Motorcycle Tires

Keeping an eye on your motorcycle's tires is vital to better performance and safety on the road. Sure, in a car, most people forget about their tires until they have a blowout, but you can't afford to wait that long on a motorcycle. Blowing out a tire on your bike can lead to a devastating accident, so you should always change your tires when necessary, use the right tires, and make sure your pressure levels never get too low. To keep you informed and safe, we put together this guide so you know when and how to take care of your tires properly. If you ever need new tires, we're happy to help you out at Interstate Cycles in Lake City, FL, serving the areas of Gainesville, Tallahassee, Alachua, Valdosta, Jacksonville, and Sanderson, Florida.

Your Tire's Parts

We don't have to tell you that there's more to a tire than just a rubber circle stuck to your wheels, but you should keep in mind how many different parts there are in your tires if you want to take care of them properly. All tires have four main parts: the bead, , the tread, the carcass, and the sidewall. The bead connects the tire to your bike's wheel. The tread is the main part you notice. It's your tire's outer shell, and it gets traction on the road to give your bike better control. The carcass, a cordage that lies underneath the tread, gives your tire its structural integrity, and the sidewall is of course the side of your tire, and it supports most of your motorcycle's weight. The tire's carcass can be either radial or bias-ply, which defines how the cords in a tire are laid out and makes a difference for how your tire performs on the road. With a radial tire, the tire cords sit radially around the casing, and can't usually handle quite as much load as a bias-ply tire. The cords overlap in an X figure in a bias-ply, which creates higher aspect ratio and therefore more support for heavier bikes and loads.

The Right Tires for your Motorcycle

Don't put a tire on your bike unless you know that it matches the specs provided by your owner's manual. You'll need a tire that matches the sidewall height and width to make sure your bike drives properly and safely on the road.

Tire Pressure

For any tire, whether on a car or a bike, the tire pressure needs to be checked and maintained regularly. Ignoring your motorcycle's tire pressure can drastically reduce your tire's life, which will cost you extra money in the long run, and could cause a dangerous blowout if you don't pay careful attention to it. You can buy a pressure gauge for really cheap, and this is an easy way to check your pressure quickly, so you can even do it every day if you want to be extra certain! At least check your tire pressure weekly, and when you start to get low on pressure, fill it up until it's at the same pressure that's written on the sidewall. Be careful not to overinflate, because doing so can also permanently damage your tire.

When to Change your Tires

Modern tires have wear bars that indicate how much your tread has worn down. Check your tires regularly to make sure they have at least 1/16" of tread everywhere on the tire. Also, if your tires are getting a little old, like more than 5 years, you should probably consider getting them replaced, regardless of how well they seem to be doing, since you have no way of checking the tread. If you want to get the most out of older tires though, bring them in and we can check the tread for you and let you know if they're safe.

Although checking your tires all the time sounds tedious, it's actually really easy to get into the habit and making it a part of every motorcycle ride. Few parts of your motorcycle are more important than your tires for keeping you safe, so don't risk your life or health by neglecting your tires. If you need new tires on your motorcycle, come on into Interstate Cycles, and we'll get your bike back on the road with new tires right away!