It is important to check the tires of your motorcycle from time-to-time. A proper inspection is crucial in maintaining the quality of tires. This is why you must beware of any sign of significant wear. After all, it is the first thing that comes in contact with the road just as your hands first come in contact with the road in 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 is a critical safety component of your motorcycle that wears out very quickly. If you are a daily commuter, then you understand that rubber tires are first to come in contact with the road and if by any chance tires wear out then the motorcycle will lose their grip in cornering and braking. Therefore, you must know when your motorcycle needs new tires!
Check for Treads
The very first thing you need to do is to inspect the treads of your motorcycle tires. These treads or pattern is what allows 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 going to need more treads for your tires. The ability to shed water and maintain traction will become compromised when the pattern wears out.
So, don’t forget to choose the right tread pattern to ride in the conditions you will be riding in most frequently. In fact, this is the first indicator that the tread of your motorcycle tires are wearing out and you are going to 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 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 the 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 of the Tires
This is no doubt stating the obvious, but the age of your tires is one of the most important factors. And yeah, it really does matter! Whether you ride your motorcycle a lot or not, every set of tires have a warranty period of approximately 5 years and should be changed at that time. It is because tires are made of rubber along with chemical compounds that give tires the thickness they have and it evaporates over time.
Tire Pressure
It doesn’t matter how expensive your motorcycle tires are or how old they are. What matters is the correct level of pressure in 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. This is why you need an accurate air pressure gauge to avoid underinflating or overinflating conditions because both conditions are dangerous for your motorcycle tires. An underinflated situation will waste gas and increase the heat, which further leads to quick wear out.
Also, in an overinflated situation, tires can become more dangerous since the inflation pressure will rise as you ride. An overinflated tire will hit harder on the road during impact and cause quick wear and tear to the tread pattern of the tire.
Adjust to the New Tires
And last but not least is adjusting to 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 be a good idea not to push too hard when riding down the road on new tires. Tires need some time to adjust; until then don’t push the performance of your bike.
Go easy! You and the bike will adjust eventually.
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