Monday, October 10, 2011

Tips For Maintaining Your Motorcycle Tires


Have you checked your motorcycle tires lately? If you haven't, then you might want to do so in order to make sure they are in good condition. Failure to keep your tires in good condition could put you and others at risk. Here are some tips that will help you keep your tires maintained.

Why It's Important To Have Good Tires

There are many different reasons why having well maintained motorcycle tires is important. One of the first reasons is that having good tires give you good traction on different types of road surfaces. Proper tread helps make good traction possible and can keep you from skidding out. Proper tread is also very important in wet riding conditions.

Without the right amount of tread depth in your tires, water has no where to flow so you might experience hydroplaning more often which can be very dangerous especially on two wheels. If you feel yourself sliding or slipping from side to side while riding on wet roads, then you know your tires lack sufficient tread depth and you should consider purchasing new ones.

Not only does having an adequate amount of tread help keep you safe, but it also helps keep others on the road safe as well. If you're bike skids out of control, who knows what the result might be and who knows who else might be hurt as a result of your negligence.

Maintenance Tips:

Proper Tire Inflation

One thing you can do to help extend the life of your tires is always keep the proper amount of air in them. Proper inflation can help reduce wear and tear and can give you maximum amount of usage out of your motorcycle tires. Tires that are under-inflated tend to heat up more and therefore are more susceptible to a blow out. When your motorcycle tires are running to hot, they are more likely to break down and wear out quickly.

Maintain Proper Tread Depth

Another tip for maintaining your motorcycle tires is to keep constant watch on the amount of tread that is left on them. If the gap in the tread of your tires is 2mm deep or less, then it's definitely time to think about getting some new tires. Be sure to check the tread depths on all areas of the tire surface and don't just check the depth in one spot such as the edge of the tire. Use a tire gauge to check the pressure in your motorcycle tires on a regular basis.

If you ride primarily on highways and freeways where there is little cornering, then most of the tread wear is going to occur in the middle of the tire so you'll want to check the depth there. If you ride on curvy roads, then tread wear will be distributed evenly over the surface of the motorcycle tire. Checking the surface of the entire tire regardless of what types of roads you typically ride on will help you properly identify the condition of your tires.