My Michelin Pilot Activ Rear/Front Tire Opinions

[Calgary]

07BlueCSC

What did you use to balance the front tire in each case?

 

[bcop31]

Avon Cobra Trike tire

I just ordered up my new front Avon Cobra trike tire from Amazon. My bike, 2007 Goldwing. is in the shop getting the Champion Trike kit makeover right now. I will take the tire to the shop and have it installed before picking it up. I have read all the post about front tires and, being a brand new trike rider, figured it was a smart move to put the new tire on as my Goldwing's Dunlop was about half used up anyway. Great Forum! <br />
<br />
Roy

 

[oldmanjack]

tire test on the road

I have a 96, gl1500. Standard rake. I put my first Michelin pilot rear tire on backwards on the front at 52,000 miles. Was looking at it today with 78,245 miles. I still have about a 1/8 tread wear on the tire and no cupping. Don't check the air as much as I should and it goes between 34 and 41psi. I am a full believer in this tire. I was going to try the new AVON tire made for trikes, but I seen a couple of write ups that did not impress me. i guess I will get another michelin

Good riding all

Old man Jack

 

[cinjeff]

Michelin Pilot Activ

Just had the Michelin Tire installed on my 2007 Goldwing trike and put 200 miles on it yesterday. If the rest of this tires life is as good as the first day, I will put another on when I need to. Very nimble in corners, much smoother ride than the OEM that was on my bike. I am glad I checked with this forum before I had a new tire put on. Thanks for the info on this tire. I had the tire mounted in the opposite direction as recommended and am looking forward to many miles of driving pleasure.

 

[Lucky]

Just had the Michelin Tire installed on my 2007 Goldwing trike and put 200 miles on it yesterday. If the rest of this tires life is as good as the first day, I will put another on when I need to. Very nimble in corners, much smoother ride than the OEM that was on my bike. I am glad I checked with this forum before I had a new tire put on. Thanks for the info on this tire. I had the tire mounted in the opposite direction as recommended and am looking forward to many miles of driving pleasure.

Hoping you get as good a service as I have. RID SAFE

 

[bikerbillone]

I have a 96, gl1500. Standard rake. I put my first Michelin pilot rear tire on backwards on the front at 52,000 miles. Was looking at it today with 78,245 miles. I still have about a 1/8 tread wear on the tire and no cupping. Don't check the air as much as I should and it goes between 34 and 41psi. I am a full believer in this tire. I was going to try the new AVON tire made for trikes, but I seen a couple of write ups that did not impress me. i guess I will get another michelin

Good riding all

Old man Jack

Yo Jack, if I ever wear out my Stone BT45, I'm looking to mount a MPA rear tire as well. I like what I read about that tire.

 

[jredman]

I put my MPA on at 7,000 miles. Mounted in reverse. Now 25,000 miles and it still looks new. I love this tire. Seems to last forever. I will take another long trip in June of 2016, not even worried about wear.

 

[Winglover]

Mich Active Pilot

I have a 2006 GL1800 and swear by this tire. I have a Motortrike kit with no rake kit installed and find this tire the best I have ever installed. I had it installed in reverse rotation and have not experienced any cupping, plaining etc. I now have 26,000 kms (16,155 miles) and it still looks like a brand new tire. Prior to this I ran the Dunlop Elite 3 and only got 21,000 kms out of it. No comparison!!! The Mich tire is the way to go. Thanks to this forum and its talk on this tire, I made a great choice.<img src="images/smilies/wink.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Wink" class="inlineimg" />

 

[Skeet7373]

MPA

anyone know what size of MPA tire I need for a 08 gl1800 with MT Razor, has the 17" rear wheels? I'm clueless on this and when I change the front wheel, will change the tire. Karen

 

[jredman]

anyone know what size of MPA tire I need for a 08 gl1800 with MT Razor, has the 17" rear wheels? I'm clueless on this and when I change the front wheel, will change the tire. Karen

Just get the same size as your OEM 130-70-18 I have the Bias ply. But buy the rear tire and mount it in reverse direction. I have 22,000 miles on this front tire so far and it is still going. No cupping, shows some wear now, but still plenty of tread left. I run 41 lbs of pressure all the time.

I have the Razor as well.

 

[Winglover]

Mich Activ Pilot

The actual tire is 130/70-18 63H in the Mich Ativ Pilot rear tire. This is the one I used on my O6 and swear by it. As jredman in the previous post mentioned, it seems to work very well mounted in reverse rotation.
Good luck and happy riding

 

[MACHINIST15]

tire

Hey Guys

when switching to rear tire on front do u run with tube or with out , & if with tube do u use dyno beads with tubs?

need to change front tire on my trike

thanks

 

[oldmanjack]

Hey Guys

when switching to rear tire on front do u run with tube or with out , & if with tube do u use dyno beads with tubs?

need to change front tire on my trike

thanks

I run mine tubeless. Have never had to balance a tire on a motorcycle.

- - - Updated - - -

I run mine tubeless. Have never had to balance a tire on a motorcycle.

By the way, Beautiful trike.

 

[rcpaints]

rcpaints

excellent report, but wouldn't we need to know what type of trike you are using the tire? Isn't it possible that a goldwing might respond differently than a volkswagon trike?

I see a lot of info on this forum, but not knowing the owner, I don't know if the info pertains to a trike like mine or not.

I had this tire on my trike with a Hannigan trike and I put 32000 on my tire. I could not believe it. I had a hard time convincing my dealer in Missouri to install another one. He said tire mfg. did not recommend it. I finally convinced him.:clapping:

 

[Rat Fink]

Front Tire MPA

2003 HONDA CSC I just replaced my stock front tire 6k started to get cracks in side walls. After reading this forum on the MPA tire I bought it and had it mounted reverse. All the low speed shaking in my handle bars is "GONE". Easy cornering also. Thanks for the heads up on this one.

 

[BrokenBackJack]

Please bear with me as i am an old man and i have a simple question.

On the Avon Cobra Trike tire is it also called the AV 71 tire?

Trying to find the correct one for our 2010 Goldwing CSC Trike.

Aren't these 2 tires below the same tire?

https://www.amazon.com/Avon-Tire-70...6&sr=1-2&keywords=avon+cobra+front+trike+tire

This one doesn't say trike though.

https://www.amazon.com/Avon-AV71-Cobra-Front-Tire/dp/B001AI3H3I

Thanks!

 

[Rainbolt]

Michelin Pilot Activ

I put a Michelin Pilot on my 2005 Goldwing with a Lehman Monarch II conversion over 6,000 miles ago. From day one I noticed that when I rolled it across a smooth surface I felt a distinct "bump-bump-bump" as the tire rolled across the rain grooves. I didn't know if it was an effect of running it backwards or what so I left it. Ever since then I have gotten a low grade, but noticeable, vibration in the hand grips. I don't feel/see any cupping issues. I know there is a specific method of installing the front wheel and axle, etc, and have to rely on the shop that did it, which is reputable as far as I know. I am going to have the tire reversed to see if it makes any difference. Have you had any experience with this phenomenon or do you have any other suggestions, thoughts, ideas? Thanks.

On another note, the original shock on my Goldwing died. I had it replaced with an Arnott air shock and really like it. Only had to fabricate a hanger for the pump as it would not fit with Arnott's hanger.

 

[Gorilla]

Daryl welcome aboard hope someone will answer your question I'm a harley guy so I am of little use for you.

 

[Hot Rod 1]

Please bear with me as i am an old man and i have a simple question.

On the Avon Cobra Trike tire is it also called the AV 71 tire?

Trying to find the correct one for our 2010 Goldwing CSC Trike.

Aren't these 2 tires below the same tire?

https://www.amazon.com/Avon-Tire-70...6&sr=1-2&keywords=avon+cobra+front+trike+tire

This one doesn't say trike though.

https://www.amazon.com/Avon-AV71-Cobra-Front-Tire/dp/B001AI3H3I

Thanks!

You want the first one that says trike. The other one is for a two wheeled bike.

https://www.amazon.com/Avon-Tire-70...id=1495650768&sr=8-1&keywords=avon+trike+tire

 

[Hot Rod 1]

I put a Michelin Pilot on my 2005 Goldwing with a Lehman Monarch II conversion over 6,000 miles ago. From day one I noticed that when I rolled it across a smooth surface I felt a distinct "bump-bump-bump" as the tire rolled across the rain grooves. I didn't know if it was an effect of running it backwards or what so I left it. Ever since then I have gotten a low grade, but noticeable, vibration in the hand grips. I don't feel/see any cupping issues. I know there is a specific method of installing the front wheel and axle, etc, and have to rely on the shop that did it, which is reputable as far as I know. I am going to have the tire reversed to see if it makes any difference. Have you had any experience with this phenomenon or do you have any other suggestions, thoughts, ideas? Thanks.

On another note, the original shock on my Goldwing died. I had it replaced with an Arnott air shock and really like it. Only had to fabricate a hanger for the pump as it would not fit with Arnott's hanger.

The first MPA I had on my GL1500 CSC seemed to have the bump, bump you are describing. I didn't notice a vibration in the handlebars. The 2nd one I had seemed to have a buzz going down the road. On my GL1800 Roadsmith I went with the Avon Trike Tire. So far I have 11,000 on the tire. I had the dealer do a state inspection today , he told me the tire has about another 5000 miles of tread life left. As far as ride and handling , I will definitely buy another Avon Trike Tire.

 

[Rosy]

Hot Rod 1, how did you balance your Avon? Also what are you using for tire pressure on the front?

Thanks,

Rosy

 

[Hot Rod 1]

Hot Rod 1, how did you balance your Avon? Also what are you using for tire pressure on the front?

Thanks,

Rosy

I run mine at 41# and no weights were required for balance. If needed I would have tried Ride-On. I will probably do that on the next tire later on this season. Unlike the MPA's I used on my 1500 trike it shows no signs of cupping.

 

[billb]

I heard BIAS tire

I was told to mount backwards on front. Also, use a BIAS tire, the walls flex more through the turn. I'm away from trike so can't give size info but it is new dunlop bias. Old was a Metzler which I saved for my BMW GS.

 

[CrystalPistol]

Wears like iron ........ rides like iron .......... now hangs on wall like iron .......... Avon Cobra TRike Radial now ....

 

[cmawest]

front of valkyrie

I just replaced my first pilot on the front of my Valkyrie. don't run it foreward if it is a rear tire, they are directional and it will adversely effect your braking power, run it backwards. my first one is 6 years old and 30K miles, it still has 4/32 on it down the center and they only start with 8/32 but it was starting to weather check on the sidewalls. the pilot active is definitely the way to go. 30K on any bike tire is unheard of.

 

[skuuter]

I experimented extensively with the MPA Tire while starting and contributing to this Thread....I eventually ran them straight up, reversed, various psi, etc. and under most all weather and road conditions. I was never a "fair weather" or "good paved roads only" Rider. I even rode a lot of gravel...now, all of that being said, I finally settled on (1) Mounted Straight Up...(2) 42 psi...This combination seemed to roar, flutter/bounce the least, Handle the best, Brake in the rain the best, and clean water from under the Tire best in the rain. Mileage, mounted either way, was always roughly in the same range....experiment with each, be patient each time and take notes....

 

[msrvpeig]

So with out reading all 231 posts, what type of mileage did you get?

 

[skuuter]

So with out reading all 231 posts, what type of mileage did you get?

I had been running them up to around 12,000 to 16,000 because I was a hard, fast Rider using mostly twisty roads, and wanted optimum performance...the last one had 18,000 on it when I got rid of the Trike...next Owner rode it another 6,000 before He said it had slight cupping...so that was 24,000...more than I would want to run one for full performance...that being said, I know most Trike Riders are a lot more interested in mileage. I gave 2 of my pull-offs to Members here and They continued to run them a long time.....

 

[malclingan]

Noise from reversed front tire?

I am running my Michelin IV reversed and it still has a very loud whine above 40 mph. Is anyone else experiencing the same noise from the front tire?

 

[Trail Blazer]

Commanche:

Just happened to talk to a Honda mechanic yesterday about the same thing. He stated that this is a common occurance with GW trikes, and it does'nt matter what brand conversion. He stated that there is really nothing that can be done about it as it is a factor of the weight distribution (front to rear of a trike. I asked about the use of different mods such as fork braces etc, and he stated they really won't make any difference. they all develope the same wobble between 5 to 25 mph, dependent upon the weight distribution. I'm prone to think that the problem might be due to the handlebar weights, which are used as a dampner on GW trikes.

I noticed when I took mine off to add more comfortable grips, my problem started. I also talked to Randy a couple of weeks ago, and he suggested tightening the steering head on any trike that has been raked. Don't know if that is a solution, as I have not tried it yet, because I don't currently know what the max torque is, but I will, and I'll let you know. the good thing is it(wobble) only happens on decelleration, and only a extremely low speeds. I also noticed it is more prone to happen going up hill rather than on a flat surface or going downhill. I know this does'nt solve your (our) problem, but there has to be a solution, it's just a question of finding it.

John

John I have a 1500 GW and a year or so ago I had the head shaking at low speed 5 to 25mph, my trike shop and I did ever thing to stop it we re-torque the steering head, and something else ( don't remember what) any way nothing stopped it. we looked a the tire and it was cupped a little not much, they said may be the tire. I had a new tire at the house, I got it and we put it on and I have not had the head shaking scene. on my 2ed new tire and still no head shaking, so who know just what it might be.