Michelin Commander II
There’s only one place to start a list like this: The Michelin Commander II. Everything that a cruiser tire should be, this is. The commanders are smooth, they’re comfortable and they run for ridiculously long mileage.
The quality of the Commander is in its bones. Michelin uses aramid plies, which are stronger and lighter than steel. For one, that makes the tire very stable. Even at high speeds, when the centrifugal force wants to deform the tread pattern, this tire holds its shape and rolls true.
The other thing I like about a solid core is that it diminishes rolling resistance. Meaning that this tire will go a long way before you need to replace it. I hear reports of 20 000 km on a daily basis and, a few times a year, I’ll come across someone who runs a Commander II up to 40 000 clicks.
Now – performance. Because the carcass is rock solid, the rubber doesn’t have to be. Michelin can afford to use a softer rubber compound without sacrificing too much mileage. And the result is a tire that grips extremely well. Burn it in a straight line, burn it into a corner – whatever floats your boat.
While I love the grip, I have a few gripes. For one, it’s not a cool-looking tire. The tread pattern channels water fine but it looks like it was designed by a computer – it’s the definition of ordinary. My other complaint is the profile. Brand spanking new and it already seems flat on top. I know cruisers are about straight-line cruisin’, but a little more of an aggressive angle would do wonders for turn-ability.
Anyway, I’d still buy this tire. For my big Harley, lightweight metric – whatever. The Commander II is my first choice on pretty much anything. There’s a reason why it has over 130 5/5 reviews on FortNine.ca.
ME 888 Marathon Ultra
So, what can possibly compete with the Commander II? Well, Metzeler tried for a long time with the ME880 Marathon, but the problem was – even though they called it the “marathon” – it wasn’t getting nearly as much mileage as the Commander was. Fast forward a few years, and Metzeler takes another stab at dethroning the king – with the ME 888 Marathon Ultra. This thing is a sniper rifle straight at the Commander II. It handles Harleys and metrics, just like the Michelin. It uses aramid belts, Just like the Michelin. And in this size bracket, it comes in around the same price point. $189 for this guy, $174 for the Commander.
But standing here – with both tires – I think Metzeler has failed again. Ze Germans must have been embarrassed when the 880 failed to run its “marathon” because they sacrificed everything for mileage with the Triple 8.
The sidewall is incredibly stiff, the rubber is overly dense and not very grippy. And I don’t know what they put in this thing, but it weighs a lot more than the Commander. Another problem is that Metzeler made the contact patch 15% wider in this tire, hoping that spreading the weight around might decrease tire wear. It did work, but that’s a big sacrifice to make for longevity. With such a wide contact patch this tire is – honestly – a nightmare to turn-in.
So obviously, I think the ME 888 missed its mark. But it still hit something and that’s why it made my list. You see, for really heavy bikes – cruiser-tourers like the Road King or Electra Glide – Metzeler’s ME 888 is actually a great choice. The beefy rubber and carcass will be malleable under a big bike and the wide contact patch will help large machines to feel planted.
So long as you ride a big bike and you’re more into touring than handling, Metzeler’s ME 888 can rival the Commander II.
Pirelli Night Dragon
Now, what if I ride a chunky motorcycle but I still want to throw it into a corner now and then?
Well, Pirelli thinks they have the solution. And they call it the Night Dragon. Every other tire manufacturer needs to listen up, because Pirelli has the coolest names. Oddly enough though, the Night Dragon’s style is nothing to write home about. Reviewers always drone on about how good-looking this tire is, but honestly, it doesn’t look like anything special to me.
Anyway, the Night Dragon is similar to the ME 888 in a lot of ways. One of them being that Pirelli owns Metzeler and manufactures both tires in the same German factory. Nudge nudge, hint hint – they have a lot in common.
So – like the ME 888 – the Night Dragon has a heavy-duty carcass for big, heavy bikes. But unlike the Metzeler, Pirelli uses a softer rubber compound on top. You can actually feel the difference – it’s really malleable and almost sticky. And that means better grip – in the turns, off the line – wherever.
I hate oxymorons, so I’m not going to call this thing a “sport-cruiser.” But I’m tempted. In Pirelli’s own words, the Night Dragon is “designed for performance and styled for stance.” Which basically means that it’s very stable – it doesn’t have an aggressive profile and it won’t lay itself down at the first sight of a corner. But – if you manage to lean this thing over – it has the grip to keep you there. If you have a big bike and you ride it like a big boss, this is the tire I would choose. Just don’t expect it to last as long as the ME 888.
Dunlop D404
Now, if you’re anything like me, you don’t have a big bike! I’m more into small and vintage cruisers, and there’s an obvious favourite for this kind of machine – the Dunlop D404.
One of the things I like is that it costs 150 bucks. ‘Cause I’m a cheap bastard.
The D404 comes stock on a lot of Japanese cruisers, and Dunlop makes loads of sizes to fit historical models as well. So it’s a great go-to tire in that sense. They also make a whitewall version and on that note – even with this regular version – I love how classic the sidewall looks. It’s this big, blank sheet of rubber with a few numbers and letters but nothing too much. Compared to most heavily-designed modern tires, this is refreshingly vintage.
The tread pattern – as well – is legitimately cool. It’s almost retro-looking but it’s clever at the same time. We have this offset centre channel, which traps a lot of water and moves it to the outside. And because the groove never really follows the exact middle, it prevents the tire from wanting to chase and follow ruts in the road. We also have tiny siping channels in the tire, which are great for moving water without decreasing the contact area. I just wish Dunlop provided larger reservoirs for the water to channel into, because these sipes will fill up super fast.
Of all the tires in my list, this one has the most rounded profile. So it takes the top prize for flick-ability. It’s grippy as well and – contrary to popular belief – I find that this tire has a decent wear life. A lot of people give it a bad reputation because they install it on their super-fat bagger and tear it to shreds in a couple thousand clicks. But if you put this tire where it’s meant to go – on a lighter weight cruising bike – I think you’ll find that it lasts a fairly long time.
If you do love this tire and absolutely need it on your heavier bike, Dunlop does make the D401 and D402 for Harley-Davidsons. It’s the same tread pattern but with a stiffer sidewall. To be honest though, those tires jump up a bracket into the 200-dollar range. And for that money, you’d better have a damn good reason for not choosing a Michelin Commander II.
Avon AV72 Cobra
Now, to close us off I’ve got something special – the Avon AV72 Cobra (AV 71 Front). Finally, we have a tire that takes style seriously.
I love this gorgeous snakeskin design all the way around the sidewall. And the tread pattern – it looks like someone carved it with a samurai sword. Avon says the grooves are water-siping, and yeah, kinda. You can see how these treads would collect water and move it outwards, but that obviously isn’t the main focus here.
Avon also claims that they used their supersport heritage in designing this tire. And again – yeah, kinda. We do have variable tension belts, for a rigid, high-mileage centre strip and softer, grippier sides. But honestly, this tire is made from a single rubber compound. So varying the belt tension is a bit of a band-aid fix.
Anyway, this is a great wheel, particularly for anyone with a really powerful cruiser – Triumph Rocket III, V-Rod, Goldwing – this tire is designed to handle the power of a heavyweight. The AV72 is also great for custom bikes, because it comes in a million obscure sizes – whitewall and blackwall – all the way up to fatties like this.
In the end, the AV72 Cobra doesn’t do anything better than the other tires on my list, but it doesn’t do much worse either. It just looks a million times cooler doing it
And that’s it for my favourite cruiser tires! Product links are down there, and thank you very much for watching.