Michelin Vs Dunlop and Metzler

H-D states the tire should be a MU (145 mm) on the rear. Tire widths vary from diff. manufacturers, but I have an '08 StreetGlide (same size as yours) that I had 150 width Michelin Commanders both front and rear with lots of room.

This time I tried a 170 width Bridgestone BT-45 on the rear and it still fits, but rubs the plastic belt guard slightly when I hit a big bump. Thought I'd try the Bridgestone since they are claiming a lot more miles on these. Don't know yet.

One thing I like about Dennis Kirk is that they give all the tire specs for each tire: diameter, width, tread depth, load rating, etc. with the tire mounted on a wheel.

I pulled my Michelins at 8000 miles. Prolly had another 2000 in them, but the rear also had large cracks in the tread grooves. That was it for me. Liked them otherwise, but you can forget the double mileage claims.

I think that mileage claim is for the new Commander 2's, but I got over 20,000on the old Commanders.

I wanted to try the new Bridgestone BT45's because it has a dual-compound rubber that's supposed to last longer in the center of the tire where you ride most of the time. Unless you're DirectDave, who only rides on the back tire with the front in the air. Ha!

20,000 on the rear ???
I have a good friend with a Heritage, with Commander 2's on. Female, easy rider, light weight no passengers, no burnouts. Her's have 10,000 and are due for replacement. (she and her husband ride 15,000 to 20,000 a year).
20,000 on the rear on the old Commanders should earn you a new set from Michelin, and a spot on their next commercial!! Now on the front,, I've done that on Dunflops.

JMHO, tire wear is determined by several factors: Tire composition, riding style, riders weight, proper inflation, road condition, etc. There is no magic rubber out there. To increase the milage rating of a tire, the composition of the rubber has to be more resistant to wear. This usually ends in the rubber being more dense and hard.

You see this in your dual compound tires, harder rubber in the middle for wear, and softer rubber on the sides for higher traction when cornering. Bottom line, the higher the milage, the harder the rubber and less traction, especially on wet roads.

My 07 fat boy came stock with a 200 on the back, never got more than 5000 out of the dame thing,they were donlops,now my 11 flht with the d407 180-16and d408f 130-17
I am at 11,000 and still going.maybe 14000 we wil see.

True Value my Bike-Talk Bros, The 1995 FLHTCU I ride very differently then I do my Hot Rodded '02 Fat Boy.

New tires are a multi Compound. Got it on my 11 limited.
Harder in the center softer on the outside.
If you like to blast off it will cut down on the tire life.
Or if you ride in 100* weather in the middle of the day , Like Texas it will cut down on the tire life. And if you haul a lot of weight it will cut down on the tire life.
Didn't quiet make it 15,000 on my rear tire.
But it was a lot better than my 08 bike got.

I put fatter tires than what's recommended for my bike, which should spread out the load more and last longer. H-D sez MU (or 145 mm) on rear of my model. I'm running 170mm on rear and 150 on front with no clearance problems, and the bike feels much more stable.

Also, I probably keep the tires on longer than some would, with the center almost bald when I'm ready to change them. Most folks are uncomfortable doing that, but I ride about 30,000 miles a year and get my money's worth.

Now here's a little secret most people don't know. The load range the tire is rated at is crucial to long life. In other words, the higher the number, the longer the tire will last under load. Also, I run rear tires on the front wheel cuz they have a lot more tread depth than front tires (usually double). The bike rides way better and handles much sharper than stock tires.

What's bad is not changin the tire when it needs it on account of the price and wipin out or having a wreck.
New rubber on a bike is one of the most important things on the bike.

Glad to see you're burning the midnight oil with me CB. You're absolutely right man. And the bike always feels so good when you get new rubber.

Midnight Oil, its time to git up and git ready for work. The wife leaves on Monday at 6:30 am headed for houston. I will not see her again till friday nite.

The dude I work for when he has work shows up at 7:20
I need to save my money for a new heat pump
The air conditioner I have now is like 21 yrs old.

Yes I know. I'm so used to getting up at 5:30 for about 45 years now, I can't break that schedule even if I want to sleep late. I don't have to go get the bacon anymore, but still watch carefully how my money seems to disappear.

My retirement "disappeared" 6 years ago when a couple of crooks pilfered the company's retirement fund and fled the country. Fortunately, I'm still healthy enough to work, but mostly I just got tight with money. And we don't need no stinking air conditioners here.

You probably burn as much in heat as I do air

Naw. We use natural gas for heat and cooking, and it's cheap. Can heat my whole house for $50 a month during coldest months. Nice thing about natural gas is we (Colo.) have the biggest underground supply of it in the world. Which means no OPEC has their hands around my cahones.

Also, our electric power plants switched from burning coal to nat. gas so electricity is cheap too.

Well, a back tire has almost twice the tread depth as a front tire, and the tread is not as rounded as a front tire. This makes the bike track steadier without the "falling over" feeling of what is typical with a front tire.

Also, the tire should have a center tread-groove to avoid pulling to one side or the other. Not all brands have this feature on the back tire.

Yes it's stiffer, but that works better with a heavy bagger's front end. This wouldn't be a good feeling for a lighter bike like a sport bike.

After doing this on my bike, it feels like I'm running radial tires that are more responsive than bia-ply tires. It just feels a lot better to me, and I can easily take my hands off the handlebars and it tracks real straight.