Front tire bumps on Michelin Commander III

[Ninja]

Hi guys and gals,

I noticed these bumps on my front tire after a ride yesterday. It's a Michelin Comander III with 5300 miles. For peace of mind, I'm going to get it replaced before a 700 mile trip but was curious what it is and if any one has experienced a similar problem.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ulrich]

Yes mine did a similar thing and the next tire that I tried (Metzler Cruisetk) did that too . after 8500 miles

 

[Ninja]

Thanks, Ulrich.

After additional research, the term to describe my issue is cupping.

 

[R18CentennialRider]

I’m not sure that is cupping. That is a bulge through the belts of the tire. Probably fractured belts maybe allowing that to happen. That is at high risk for a catastrophic blow out. Your tires are the old version of the commander 3 which Michelin started to replace in 2021 because of the vibration at speed issue. Maybe try the newer iteration. You can tell at a glance if it is commander 3 version two by the tread pattern. All the grooves go nearly to the mid tire. The one shorter groove is replaced with a longer groove. Otherwise I think they are the same tire.

 

[Ninja]

Thanks, R18CentennialRide. That's good feedback.

 

[FortyEight]

I had to replace the front tire in my R18, a Commander III with 13.000 km because left side was much more wasted than right.

The same kind of wasting happened with the last 3 front tires of my HD. I don’t really know if it is a common point for some models or I just ride different

 

[Noelpolar]

I had to replace the front tire in my R18, a Commander III with 13.000 km because left side was much more wasted than right.

The same kind of wasting happened with the last 3 front tires of my HD. I don’t really know if it is a common point for some models or I just ride different

I'm about to replace mine at similar k's but mine is RHS.... we drive on the left here.

 

[FortyEight]

@Noelpolar I had never consider that the angle could affects, but makes a lot of sense

 

[Noelpolar]

@Noelpolar I had never consider that the angle could affects, but makes a lot of sense

Fwiw.... for some reason, I think I turn to right (on average) harder.... left turns in built up areas here are harder braking and slower (sharper) turn, right turns are a wider radius (so around the roundabout etc) and normally are higher speed pushing the front more etc.

 

[oldslodog]

I also am having trouble with frt. tire. Recently acquired my second R-18. This one has the 19. inch frt. wheel versus the 16. inch on my classic. The bike has only 1500 miles but appears to be starting to cup. I'm noticing a vibration I thought was engine but am wondering if not frt. tire? On the classic I bumped the pressure up a couple pounds and it was better. These bikes are heavy on the frt. tire but I managed 10,000 miles before the wear bars started getting close. What tire pressure are all of you running?

 

[Star-Lord]

My R18 B felt loose on the road Saturday morning; I checked the tire pressure and I was down approximately 6 to 8 lbs psi on the front and rear tires... Filled with air for Sunday riding, and I could notice the difference; the bike felt much better on the road...

It only takes a minute or two to check and fix tire pressures... Totally worth it..