It took a company such as Michelin with
its global experience to design and manufacture a tyre to suit the requirements of big
American motorcycles wherever they are used throughout the world.The new Commander is
the tyre that Harley-Davidson lovers everywhere will find ideally suits their
requirements, whether cruising down the street or heading for the wide open spaces.
Originally developed and tested in the home of the North American cruiser market, the
Michelin Commander is now available in Australia.
The Commander resulted from extensive consumer surveys and discussions to establish the
required performance criteria for a tyre best suited to cruising bikes with high torque
outputs.
Michelin engineers and selected test riders completed over 800,000 kms of testing on
Commander prototypes. Sample tyres were further evaluated by a fleet of 420 bikes
belonging to big twin owners across the United States and Michelin engineers personally
interviewed more than 300 bikers at Daytona Cycle Week.
After several hundred thousand more kilometres the feedback was collated to fine tune
development and create the Commander, the ultimate most advanced tyre available for the
big machines.
Everything about the Commander – the style, profile, tread pattern rubber
compound, carcase materials, even the early-era U.S. stylised logo – was based on
information gathered from people who ride their American cruiser bikes on a daily basis.
The compliance of the Commander’s rayon casing plies delivers a smooth ride while
ensuring stable handling. And to satisfy the huge braking and acceleration torque demands
of a big twin Michelin created a special formula rubber compound that optimises grip and
performance with long life and durability.
"To get the best balanced performance requires a different approach to the
construction of front and rear tyres for these enthusiast bikes," said Franca Bisaz,
Michelin Australia’s product manager for motor cycles.
"The Commander was designed for excellent performance in both wet or dry
conditions with cranked lateral grooves that evacuate water from the contact patch
providing maximum grip. These grooves maximise the number of attack edges for improved
braking and acceleration.
"The casing plies are made of rayon. The rear Commander uses crossed aramid belts
under the rear tread rubber to provide added tyre control under high speeds and promote
stable cornering. This construction also stabilises the tread for maximum traction and
grip. A braided steel bead is used on all Commanders for ease of mounting and maximum
strength.
"The zig zag central tread channel design of both the front and rear Commander
tyres minimises sensitivity to tram lines and the potential for wandering with a safe,
predictable and highly controlled performance," added Franca.
The Michelin Commander is available in front tyre sizes of 100/90-19 57H, MH90-21 56H,
80/90-21 48H and MT90-16 71H. For rear tyre fitment the Commander is available in
130/90-16 73H and MT90B-16 74H.
Rotational direction is specific to each front tyre size to promote even wear
characteristics and to maximise performance across a wide spread of operating parameters.
Additional sizes to suit the requirements of other major manufacturers of large
capacity cruising bikes will be released progressively onto the Australian market.
