C'mon, y'all!!! We were having such a pleasant and productive conversation before this diverged, once again into a CT vs. MT pissing contest. Let's not fall back in to that same redundant, miasmatic trap... to each their own.
For the record, the Michelin Commander II 140/75 17 is a fantastic tire and it carries a V speed rating and, I believe, a 65 load index rating. If I didn't want to replace it witha a new, matching rear tire at the same time, it would easily give me over 10,000 miles of service or about 1,500 miles more than it has logged to date. It has dramatically lightened the feel of the bike by about 200 pounds, as well as having correspondingly decreased rider input (countersteering and low speed maneuvering effort, etc.) much to my delight. It tracks beautifully, is very good in wet weather, looks terrific and grips very well in the twisties.
But, our beasts with a 130/70 17 up front is all that much more improved overall and it really makes for an extremely comfortable, amazingly flickable handling and neutral feeling machine rather than the major handful she is in her OEM state. B'stone just added that size tire to it's Exedra Max line and I'm probably going to buy it and, for a change, that will give me a matched set front and rear.
I was a bit concerned about the load rating of 62(584 lbs.) on the 130, but it, combined with the radial Max in the rear's load rating of 86 (1,168 lbs !!!), should be good and safe for the type of riding I do.
BTW, the Max I'm contemplating for the front has a W speed rating, far and away more than I will ever need for sustained riding purposes and I should be able get it for about $100, making my new front and rear come to about $260 total unmounted cost!
