Michelin Activ Tire On a Vintage

[Sheepdog]

I just installed a Michelin Activ rear tire on my Vintage. I have never experienced a tire that had a bead that was as difficult to seat! In the end, I had to heat the tire, lube the offending section of bead with silicon, and bring the pressure up to 75 lbs (with the core out). What an ordeal! However, once that rascal popped on I found the balance near-perfect, only requiring 7 grams to make it just right. And riding was a pleasure after tip-toeing around on that worn-out BT-45. This coming Friday, I'm going to switch out the front. I'll be ready this time...

[rocker59]

I went from BT-45 to Pilot Activ on the Cal Bassa I had.  It was a revelation!

[Sheepdog]

It was your recommendation that motivated me to buy the Activs, Michael. If the front is as good as the rear, this will be a very satisfying purchase.

[stevet]

Michelins can be a tough installation.  I've installed a couple sets on my FJR.  Well, a friend was installing them, I was the extra labor...

Steve.

[wavedog]

Michelin pilot active tires are great. I am on the second set on my Jackal. They are a very long lasting tire-at least for the road surface around here (n.e. Florida) and my riding style. The last set that I installed went on very easy. The temp in my garage was about a hundred and the tires went on without any tools, lots of RuGLYDE and seated easily. Go figure.

[geoff in almonte]

Experiences vary.

The PO of my Vintage had Pilot Activs installed front & rear.

They were shite!  Both tires evaporated within 6000kms.  And the front had cupped so badly that IMHO it was unsafe to ride on.

I spoke to a local tire 'expert' and his comment was that the PA's were designed for a much lighter motorcycle - eg. a 250 or 350 single like the little Hondas or maybe a baby Breva or V7.  Never on a touring bike.

Of course, as always, YMMV.

Cheers!

G

[lawries]

Experiences vary.

The PO of my Vintage had Pilot Activs installed front & rear.

They were shite! 

The Pilot Activ is the best tyre I ever used on my Stone.
I'll bet the PO of your bike was running the wrong pressure.

[Sheepdog]

Michelin's recommendation for California 1100s is the Pilot Activ.  The website says they are well-suited to touring. I believe the air pressure values come out to 32 psi-front, 35 psi-rear...

[Aaron D.]

A caution on Michelin tire pressure recommendations-I'm pretty sure they just use the original specs in the owner's manual.

[geoff in almonte]

I dont know what pressure the PO used - I ran 38psi front and 40psi rear.

I ran the Michelin fitment guide (from their website) for Moto Guzzi California 1100 - All Years - they had no recommendations.

I have installed Avon RoadRiders for now.  If they dont work out I'll go back to the Metzler ME880s.

Again YMMV.

Cheers!

G

[wavedog]

Its odd, but when it comes to tires, your mileage will definitely vary. On my Activ tires I air them up to the max minus 10 to 12% to account for heat. I have done that on all my tires on all my bikes and it seems to have worked out.

I changed out the rear and had ridden 11 thousand miles on that tire. I changed the front and had 15,400 on it. Both tires had easily in my estimation a thousand miles of safe riding left in them, but I had the bike apart and for convenience changed them out. I know that road surface and riding style really come into play. I have been in parts of the country where the composition of the road surface has chewed my tires in no time.

[Kiwi_Roy]

I put them on my EV
No complaint so far.

[Sheepdog]

Wow...bad luck with tires and computers...

[bigbikerrick]

Experiences vary.

The PO of my Vintage had Pilot Activs installed front & rear.

They were shite!  Both tires evaporated within 6000kms.  And the front had cupped so badly that IMHO it was unsafe to ride on.

I spoke to a local tire 'expert' and his comment was that the PA's were designed for a much lighter motorcycle - eg. a 250 or 350 single like the little Hondas or maybe a baby Breva or V7.  Never on a touring bike.

Of course, as always, YMMV.

Cheers!

G

I am not sure about the light bike thing. I run pilot actives on the front of my Gold wing trike, as do many "wingers" that ride trikes. This is my second PA, and one thing I learned, is you have to run high pressures in it, about 38 -40 psi or it will cup! They are very long lasting tires, I usually get about 20K out of a front on my trike.
Rick.

[Sheepdog]

Thanks, Rick!

[rocker59]

Yeah.  I was running 38F/42R for 2-up riding on my Bassa.

[Sheepdog]

I installed the front tire this afternoon. It popped right on with no drama; and seated at 55 psi. I aired both up per the recommendations above; 35 in front/38 in rear...higher than the Michelin recommendation...an d balanced it. The front required more weight: 28 grams (I wonder if there is a correlary between balance and difficult bead seating...hmmm). The weather is a mild 60 degrees, so I took a familiar 50 mile loop to scrub the new treads in. They are definitely an improvement over the Bridgestone BT45s. The profile makes for a smoother transition to lean in turns and the ride was comfortable. They are reminiscent of the Metzler Marathons that I used back in 2010...a good thing considering the far lower price. So far so good. I'm going to try to keep the tire pressures in the right zone and see if I can make them last.

Thanks to all for your comments and advice about these Michelins. Below is a photo of my Vintage in her new shoes next to our newly completed cabin. Life is good...

[wavedog]

Sheepdog- your bike looks great and so does the cabin. Next time you ride try 38psi on the front and see how that feels. That's what I have been using and the tires don't cup.