It is important to check for tires of your motorcycle time-to-time. A proper inspection is crucial in maintaining the quality of tires. This is why you must look out for any sign of wearing out. After all, it is the first thing which comes in contact with the road just like your hands first come in contact with a motorcycle fall. To protect your hands, you wear motorcycle gloves. Similarly, to protect your bike, you need to take proper care of your bike tires and make sure your bike is ready to hit the road whenever you want.
Unlike a car or any 4-wheeler, your motorcycle has only two tires which may not be the most important but a critical component of your motorcycle which wears out very quickly. If you are a daily commuter then you understand that rubber tires first come in contact with the road and if by any chance tires wear out then the motorcycle will lose the grip in cornering and braking. Therefore, you must know,
“When my motorcycle needs new tires?”
Check for Treads
The very first thing you need to do is go through the treads of your motorcycle tires. These treads or pattern is what allow you to ride in certain conditions. These treads are strategically placed on tires to shed water and maintain proper traction. If you ride mostly on wet surfaces then you are gonna need more treads in your tires. The ability to shed water and maintain traction become compromised when the pattern wears out.
So, don’t forget to pick the right tread pattern to ride in the conditions you will be riding on the frequent basis. In fact, this is the first indicator that the tread of your motorcycle tires are wearing out and you gonna need new tires on your motorcycle.
To do the inspection, you can just simply use a coin and put it in the groove of tread, as long as the coin is still inside, your tires are just fine and possess the sufficient thickness to ride.
Are You Mixing?
Generally, the rear tire wears out long before the front one. That’s why many riders change the rear tire and sometimes mix the brand of both tires. Here, we would suggest you use a single brand tire for front and back. Combining different models may cause some serious trouble and instability in your ride.
But, if you are a street racer then it is fine to mix them. Otherwise, we won’t recommend the same thing to any professional racer.
Age
Stating the obvious, but the age is one of the most important factors and yeah! It really does matter. Whether you ride your motorcycle or not. Every set of tires has a warranty period of approximately 5 years and should be changed at that time. It is because tires are made up of rubber along with chemical compounds that give tires the thickness it wants and evaporate over time.
Tire Pressure
It doesn’t matter how expensive your motorcycle tires are or how old they are. What matters is the right level of pressure inside those tires before you go on a long trip. In order to do that you can go through the tire manual and check for the right PSI level. Which is why you need an accurate air pressure gauge to avoid underinflate or overinflate conditions. Because both conditions are dangerous for your motorcycle tires. An underinflate situation will waste your motorcycle gas and build more heat which further led to quick wear out.
Also, in overinflate situation, tires can be more dangerous since the inflation pressure will rise as you ride. AN overinflate tire will hit harder on road during impact and cause quick wear and tear to the tread pattern of the tire.
Fill in the Shoes
The last but not least is adjust in your new tires. Like motorcycle shoes or motorcycle helmets, you need time to adjust especially when switching to a new brand. This is why it would probably a good idea to do not push yourself down the road while riding a motorcycle in new tires. Tires need some time to adjust until then don’t push the performance of your bike.
Go easy! You will come around eventually.
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