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With the winter season upon us and the motorcycles safely stored for the winter, it is a good time to check your tyres, maintain them and determine if you need new tyres for the harsh weather
The winters are here and if you are the sorts who rides all round the year, it is advised that you pay good attention to the tyres especially in cold and wet weather. Below are a few motorcycle winter tyre tips that will help you stay safe and ride carefree everywhere you go.
Winter Tyre Tips:
• On a regular basis, check your tyres all the way around. Rotate both tyres completely and make sure there are no nails, or other objects penetrating the tyre. If you find anything, do not ride until you have your motorcycle dealer inspect the tyre and replace it if necessary.
• Check the tyre sidewalls for signs of cracking and never use sidewall treatments or dressings, which can actually accelerate tyre cracking.
• Checking tyre pressure is the most important tyre maintenance function you can perform. Maintaining the correct air pressure is crucial to the tyres' rolling efficiency, steering, grip, wear and load-carrying capabilities for every 4 psi a tyre is underinflated, you could lose up to 80 pounds of load-carrying capacity.
• You're not only riding on your tyres, you're also riding on the air within them, so check cold air pressure as often as possible with a high-quality air-pressure gauge, and have it calibrated at least once a year.
• If you're storing your motorcycle for the winter and/or if you're storing spare tyres, try to avoid frequent and varied extremes of temperature during storage. Do not keep tyres next to radiators or sources of heat. Tyres subjected to these conditions will age more quickly than those stored in a cool, constant environment.
• Do not store tyres where electric motors are present; the high concentration of ozone will accelerate tyre cracking.
• When buying new tyres make sure you select tyres that can carry your expected load, including the total weight of the motorcycle, the rider(s), luggage and any equipment. Always match front and rear tyres.
• After installation of new tyres, check to make sure the arrows on the sidewall are pointing in the correct direction of rotation, and that the balance dot on the tyre is lined up with the valve stem.
Worn out tyres greatly reduce the ability to dissipate water and heavily reduce traction when riding on wet surfaces. It also changes the way the bike feels and alters the overall handling dynamics and are also more prone to punctures. It is advisable to change tyres before they reach the tread-depth indicators inside the tread grooves. On the sidewall of the tyre, there are little triangles spaced around the tyre. Looking in a tread groove at a point indicated by the triangle, you can see a raised-up bar. The surface of your tread must be higher than those bars in order to be road worthy and safe.
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Karma Pintso Tshering Bhutia
Very Informative ... Thank you. I would also like to know how to check out the shelf life of the tyre ... i.e. the expiry date of the tyre ..
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Sonika
Interesting read !
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