Cycle News Staff | March 30, 2020
We get our first taste of Michelin’s new Commander III Touring and Cruiser tires.
Words and Photography by Keith Dowdle
Every year in early March crowds of motorcyclists fill the streets of Daytona Beach for the annual Bike Week gathering. This year Michelin North America invited Cycle News and a few other select moto mags to join them in Daytona for the launch of its all-new touring and cruiser tires, and Bike Week was the perfect time for it. After all, where else can you completely immerse yourself in the cruiser culture better than Daytona Bike Week?
With new Harleys all shined up and outfitted with Michelins, the “Official Tire of Bike Week,” we set off for two days of riding in and around Daytona. Each day ended at Daytona International Speedway, where hundreds of vendors, joined by OEs and Michelin, had displays showing off all of their 2020 products.
The new offerings from Michelin, the Commander III Touring and Cruiser tires, are designed and developed for big V-twin motorcycles, hence the association with Bike Week. Michelin isn’t new to this arena; their Commander II has dominated the cruiser market for years and is still being offered, but the Commander III is the new flagship design, with class-leading performance in the V-twin touring and cruiser categories, and Michelin is offering a specific tire for each segment.
The Commander III Touring, for baggers, focuses on high mileage and enhanced wet-weather grip—Michelin claims that this tire will have a 25% longer tread life than its leading competitors—and they displayed one of their long-term test tires, which reportedly had 17,681 miles on it but still showed considerable tread life. The other offering, the Commander III Cruiser, focuses on exceptional wet-weather stopping. According to Michelin, it offers the shortest stopping distance versus the competition. Michelin’s Amplified Density Technology, which is a highly dense, more rigid tire casing, delivers excellent feedback and handling. The new compound and stiffer carcass extend the tread life of this tire while still offering uncompromised maneuvering. Both tires offer trademarked Michelin Premium Touch Technology to improve the tires’ aesthetics through sidewall design, complementing the styling that’s integral to cruiser culture.
We put about a hundred miles total on each tire during the two-day event and, while it’s not enough time for a full evaluation, the new tires did feel very stable and certainly look nice. Our initial impression, especially on the touring tire, is that it makes a large V-twin bagger feel light and nimble. The cruiser tire was tested in a remote parking lot where we hammered the brakes repeatedly to see how the tire responds under heavy braking, and we were impressed. The front of the bike never became unstable, and the rear, though it did lock up much as you’d expect when both brakes are applied hard, stayed straight and regained traction quickly.
We look forward to a full evaluation soon, and we’ll follow up with a long-term test once that’s complete. CN