Michelin Schorchers - Not impressed.

[icy]

Just pulled over the 5K miles mark on my 5 month old Sportster Iron and I gotta tell you, these tires suck monkey balls on wet surfaces.

I mean I don't expect them not to skid or slide on every opportunity they see but come on, give me something. I have almost 0 trust in my rear wheel in case of an emergency during rain. In dry weather, on asphalt I have no problems - though they again suck at high speeds. An hour ride to Delaware Water Gap on the highway cruising ~80mph makes my fingers go numb because of vibration. Since this is my first Sportster and my first Michelins I got nothing to compare the experience to. Is this normal, is this what everybody else is putting up with?

I commute with my bike, every single day, rain or shine - in New York City. I live in Brooklyn, take Manhattan bridge into the city and local roads, or FDR to midtown depending on how I feel.

The gist of it is; the bike is not heavy enough and the rear wheel is big enough to cause trouble on slick surfaces; I get it. But does it have to wobble that much and slide like crazy, even when I am straight - no lean, no turn, just straight riding, nothing but wind hitting me from the side on the upper level of Manhattan bridge during rain. when I hit those metal connectors on the road, the bike literally shifts a foot or two to the side. I almost feel like the rubber is too hard for proper wet surface traction. Just like the stock rear shocks (which I presume used 4x4 instead of coils and I had to change them after 4 days of city riding) the tires are made for California, not New York.

This past summer, I got caught in a flash flood in Dumont, New Jersey and I had to ride back home. I was (not kidding here) riding in higher than ankle deep water for an hour and the bike was hydoplaning the entire time (I have a lot of experience in riding on slick surfaces and that's the only reason why I am still alive) Low gear, low torque, low speed || high gear, low torque, low speed I tried every trick in the book; alas the tires were of no help. the only help I got was from the bike and its weight distribution; and that's a top heavy bike!

I want to change the tires, but I get conflicting information from almost all my friends. Lastly the mech at the Harley service center said "dude, don't waste your money, it is what it is, it won't get better than this; just suck it up"

but I refuse to suck it up! I need to know is this al there is to it? I am willing to change tires just for winter and go back to Michelin Schorchers for the rest of the year. I hate these tires!

[XL1200R]

Omg no!!!!

Dude, same experience I had with my rear dunlop

I don't think it is so much the tire style as it is a bad batch

Mine was garbage yet other dunlops I have ridden on are way better. Replace the tires with commanders, avons, metzlers or something and save yourself!! A bike shouldn't be that bad in water.

Make sure you are running correct air pressure too. As far as I am concerned, the bike should almost never be squirlie going in a straight line even in the wet. At least mine isn't

Good luck

[LilJo]

I don't know a thing about the Michilin Scorchers, but I sure do love the Commander II tires, ESPECIALLY in the wet.

[icy]

Thanks XL. it's not that bad on a straight line, pending there is no wind. Just had the service make sure there is no alignment problems on the tire. they say it's good.

Let me give you an example on how the real wheel behaves:

Those white lines, the lane dividers on the road. They are a bit embossed, and they have a different surface texture than the asphalt. if I ride straight on that white line (slow speed, like 15mph) my front will stay on the line, but my rear wheel will tend to go in and out of the line skidding all along. and I am NOT talking about wetness right now. This is every day behavior. If the road is wet, I slalom to avoid: pot holes, manhole covers, white lines, lane dividers, little puddles. This is nuts by my measures )

[icy]

so far, from what I gather from the posts in these forums, Commander II seems to be the common denominator. that is a good lead for me. thank you LilJo

[LilJo]

Originally Posted by icy

so far, from what I gather from the posts in these forums, Commander II seems to be the common denominator. that is a good lead for me. thank you LilJo

No problem, man. I do hope you get tires that work for your bike REAL quick. Like you, I'm a daily commuter. I'm on a much older Sportster than you, a '93, and these MC2s are the best tires I've ever run on my bike. I've gone through truckloads of Dunlops, and tried Avons a time or two and Metzlers from time to time. For my bike, there is no comparison.

Whatever you do, I'm hoping you find something that works--and QUICK. Stay safe, man.

[Osco]

Op,,,
New Sportster,
Has very BAD suspension,
AT BOTH ENDS,

My stock Lops also sucked in the wet, but got better as I made my suspension faster,
AT BOTH ENDS.

Stock suspension,,any braking or even a throttle shut gives you a sudden forward weight shift, even If only an Inch of nose dive.
The problem Is the sudden drop due to shitty damping and rebound control
AT BOTH ENDS.

Ricor Intimidators up front with 5 wt oil and proper preload,
Works performance street trackers out back, 2 springs on each shock,
black of course...

MC II's Is the new tec rubber.. Love em

Also you must learn to use ONLY your foot muscles on the rear brake, less power, more control..

[redcad]

Icy; based on the fact that you commute everyday to the city, you must know your stuff.

I have put over 9k on Scorchers (FXDC) and they seem to grip pretty good.

But once coming out of the Whitestone tolls in the wet the back came round on easy roll on. Did my best flat track trick and kept it straight.

Curious to know real life wet handling characteristics of other tires.

[gtrman66]

Wow. Awesome first set of postings. I suggest giving an intro in the new section, take a deep breath, read a little and get to know the place. You have done the equivalent of walking into a stranger's house during a party and loudly complain about your tires. Reel it in a little. Relax.

[HDSickness]

Maybe time to upgrade to a bigger bike