There is no more important part of your motorcycle than the tires. People who come from cars to motorcycles often neglect the part of the motorcycle that connects the motorcycle to the road.
- Do you know what your tire pressure is right now?
- Do you know what it should be?
- How long ago was your tire manufactured? How do you know and why does it matter?
This week on MCrider let’s look below the shiny parts and discover why your tires are one of the most important components on your motorcycle.
There was a time when I was having a horrible streak with motorcycle tires. It was a really weird phenomenon but I picked up 6 different nails in a 3 month period. Prior to that time, it had never happened and since that time about 6 years ago it has not happened again.
So during that time, I learned a thing or two about what to carry with you in the case of a puncture and I became pretty proficient at plugging tires on a motorcycle.
I won’t get into the whole argument on whether or not you should ride on a plugged tire. I will just tell you that I picked up 6 nails on separate occasions and it cost me 3 tires.
First, let’s look at tire pressure. You can find the max tire pressure on the side wall of the tires. It is going to look something like this. Most people like the ride of the motorcycle by keeping the pressure slightly under this. I tend to run my pressure pretty high but I don’t mind a firmer ride.
Get a good tire pressure gauge and check it often while the tires are cold, so before riding. A few times a week depending on how often you ride, if it has been a while since you rode make sure and check the pressure before you head out.
Two things you need to invest in that will make life easier is a tire pressure gauge and an air pump. Or, you can do what I just did and get one of these small rechargeable pumps. You just dial in the tire pressure and the pump shuts itself off when the tire is inflated.
How old is your tire?
You can find this information on the sidewall of the tire. Here is the sidewall of Toothless and it shows…(Date) Look on the outer sidewall for the acronym “DOT,” which should be followed by a series of numbers. The last four digits are what you need to determine when the tire was manufactured. The first two numbers represent the week, and the second pair indicates the year.
You want to know the manufacture date of the tire because a tire has a shelf life about 5 – 7 years is a rule of thumb. After that, the tire begins to break down and will not be as effective. In this case, it has nothing to do with wear, we are talking about replacing tires because of age.
Tire manufacturers place wear bars on the tread of the tire. Once the wear bars are flush with the tire it is time to replace. If you have a lot of straight roads you may notice that your tires tend to square off and wear more quickly in the center. This squaring off will affect handling and may indicate time for a new set of tires as well.
I did something today that I have intended on doing for a while. I put some Ride-On tire sealant in my tires on Toothless. Ride-On seals any punctures like nails or other things that cause a tire to go flat. Ride-On also balances the tire out allowing you to remove and of the lead sticky weights on the sides of the tires.
The installation was easy, just remove the valve stem core, let the air out, squeeze in the right amount of Ride-On for your size tire, clear the valve and air back up.
I took it for a short ride after installing and maybe it was my imagination but the bike did seem to run smoother down the road with a little less road noise. It does give some peace of mind while I am on a longer trip that the tire can survive punctures. Ride-On states that it seals 85 – 90% of punctures. There are independent videos of people drilling holes and riding over nails and Ride-On seals the hole right up.
So, before your next ride take a few minutes and check your tires. Get the pressure right and check for wear and tear. If you want some added peace of mind you can install some Ride-On in case you hit that nail miles away from home.
