Understanding Motorcycle Tyres Everything You Wanted to Know

1. Motorcycle Tire Specs Meaning.

There are many types of motorcycle tires, with different brands, different tread patterns, and different specifications.how to read motorcycle tire size?Generally speaking, qualified motorcycle tires are marked with the tire manufacturer, tire name, tire size, type, load index, speed code, arrow indicating the direction of tire rotation, national certification marks, country of production, etc. Among these symbols, motorcycle enthusiasts need to pay special attention to the tire specifications, which can be found in a prominent position on the tire tread.

2. The structure of motorcycle tires.

Motorcycle tires usually consist of the following layers:
Carcass: The carcass is made of rubber and is used to make contact with the ground and provide friction and grip.
Steel wire layer: Steel wire layer is usually embedded in the casing layer to enhance the structure and wear resistance of the tire.
Inner tube: The inner tube is an inflated rubber tube used to maintain tire pressure and provide elasticity.

For detailed layering, refer to the picture above.

3. Motorcycle tire types.

• Hot-melt tires: As the name suggests, they have a low melting temperature and will soften due to heat and degumming due to vigorous driving, commonly known as “tire poop”. After softening, the friction of the rubber will be greatly increased, and the grip will be significantly improved. The disadvantages are also obvious: short life, easy to consume, and easy to hit sand and sharp objects after softening. “Slick tires” are mostly used on racetracks.
• Semi-thermal tires: Considering the track limitations of hot-fusion tires, semi-thermal tires appeared. Semi-hot-melt tires combine the advantages of ordinary tires and hot-melt tires. When the tire temperature rises, it not only has strong grip, but also ensures sufficient hardness to prevent stones and debris on the road from penetrating into the tire. The degree of wear is also controlled within the allowable range. Most of the sports tires recommended by general manufacturers are semi-thermal tires, which are also sought after by the majority of motorcycle enthusiasts in the market.
• Radial tire: Radial tire is a tubeless tire. What is a tubeless tire? A tubeless tire is a low-pressure pneumatic tire without an inner tube. This type of tire uses the special structure of the rim and tire edge to seal the air in the carcass. A good tubeless tire is difficult to puncture. Even if it is punctured by a foreign object, the tire will not go out of air immediately, and it is easy to repair after a puncture. You can make it yourself with just one spicy stick. Vacuum tires have good elasticity and wear resistance, and have good adhesion and heat dissipation properties, especially all-steel radial vacuum tires.
  Radial tires have different measurement standards and different classifications. Multiple classifications can be interspersed with each other. Radial represents the performance of the tire structure. This structure mainly distinguishes bias tires, arched tires, pressure-adjusted tires, etc. The international code for radial tires is “R”, commonly known as “steel tires”.
• Rain tires and sunny tires: Rain tires are tires for rainy days. This kind of tire is developed for effective drainage on rainy days. On rainy days, a layer of water film will appear between the tire and the road surface. The appearance of this water film can make the tire The grip becomes zero. So rain tires appeared. The dense tread patterns are actually drainage channels. The design of the drainage channels is mainly based on the vehicle parameters to design the displacement per second. Generally, the parameters of rain tires are L/S. Then the counterpart of rain tires is sunny tires. Sunny tires have fewer tread patterns than rain tires, commonly known as dry tires. Both have different rubber formulas, softness and hardness.

4. How to choose motorcycle tires?

When purchasing tires, you should follow the original manufacturer’s specifications when purchasing and replacing them. They are all adjusted, and wider is not always better. The performance tread of the tire should also be selected according to your own usage scenarios. For example, if you often run on mud roads, mountains, non-paved roads, or even snow, you should choose off-road tires or tires with deep grooves to facilitate the drainage of water during work. Debris reaches high grip.
There is also life, one is to look at the wear marks on the tires. The age of the tires is calculated from the time they leave the factory, and the effective safety period is 3-5 years. If it exceeds this age, even unused tires need to be replaced because they will age.

5. How do I know when my motorcycle tires need replacing?

Your motorcycle tires may need to be replaced when:

Serious wear: The tire tread is severely worn or even worn flat, which will affect the tire’s grip and handling performance.

Tread Cracks: Cracks appear on the surface of your tires, either due to age or prolonged exposure to sunlight.

Uneven tread wear: Certain parts of the tire are heavily worn while other parts are lightly worn, possibly due to uneven suspension or tire pressure.

Tire pressure is too low: Continuously low tire pressure will cause excessive tire wear and needs to be inflated or replaced in time.

Tread deformation: Obvious deformation or depression appears on the tire surface, which may be caused by impact or other external forces.

If you have any questions about replacing motorcycle tires, it is recommended to consult a professional motorcycle repair shop or consult the relevant motorcycle manual.