installed not recommended for your bike and you're are mad at the manufacture?

Why not blame the dealer that installed it or yourself for not doing some investigation prior?

Always someone else's fault now days. No personal responsibility.

Guess you didn't get the point did you, it has to do with the tire wearing out to the extent it did in the mileage that was put on it.

[Silent Sam]

I'v still got two REAR..Metzler ME880's (made in brazil) sitting in my garage with massive tread/carcass separation, at less than 5,000 miles....and no dealer or mfg response !
..And where the hell is the DOT/NTSB in response to unsafe Motorcycle tires ! ? >:(

[AZ Voyager]

I have run Michelin on my cars and trucks for years, and now on my Voyager, have 17000 on the rear Commander II and still lots of tread on it. until recent have had no problems, but one tread separation on a tire with 25.000 miles (70,000 mile tire) on my truck with $2000 damage to vehicle and Michelin won't do a thing, up to the Insurance company now,

Extremely Disappointed with Michelin Customer Care/Service....

[TX1700]

I doubt DOT/NTSB, has gotten any reports of the Commander II being bad. We have to report them as I am sure that tire shops aren't going to take the time to do it.

[Mike LV]

what size are you using? where did you get em?

[redjay]

180/65/16