A Guide to Motorcycle Tires

Tires are one of the most important parts for a motorcycle’s performance. They provide the friction necessary to grip the road on turns and during acceleration, and they make your ride much more comfortable through the small pillow of air that’s built into their design. There’s also no quicker way to take a spill on your bike than to have a blowout or other problem with your tires.

We created this short guide to teach you about how tires are designed, how they should be maintained, and when they need to be replaced. If you think it might be time to replace your own tires, stop by Barnes Bros. Motorcycles & Offroad. We’re located in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, and we proudly serve the areas of Washington and Pittsburgh.

Tire Anatomy

Most motorcycle tires share a similar tire design, regardless of bikes style. The four basic elements of a bike tire include the tread, sidewall, bead, and radial. Radials are the steel wires or bands that run the circumference of the tire and give it shape, strength, and durability. The tread is the part that actually touches the pavement (or dirt or gravel). The sidewall is the part you see in profile and it’s what holds the bike up. The bead is the rim of the sidewall that forms a seal with the wheel rim. Motorcycle tires tend to have a more dramatic “donut” shape than car tires because motorcycle tires must provide grip when the bike goes into a turn at a hard angle. When viewed from the front, some bike tires have more of a “U” shape while others are closer to a “V.”

Types & Sizes of Tires

Tread designs vary greatly depending on the style of the bike and the type of riding for which the bike is designed. Knobby tires are meant to give the bike grip when in gravel, dirt, or other loose surfaces, which is why this type of tire is often found on dual sports and dirt bikes. Flat and smooth tires (which are often found on superbikes) are designed to get a better grip on the pavement, and medium treads may be designed for all-weather riding. Tires designed for touring bikes are sometimes made from a harder rubber that will last longer and get better gas mileage.

Maintaining Tires

It’s important to take care of your tires. Luckily, this is a pretty simple process. Just make sure to keep them properly inflated at all times. The air pressure in your tires will have a major impact on their longevity and performance. If you live in an area that gets lots of winter snow, you might consider washing your tires after rides. The reason for this is that regions with more snow usually salt their roads, and this salt can eventually damage your tires.

When to Replace Your Tires

So how do you know when your tire has passed the point of no return? The most obvious sign is that the tire has a foreign object stuck in it or some other obvious damage such as cracked tread or large bumps and bald patches. In the world of tires, rarely does something look like it’s a problem but turn out to be totally fine.

Even if something isn’t obviously wrong with your tires, it may be time to replace them. Motorcycle tires have significantly shorter lifespans than car tires. A car tire might offer as much as four years of driving, and a motorcycle tire will only last about a quarter of that. To put it another way, motorcycle tires will usually only last 10,000 to 15,000 miles.

You can also check the wear bands on your tires if you haven’t kept track of mileage. Wear bands are ridges of rubber that intersect the grooves in your tread. When the tire is worn out, the ridge will make a solid line across the ridge of the tire.

Tires are one of the most important parts of your motorcycle, so you don’t want to ignore them until it’s too late. Make sure to carry a tire pressure gauge with you whenever you ride so that you can test your tire pressure anywhere and anytime. If you need new motorcycle tires, stop by Barnes Bros. Motorcycles & Offroad. We’re located in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, and we proudly serve the areas of Washington and Pittsburgh.