New Rear Tire: Michelin Premier A/S 205/60R15 91H on

[Jim&Teresa]

New Rear Tire: Michelin Premier A/S 205/60R15 91H

I have been trying several rear tires over the years on our RT. Yesterday, I installed a Michelin Premier A/S 205/60R15 91H on our RT as I have heard good reviews from our fellow Spyder Ryders here. So going to give it a try! Our RT has 38,745 miles on it.

Here's a brief recap of rear tires on our 2014 RTL:

New: OEM Kenda - should have changed it out at 6,000 miles, it basically was a slick tire when changed at 7,931 miles

7,931 miles: Kumho Ecsta AST 225/50R15 (total miles: 14,000) good tire, was a little "slippery" when roads were wet, especially near end of its life

21,913 miles: General Altimax RT43 215/60R15 (total miles: 16,832) best tire so far, worked well, maybe could have got 2000-4000 more miles - changed out due to concern about hydroplaning when tread depth was getting low.

38,745 miles: Michelin Premier A/S 205/60R15 91H on (total miles: time will tell) friends had mention this has excellent "wet grip" for handling in the rain..

Here's a couple of pics:
Pic 1: General Altimax taken off
Pic 2: New Michelin showing tread design

 

[4 MARIE]

I think the "replace" notification on the General is SWEET ! like we need to be told. I'm guessing when you can no longer read that, it's time to replace ?

 

[Jim&Teresa]

General Altimax RT43 features...

I think the "replace" notification on the General is SWEET ! like we need to be told. I'm guessing when you can no longer read that, it's time to replace ?

Yes, it's a nice feature telling the owner when it's time to replace the tire based on tread depth! Here's their current "features" listed on their website for the General Altimax RT43 - it was the "best" tire, so far, we had on our RT! I changed it now so that I can assure we have a great summer of riding (specifically in rain) with a new tire with good tread depth!

 

[IGETAROUND]

new rear tire

7,913 miles: Kumho Ecsta AST 225/50R15 (total miles: 14,000) good tire, was a little "slippery" when roads were wet, especially near end of its life

Jim, far from me to try and tell you how to run your tires; had two of these on my RS and felt the same way you did about them being a little slippery on wet roads.

ALL of this went away when lowered the air pressure from mid 20's down to 18 PSI. Feels a little squeamish until you get used to the feeling; however the traction improvement on wet roads improved by 100%.

These tires don't carry much weight to make the sipes work properly; they won't work well @ all @ greater than 20 PSI.

Just my opinion FWIW

Al in Kazoo

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

TIRE PRESSURES

7,913 miles: Kumho Ecsta AST 225/50R15 (total miles: 14,000) good tire, was a little "slippery" when roads were wet, especially near end of its life

Jim, far from me to try and tell you how to run your tires; had two of these on my RS and felt the same way you did about them being a little slippery on wet roads.

ALL of this went away when lowered the air pressure from mid 20's down to 18 PSI. Feels a little squeamish until you get used to the feeling; however the traction improvement on wet roads improved by 100%.

These tires don't carry much weight to make the sipes work properly; they won't work well @ all @ greater than 20 PSI.

Just my opinion FWIW

Al in Kazoo

No Al, it's not just your opinion ............ Peter Aaewen & myself have been trying to educate the Spyder community for years, concerning air pressure used in CAR tires vs. the Kenda........ To me it's a question of Safety .... the better the Traction you have on WET roads to less likely you are to activate the VSS which although it is a safety device can cause a major distraction at HIGH speeds ....... Mike :thumbup:

 

[Bob Denman]

J&T,
Thanks for the quick review, and I'm sure that we're all looking forward to seeing how this tire works out for you!
Here's to lots of "Miles & Smiles" with it! :cheers: :thumbup:

 

[Fatcycledaddy]

No Al, it's not just your opinion ............ Peter Aaewen & myself have been trying to educate the Spyder community for years, concerning air pressure used in CAR tires vs. the Kenda........ To me it's a question of Safety .... the better the Traction you have on WET roads to less likely you are to activate the VSS which although it is a safety device can cause a major distraction at HIGH speeds ....... Mike :thumbup:

How does it feel or handle in the corners with the lower tire pressure? Does the side wall tend to roll a little or is the thicker sidewall of the care tire stiff enough?

 

[IGETAROUND]

new rear tire Michelin Premier 205/60r15 91H

How does it feel or handle in the corners with the lower tire pressure? Does the side wall tend to roll a little or is the thicker sidewall of the care tire stiff enough?

When you first lower the pressure below 20 psi it feels "different" not squirley but there seems to be movement that you didn't feel @ higher pressures. Not sure if it's the thicker sidewalls or just the fact that there's not much more than 350-400 # on the rear tire even with my 240#'s in the saddle

When you come around a corner from a stop and get into the throttle it feels like it squats. Tire wears evenly, and the wet road traction is great, you have to work at it to break the rear end loose. Run 18=19 in the fronts and 16-18 in the rear.

Going from 22-25 in the rear to 16-18 is night and day difference on wet roads...Before I dropped pressures the rear end would frequently break loose @ expressway speeds on the straight while towing my trailer. Now none of that. Getting started from a dead stop pulling the trailer was almost impossible to not break the rear tire loose, now that seldom happens with the lower pressures. It takes a little time for you to adjust to the different feel but for the traction gain on wet roads the lower pressures can't be beat.

Just my opinion, I'm not an expert, just know the difference that I experience.

Al in Kazoo

PS Drop on by sometimes and lets get out and carve some twisties!!!

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

TIRE ROLL

How does it feel or handle in the corners with the lower tire pressure? Does the side wall tend to roll a little or is the thicker sidewall of the care tire stiff enough?

Hi, Mike here ..... if it was a Kenda ...it definitely would ...... But your Michelin won't !!!!! .... look at the sidewall in the very tiny print .... it will tell you the Max weight capacity that your tire can support .... I'll bet it's around 1500 lbs........ You Spyder has at most 650 lbs loaded with you and a passenger ......... so you are no where near overloading that tire ..... I went to school for this stuff and trust me - your tire will work lots better at 16 to 20 lbs PSI ....especially in the wet .....Al is telling the truth ...... Mike :thumbup:........................PS, this is true for any CAR TIRE , not just His Michelin :yes::yes::yes:

 

[Fatcycledaddy]

Mike, I see that you recommend thre General Altimax RT43. So I ordered one from Amazon for $70.
Thanks for your input!

Al thanks for your input also. When is the next Michigan chapter meeting, any idea?

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

AN ALTIMAX

Mike, I see that you recommend thre General Altimax RT43. So I ordered one from Amazon for $70.
Thanks for your input!

Al thanks for your input also. When is the next Michigan chapter meeting, any idea?

IMHO the Altimax ..... the Michelin Premier .... and the Pirelli P4 Four Seasons Plus are currently the best tires available in a size that will work with our Spyders, for all aspects of performance, safety, and wear ....... I know I have been touting the Altimax and still do, but I think I'm going to be the Guinea Pig and try the Pirelli next ......... Mike :thumbup:

 

[IGETAROUND]

new rear tire Michelin Premier 205/60r15 91H

Al thanks for your input also. When is the next Michigan chapter meeting, any idea?

Not a clue, Steve seems to prefer face book over this site, might look there

 

[MikeT]

IMHO the Altimax ..... the Michelin Premier .... and the Pirelli P4 Four Seasons Plus are currently the best tires available in a size that will work with our Spyders, for all aspects of performance, safety, and wear ....... I know I have been touting the Altimax and still do, but I think I'm going to be the Guinea Pig and try the Pirelli next ......... Mike :thumbup:

Been doing my homework on my first replacement rear tire. Just wondering:
1. The Altimax RT43 is available in 3 speed ratings: T, V, & W in the 215/60R15 size. Are the higher speed rated tires a softer compound, therefore better in the wet?????
2. The Premier A/S is available as a 205/60R15. The P4 Four Seasons+ is available in both a 205/60R15 and a 215/60R15. Does size matter???
3. Other Spyder riders have commented of the Premier. Has anybody have experience with the P4 Four Seasons+????
Thanks,
Mike

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

THESE TIRES

Been doing my homework on my first replacement rear tire. Just wondering:
1. The Altimax RT43 is available in 3 speed ratings: T, V, & W in the 215/60R15 size. Are the higher speed rated tires a softer compound, therefore better in the wet?????
2. The Premier A/S is available as a 205/60R15. The P4 Four Seasons+ is available in both a 205/60R15 and a 215/60R15. Does size matter???
3. Other Spyder riders have commented of the Premier. Has anybody have experience with the P4 Four Seasons+????
Thanks,
Mike

I've seen the Altimax with ratings of T - H - & V ....... the T is 118 mph ...... the H & V are much higher ..... I've never seen this tire listed for a W rating ( 168 mph ) ..... I've always believed the higher the speed rating the better the tire, but in the case of the Altimax it's performance numbers are better than either the U or V rated tires...... Since I DON'T drive for hours at a time at 118 mph like they do for testing the speed ratings , I'm not concerned...... Mike :thumbup:

 

[canamjhb]

This is just great information. One question I have is, Jim, the picture of your take-off Altimax appears to show very even wear. What pressure did you keep it at....?

 

[MikeT]

I've seen the Altimax with ratings of T - H - & V .I've never seen this tire listed for a W rating ( 168 mph ) ..... Mike :thumbup:

My Bad,
If you look @the time of my post(after midnight) you can understand my troubles with the alphabet(T, U, V, W......) Now back to the tire size question, is a 205 or 215 better on an RT Limited, or are they equal with the exception of tread width?????
Mike

 

[SteveLaoyster]

Try this:

https://tiresize.com/calculator/

and use the tire comparison.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

205 vs. 215

My Bad,
If you look @the time of my post(after midnight) you can understand my troubles with the alphabet(T, U, V, W......) Now back to the tire size question, is a 205 or 215 better on an RT Limited, or are they equal with the exception of tread width?????
Mike

The 215 in 60 aspect is going to bring your odo almost perfect to actual distance ..... and might look a bit better ...... I recommend the 205 for GS-RS-ST models ............... I also highly recommend a psi of 18 +/- 1 in either size ..... Mike :thumbup:

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

PSI & TIRE WEAR

This is just great information. One question I have is, Jim, the picture of your take-off Altimax appears to show very even wear. What pressure did you keep it at....?

As long as you aren't way under or way over 20 lbs. , the Altimax or any car tire has enough tread plies ( usually 4+ ) to keep them running flat ....... Unlike the KENDA's ............ I recommend 18 psi if you are using car tires on the rear of a Spyder ..... Mike :thumbup:

 

[MikeT]

Tread Design Question

As I continue to research a replacement rear tire, I am noticing that some car tire options are designated as having an asymmetrical tread design. I'm not sure that type of tire would work on a Spyder. Is my gut feeling correct???? Any thoughts?????