Street Tyre Check

Tyres are your motorcycle’s only link to the ground, so their condition is critical to your safety and the performance of the bike. Worn centres, squared profiles or feathered edges dramatically reduce grip and make the bike feel vague or unsettled on the road.

Always check pressures before every ride and stick to the manufacturer’s recommended figures, cold, as the pressure rises when the tyres, and air in them, warms up. Only race tyres need to be set when the tyres are warm.

Correct pressures improve grip, feedback and tyre life, while running too low or too high can make even a good tyre behave badly, an over inflated tyre will overheat on the surface and lose grip, and offer a harsh, chattery ride that can cause a crash, particularly at the front. Even a few PSI over is too much. Tyre pressures are critical and must be spot on, every ride.

An under-inflated tyre will drift at lean and feel unstable under brakes, upsetting tip-in and steering. It can also run wide through corners and, in the wet, lose grip as the grooves close.

Before every ride, at least glance over your tyres and give both a kick and push, you will be familiar eventually with how they should feel. This is just a basic check to make sure you haven’t picked up a flat, and that there is no fluid on the tyres.

Once a week, whether I am riding or not, I check and set the pressures on all my bikes. I have a cordless pump with a built-in gauge, but any pump will do, and a good quality pressure gauge. Every few weeks I move the bikes I don’t ride often to stop the tyres from developing flat spots. The ones I use daily get a closer look; I check for nails or screws, make sure the bead is seated evenly against the rim, inspect the tread for wear or damage and confirm the valve and cap are in good shape. It’s also worth glancing at the wheel weights to be sure they’re still in place and secure, because if they’re not, the balance will be out, and you may feel vibrations through the ’bars.

It’s not a big job, but it should be an important part of your maintenance routine. Tyres keep you alive, so they’re worth keeping an eye on and looking after. Correct pressures help your bike handle as it should, give you even wear, better longevity and, most importantly, a safer ride.

Words: Jeff Ware