The first 120 miles.

The front tire: Michelin pilot road 3  110/80 zr 18  58W  max load  520 lbs 236kg
The back tire:  Michelin Commander II 150/80 B 16 77W max load 908 lbs  412kg

The handle and balance are really good, in turns the bike follow the radius of the road without any extra steering, just give a little counter steering at the beginning of the turn then neutral throttle in the turn and on your way out give some throttle and the bike raised up and go strait on the road. At my settings the tires are working very well with the suspension and give a steady and comfortable ride. Bike is stabile up 75 miles in heavy side winds, higher speeds not yet tested.

My suspensions and steering settings.
Font, 36psi in tire and 4 grooves visible at the preload
Back, 37psi in tire, 14 psi at the suspension and the damper set at 2 ( euro specs says, 36 in tire with driver up to 97kg (213lbs) 42psi two up and or with load) in the suspension you have from 7 psi up 50psi according to the load you have and the damper setting from 2 to 4 what is our liking.I am driving with the low handle bars from my -86 bike they gives the best handling and balance in the bike for me, i am 1,76m high and weight is 74 kg.

I will try other settings and report back if a find better settings.
Mileage i will look forward and se, i am used to the Maratons 880 and having 40000km (25000miles)

Have the previous generation 120/70R18 PR2 and 150/80B16 Commander combo and they work pretty well too.

I have the commander II also.  Really enjoying it.  Had first gen for 23000 km and this tire is definitely nicer. 

Well now the tires have reach 1000 mile and my smile get brighter  and wider the tires are really a god combination to the c10.

I have tried different settings on the suspension but have now about the same settings as i started with, i am now having the rear damping set at 3 it gives better reaction on uneven roads.

The sag is set at 42 mm front and back that is 1/3 of the total travel in the suspension of 140 mm

I have had the air in the back tire at 42 psi but that is to much solo riding, maybe because the commander ll is a reinforced tire with a load index up to 908 lbs and have very stiff side walls, with the euro spec setting at 36 psi the tire handles much better with the suspension.

Now it is just to wait and se how long the tires will last, but that will take  a year or two.

hej
erik

Bravo!  It's always a pleasure to read about a combination that works.  Good for you, Erik.  But I have a question for you: Are you familiar with a Bridgestone tire series called "Exedra's"?

I'm thinking they're European, although they're bias-ply, not radials.  Just curious if they originate across the pond, or not.  The Bridgestone site isn't very informative regarding this. Thanks for your attention.

Cheers!

Sam, the bridgestone is well known here it is a great tire for big touring bikes but that is the new dual compound radials and they dont have any for the c10 they have Batlax something in bias for the c10, i think the exedra is more a cruising tire for custum bikes.

regards erik

Okay - didn't quite answer my question, but I catch the gist of it.

Thanks, Erik.  And happy motoring!

Just went back from a trip to the mountains in south Germany and France with my wife and loaded bags, its a trip with 700 miles highway (autobahn) and then  lots of curvy roads, you know 180 degree turns and similar, and then the same highway back again, a total of 2000 miles, and the tire combo becomes better and better and my smile wider and wider.

The set up of the bike two up was: Front tire 36 psi, pre-load 2 grooves  visible
                                                     Back tire  42 psi, suspension 3 bar (43psi), damper at 4 ( tried 3, also good but 4 is better on the highway)

At this set up the bike is handling totally neutral in turns and still stabile at highway speeds when two up.
And after 4500 miles they still looks like new.

Hey
erik

Everything you ever wanted to know about Exedras.
http://moto.bridgestone.co.uk/motorcycle-tyres/ranges/exedra/

I used to run them on my Z1300 as it was a rear tyre guzzler.
With the early Exedras fitted it would usually last a week, occasionally 2 weeks.
About 5 to 6,000 miles. I was a motorcycle courier.

Hey, Erik,

Can you give any feedback on wet weather handling for the Commander II?

I'm on my second Commander and it is a good wet weather tire.

I just pulled off a Commander II with 3 thousand miles on it. That tire would step out in a corner in a heartbeat. Nasty deal. I could accelerate hard on straight line, but on a corner it would step out quite easy on not that hard of an acceleration, and not that far leaned over. This is the first tire that really has scared me. Maybe a defective tire?

Michelin is giving me a refund. So I'll keep buying other Michelin stuff. The PR3 up front is a marvelous tire.

I really liked how it worked in the dry, though. Rode and handled quite nicely.

I had a Shinko 890 Journey mounted up this afternoon, will check it out with tomorrow's commute. Interesting tire.

So far i have 10000 km(6000 miles) on the commander II, and as posted earlier a part of it with my wife on curved mountain roads dry and wet, and a lot on my local back roads and i have not have any problems on wet roads,
  i am not driving hard when the road is wet especially in the beginning of the rain you have to be carefully, there are spill of oil,gas and diesel that have to be washed away before you can have god grip.

The tire have no signs of wear and are still curved like a new tire, so i keep smiling.

hey
erik

Thanks all for the replies. I need a new rear in the next month or so and was leaning toward the Commander II until I saw Steve's post about it stepping out in the wet. That's why I wanted to hear others experience with it.  Steve, put lots of miles on that 890 in the next couple of weeks and let us know what you think.

Thanks all for the replies. I need a new rear in the next month or so and was leaning toward the Commander II until I saw Steve's post about it stepping out in the wet. That's why I wanted to hear others experience with it.  Steve, put lots of miles on that 890 in the next couple of weeks and let us know what you think.

The shinko 890 is an awesome tire IMO.  I have close to 3K on mine and an seeing very little wear. Keep in mind that part of the first 2k were pulling a trailer to/from the national rally so some squaring off is to be expected.  The 890 has excellent grip and wear on wet/dry pavement.

The shinko 890 is an awesome tire IMO.  I have close to 3K on mine and an seeing very little wear. Keep in mind that part of the first 2k were pulling a trailer to/from the national rally so some squaring off is to be expected.  The 890 has excellent grip and wear on wet/dry pavement.

Thanks for that, snarf. I also pull a trailer. And the wet report on the 890 is what I have been waiting for. Think I will pull the trigger real soon.

Steve, put lots of miles on that 890 in the next couple of weeks and let us know what you think.

Sorry, the only big miles coming up will be out in CAli on my KLR, which, BTW, has Shinko 700's on it.

I rode to work today. The 890 does ride smooth, still too new to corner with it too hard. Had to beat a T-storm home today, so couldn't go play.

Sumpin I noticed, the tire doesn't seem to be as wide as the Pilot GT and others that are Wing size, should help with handling. I was a bit leery of putting a too wide of radial on, but it looks good mounted up.

i am not driving hard when the road is wet especially in the beginning of the rain you have to be carefully, there are spill of oil,gas and diesel that have to be washed away before you can have god grip.

 It rains here pretty much every day in the summer, and I tried a few different areas. The tire would hold firm on a straight down the road firm acceleration, it broke loose on corners under some accel, not a lot. And not a lot of lean angle.