Whether you are a seasoned motorcycle rider or just bought your first one, you need to have roadworthy tires for the best grip, performance, and mileage.
If you have a Harley bike, you need to get custom-designed motorcycle tires for the best experience on the road. Once you buy your set, how long do they last? Here’s all you need to know.
On average, Harley Davidson front tires can last about 15,000 -20,000 miles and the rear one about 20,000 – 30,000 miles without a tire change. However, this is not guaranteed; the lifespan depends on individual use. While the Harley tires don’t expire, they need to be replaced five years after the date of manufacture. In rare cases, they can last ten years.
To learn more about Harley tires, how many miles they last, when they should be replaced, and how many years you should use them, keep on reading!
Harley Tires can typically last about 15,000 – 30,000 miles (24,000 – 48,000 km) on average. However, some can last for more miles, depending on how you ride.
On the other hand, some can last for fewer miles, about 1,500. The mileage is determined by the type and quality of tires, riding habits, road and weather conditions, the performance of the bike, and storage and maintenance.
Harley Tires are primarily manufactured by Dunlop, who makes the most durable and high traction tires for motorbikes.
Mileage varies significantly depending on where the motorbike owner rides mostly.
Harley tires will wear out depending on how you take care of them. Just like any other tires, they are affected by the terrain, how your ride, and tire maintenance.
If you don’t take your tires to a professional mechanic for regular maintenance or check the PSI, your tires might lose pressure and wear out much faster than anticipated.
Most tire manufacturers recommend that you should replace your motorcycle tires after five years.
While some riders use their tires beyond this period, they should not go beyond ten years for safety purposes.
According to the Harley Davidon tires manufacturer, tires that have been in use for more than five years should be constantly inspected by a specialist or professional at least annually.
However, once they hit ten years or more past the manufacture date, they should be replaced immediately.
Once your Harley tires get to this point, they need to be replaced even if they are still within the legal wear-out limit or look serviceable.
Some riders have been forced to replace their motorcycle tires pretty early after they failed the penny test.
This is one of the most common questions for riders after how many miles will my motorcycle tires last.
So, how can you know that it’s time to make the replacement? Here are some of the key things to look out for.
Date & Year Of Manufacture
As stated, most motorcycle tire manufacturers recommend that the tires should be replaced after every five years.
To know whether your Harley tires have hit this age, you need to check the DOT serial code on the tire sidewall.
Out of all the letters and numbers embedded on the tire, the last four numbers represent the week and year the tire was manufactured.
Keep in mind that after five years, the rubber compounds cease being reliable; therefore, if you continue using them, you are at higher risk of a puncture or accident.
Tread Depth
Just like cars, motorcycles also need to be inspected regularly to confirm that the tread depth is within the legal limit.
Use the penny test to see whether the tread is below 2/32”, which technically means the tire is worn out and needs to be replaced.
Cracks and Cuts
If your motorcycle is mostly stored outside or exposed to direct sunlight, the Harley tires will exhibit cracks along the sidewall on the tread.
Cuts also appear if you are riding in the rough terrains where there’s debris and rocks.
You should constantly check whether there are any cracks and cuts before you go out to ride; otherwise, you might experience a tire blowout or puncture on the road. To avoid this, you have to replace the tires.
Loss Of Tire Pressure
If you notice that your tire is losing air pressure frequently, there might be an issue with the tire beads, or there are some minor cuts.
For Harley tires, the PSI in the front tire is 36, and the rear tire is 40 PSI. However, this might change during the hot climate and change to 32 PSI for the front tire and 36 PSI for the rear one.
Therefore, if you notice your tires are losing pressure, despite inflating them correctly, it’s time to replace them.
Other Factors
When riding, you need to feel whether the motorcycle feels odd, for instance, pulsating or vibrating too much.
If you observe any abnormalities, have a tire professional check the tires for any issues that would warrant a replacement.
When replacing tires, it’s not a must that you replace both tires; you can just change the one with the problems.
However, if both Harley tires are over five years, you should consider changing both of them simultaneously.
In most cases, the rear tire wears out faster than the front one because the rear sends all the engine power and carries most of the bike’s weight.
On the other hand, if you are switching from one brand to the other, you should change both of them. If you ride a bike with different types of tires, you are more likely to experience handling problems.
If you just bought new tires for your motorbike, there are steps you can take to ensure that the tires last much longer. Here are some of them.
Check Pressure Frequently
Before going out for a ride, especially long trips, check the tire pressure to ensure that the tires are properly inflated within the correct PSI.
This way, you lower the chances of a puncture or tire blowout.
Avoid Too Much Sun Exposure
If you can, avoid parking your motorcycle in the direct sunlight. Your Harley tires will wear out faster and get cracks if they are exposed to too much sun.
Inspect Your Tires
Apart from pressure, you should constantly check the tires for cracks, bubbles, and cuts. Additionally, check the tread wear to confirm that it’s within the legal limit.
Check Your Riding Habits
Riding habits contribute to how much the tires last; therefore, you need to be careful if you want the tires to last longer.
To know more about tires, you can also see our posts on whether or not can you plug motorcycle tires, how common are flat tires, and sidewall tire damage.
Harley tires can last between 15,000 – 30,000 miles on average. Like any other motorcycle tires, they need to be replaced after five years, even if they still look good.
On average, the mileage can vary depending on individual use, from tire maintenance, riding habits, road conditions, and type of tire.
If you take proper care of your Harley tires, they are likely to last much longer.
How long your motorcycle tires last is no doubt an important question.
Not just that, but also how long they should be lasting is also worth looking into.
Tires are easily one of the highest unexpected costs when it comes to motorcycles, simply because they do not last as long as car tires, for example.
How many miles can you get on a Harley tire? Riders can expect to get between 5,000 and 28,000 miles on a Harley tire with normal riding. On average, riders can get 5,000 to 15,000 miles out of their rear-wheel Harley tires, and front-wheel Harley tires last between 9,000 to 25,000 miles.
Of course, these are good average numbers.
However, they cannot give us all details.
Below I go into more detail about how many miles riders should expect to get out of their Harley tires and how different factors will affect the actual miles.
Motorcycle tires, in general, wear out faster and do not last as long as the tires used on other motor vehicles, for example.
Generally speaking, motorcycle tires will usually last about 2,500 to 17,000 miles or about 5 to 7 years.
The different types of tires also tend to perform a little differently.
Sports tires and tires designed for more performance last on average about 2,500 to 9,000 miles
Touring and sport-touring tires can last on average about 10,000 to 17,000 miles.
Motorcycle tires wear out so fast because of their design, how they are engineered, and the compounds used. This also plays a role in why motorcycle tires can be so expensive sometimes. That being said, other factors can also play a role in how fast a motorcycle tire will wear out, like riding habits, overall quality of the tires, the road surface and condition, and the lack of any maintenance and care.
Now that you have a good idea of how long most motorcycle tires last, let’s take a look at how Harley tires fare in comparison.
On average, Harley tires last between 5,000 to 30,000 miles. Front tires can last between 9,000 to 28,000 miles, and rear tires can last between 5,000 to 17,000 miles in certain cases.
In terms of age, most manufacturers recommend replacing your Harley tires after 4 to 10 years, depending on the manufacturer.
The most commonly used tires for Harleys are Dunlop, Metzeler, Avon, Pirelli, and Michelin.
See article: Is changing your own motorcycle tires worth it?
OEM Dunlop motorcycle tires, which are used for the majority of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, are designed to last between 15,000 to 18,000 miles or up to 10 years from the date of manufacture.
However, many riders can get 15,000 to 28,000 miles on the front tire and about 10,000 to 20,000 on the rear tire.
Metzler motorcycle tires are another good option that many riders pick. They are intended for use up to 4 years from the date of manufacture. That being said, Harley riders usually report their rear Metzler tires lasting between 7,500 to 15,000 miles and their front Metzler tires lasting about 10,000 to 22,000 miles.
According to Avon, riders should replace their motorcycle tires within 5 years from the manufacture date, and riders should not use Avon tires older than 7 years at all.
Avon tires generally have good mileage of about 10,000 to 20,000 miles, and many riders really seem to enjoy using Avon motorcycle tires.
Pirelli hasn’t posted any official data. However, most owners report their tires to last between 5,000 to 18,000 miles with normal riding.
Michelin motorcycle tires should be replaced after 10 years from the date of manufacture. Michelin, in general, should last between 6,500 to 18,000 miles.
Some Harley riders are also running Darkside, or in other words, using car tires. So it is worth looking into how car tires on a Harley will perform in terms of mileage.
There are many different car tires brands that Harley riders use, like Bridgestone, Yokohama, Dunlop, Goodyear, Pirelli, General, and more. All of these can perform and feel a little differently.
Some have noticeably better tread life, some will be better at twisties and have great traction, some handle better being flat, while others can be slightly asymmetrical or heavier.
Most car tires on a Harley can last between 12,000 to 35,000 miles. However, some Harley riders can get only 6,000 to 12,000 miles on their car tires depending on a number of different factors like riding style, tire quality, and road and weather conditions.
How many miles riders will get out of their Harley tires depends on a number of different factors. These factors are, but not limited to:
Everyone’s riding style is different.
As a general rule of thumb, the more aggressive the riding style, the fewer miles the tires will last as they will wear out faster.
For example, burnouts, skids, or locking the wheels for one reason or another can all wear out the tires faster.
Both hard acceleration and engine braking, especially with high torque motorcycles, are going to cause more tire wear, as well.
It is not uncommon for riders who ride very aggressively to wear out and replace their tires at anywhere between 2,500 to 5,500 miles.
Even car tires can be worn out at 6,000 to 10,000 miles.
Not all tires are created equal. Some are designed for performance and are softer, while others will be designed for durability and will be harder.
Softer and grippier tires will tend to wear out much faster compared to harder tires.
The road conditions have a big say in how many miles Harley tires will last.
For example, highway riding tends to wear out tires faster than city riding.
Twisties also can wear out your tires faster and unevenly.
The heavier the motorcycle and the more weight the tires carry, the faster they tend to wear out. Riding over the load limit with extra luggage, pulling a trailer, even having an extra passenger will noticeably lower the number of miles you can get out of the tires on your Harley.
For example, riding two-up can lower the mileage one gets from a potential 20,000 to 30,000 miles down to 12,000 to 18,000 miles on the rear and front tires, respectively.
Riding on hot asphalt during the summer can be particularly unrelenting on tires and help them wear out faster.
Some roads and types of asphalt will simply be rougher on the tires, which will significantly speed up the natural wear and tear of the tire. It is no surprise that some road surfaces can be referred to as tire eaters.
Tire pressure is very important as it can affect how fast the tire wears out. This is why spending more on a good and precise gauge is highly recommended.
One of the mistakes some riders make is not using the correct, manufacturer-recommended tire pressure.
The thing is, some tires can take higher pressure than other tires. For example, Avon tires take different pressure than Dunlop tires. So riders should ensure they are not under-inflation or over-inflating their tires.
Text: Andrey Rodionov, Dmitry Kolchugin
Photo: Nikita Kolobanov, Andrey Rodionov, rubber manufacturers
The tasks facing motorcycle tire developers are extremely complex and contradictory.
On the one hand, tires must effectively transmit engine power, prevent stalls and slips, provide feedback and allow the rider to “feel the road”. On the other hand, to ensure a minimum tire wear rate, and make it uniform across the entire width of the working surface. Therefore, when choosing a tire for certain operating conditions, we will inevitably have to sacrifice something.
Our task is greatly facilitated by the experience of global motor rubber manufacturers. Based on the collected data, they have already calculated the optimal ratio of tire characteristics for different conditions, and are ready to offer us ready-made solutions.
There is a great variety of motor rubber models designed for a variety of operating conditions. In this article we will consider its main types. Naturally, the focus will be on road models. We will touch on tires for motocross and enduro only in passing, since in order to fully cover this topic, we will need to write a separate voluminous material.
So, let's get started...
Motor rubber classification.
First, some boring theory.
Any reference book will tell you that motorcycle tires are Diagonal and Radial. The frame of the diagonal motor rubber is made of cross layers of cord, which are directed diagonally from one side of the tire to the other. Each subsequent layer of cord is located at an angle of 90 degrees to the previous one. In some tire models, another layer is applied over the cross plies of the cord, directed in the direction of rotation of the tire. Such a layer is called a Belt, and the design of such a tire is Diagonally Belted. In a radial tire, the plies of the cord are located “radially”, at an angle of 90 degrees to the direction of tire rotation.
Cruiser and custom tires.
Bias tires are well suited for cruiser class motorcycles. Their sidewalls resist loads and impacts much better, so a heavily loaded motorcycle with a passenger on board is not a problem for such tires.
But for powerful and fast power cruisers such as the Yamaha V-MAX II and Harley Davidson V-Rod, radial tires are more suitable. Their sidewalls are not as strong, so the height of such tires, as a rule, is much less. But they are less subject to internal heating and wear during movement, especially at high speeds.
Tires for vintage motorcycles.
There are many different types. Starting from vintage tires with a classic look for some Royal Enfield and old school custom, and ending with the high-tech Pirelli Phantom Sportscomp, which differs from most modern tires only in an elaborate tread pattern.
Small displacement tires.
Another class of tires that includes both radial and bias-ply tires is the small displacement tire. The popularity of checks and three hundred among young people forced the designers to produce tires for the most varied use of these motorcycles. Starting from "diagonals" for lovers of leisurely travel around Moscow (sometimes together), and ending with sports radial tires for those who do not get out of the karting track.
After all, radial tires are much better suited for fast and accurate aerobatics. Their advantages are especially relevant in motorsport.
Racing slicks
A highly specialized product designed for competition and training of professional and amateur athletes, exclusively on sports tracks. Not approved for use on public roads. Most often they have a smooth surface without grooves and patterns, in order to achieve the maximum area of the wheel contact patch. The type of tire without grooves is commonly called - Slick. The sidewall shape of the racing tires is also optimized to maintain traction in extreme lean angles of the motorcycle when cornering not only with the knees, but also with the elbows. They have an extremely limited resource. As a rule, they are subject to replacement after a race or practice session. Provides unparalleled traction.
In addition to their appearance, these tires are characterized by a special temperature regime.
Operating temperature: 80-100°C An unheated tire of this type differs significantly in its properties from the same wheel brought to operating temperature. Accordingly, all its high characteristics appear only after warming up to the specified parameters. That is why in sports competitions so much attention is paid to warming up the rubber with the help of special “warmers”, and during the so-called warm-up lap preceding the combat race.
Racing slicing
In some racing series, the use of smooth tires - slicks - is prohibited for marketing reasons, etc. Therefore, most manufacturers produce racing tires with the minimum number of grooves necessary to comply with the regulations of these competitions. Otherwise, these are, as a rule, the same uncompromising racing tires that are not intended for public roads. The formal exception is the Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SC. The Pirelli website states that this model is suitable for driving on public roads.
But those who have experience with this rubber know that this is an exclusively racing product, not much different from classmates. Caution for newbies. If you decide to use such tires in the city, counting on an unprecedented grip, you will be bitterly disappointed. It is almost impossible to warm them up to operating temperature on public roads. Even after a series of accelerations and decelerations, the sidewalls will remain cold, and you will be indescribably surprised to go into slippery with a completely childish tilt of the motorcycle. For this reason, you should not buy Dunlop D212 and Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SC for next to nothing with a still “live” middle from riders after the track. Especially if you have never encountered this rubber model before, even on a karting track.
Street legal racing cut
The main difference from the previous class is in the temperature regime. These tires hold up much better when cold and don't run as hot.
As a rule, it is: 60-80°C. Accordingly, their maximum grip properties are slightly lower. But the best grip in a cold state allows them to be allowed on public roads. And if you get to the training track on your own, then these tires are the best choice. These are the fastest tires allowed on city streets.
The presence of this class of tires is primarily due to the specific requirements of amateur competitions. In such races, for reasons of economy, the use of heating pads is often prohibited. And so that novice racers do not get killed in the very first turn due to cold tires, the regulations require the use of road tires approved for operation at the DOP.
Racing rain tires
A separate class of racing tires is rain racing tires. Their task is to completely remove water from the contact patch, including when the motorcycle is tilted, as well as the maximum level of grip on wet asphalt. When driving on dry roads, such tires are subject to rapid wear, as they have a very soft composition.
Supersport tires
Designed for more aggressive driving than conventional road racing tires. But in terms of grip, they still fall short of street legal racing “cutting”.
Sport road tires
Designed primarily for powerful sports and urban motorcycles. Fully suitable for operation on public roads. The available grooves, most often, are enough to drain water from the contact patch in case of light rain. At the same time, such tires retain most of the positive qualities of their brutal racing relatives on the sports track. What's more, the amateur rider who trains once a week doesn't have to worry about reaching the optimum operating temperature and pressure.
Sports tires go into operating mode much faster than racing tires, and their parameters in a warm state and “cold” differ not so significantly. But you should not be under any illusions about the ultimate capabilities of such tires in a race, even an amateur one.
The fantastic traction properties of racing tires brought to operating temperature are unattainable for sports tires. Therefore, in extreme conditions, be careful and keep your sobriety of mind.
But the resource of such tires is not limited to a couple of races on the highway, and ranges from 4000 km. up to 7000 km., depending on the engine power, the owner's piloting style, and his love to burn rubber, performing rolling burnout. So, sports tires are a reasonable choice for the owner of a sports or fast road bike, looking at the track or karting track 1-2 times a month to brush up on the relevant skills.
Road touring tires
For this type of rubber, its resource is of particular importance, since it is precisely such rubber that is most often used by motorcycle travelers in their many thousands of runs around cities and countries. In addition to long routes with different quality of coverage, on which the tourist tire must be equally predictable and safe, long trips are usually associated with a large mass of transported belongings, without which the life of a motorcycle tourist becomes dull and bleak.
And the tourist motorcycles themselves, in terms of their curb weight, are increasingly approaching diesel locomotives.
Therefore, a road touring tire must not only withstand long runs, but also withstand high loads well. At the same time, the requirements for the quality of adhesion give way to high predictability and "motorcycle feel" that allows even an inexperienced motorcyclist to feel and stop the development of slips and drifts at an early stage. The main task is not to pass the route at the highest speed, but to reach the final destination in the safest possible mode, while maintaining control over the motorcycle in any weather.
Accordingly, the water drainage grooves in such tires are more developed. And some models are specially optimized to maintain performance on wet roads. The resource of such tires, as a rule, ranges from 10,000 to 20,000 km. Best of all road-touring tires are suitable for city and travel on road and tourist motorcycles. Moreover, for the latter, given their large mass, special “reinforced” versions of tires are sometimes produced.
Dual purpose tires
The high popularity of enduro motorcycles in Europe is beyond the understanding of domestic brains. Especially if you take into account the average European quality of the road surface. But the fruits of this popularity can be enjoyed by our compatriots who operate all-terrain vehicles.
Tires for "parquet" crossovers
The real heyday of this class of tires happened immediately after the appearance in 2010 of the Ducati Multistrada motorcycle, as well as many of its followers. Just like the Porsche Cayenne and BMW X5 crossovers, these bikes are only nightmares for serious off-road use. But nothing prevents them from amusing the pride of the owners on a trampled primer.
But back to tires. In terms of its composition and parameters, this is, as a rule, a specialized tourist rubber capable of withstanding long distances, having a tread that provides the minimum necessary “hook” on unpaved areas. It is designed for large and powerful motorcycles, has a high load capacity and speed index, is comfortable, provides good handling at high speeds and wet roads.
The resource of such tires, as a rule, reaches 20,000 km. And also, due to the obligatory presence of exclusively road dimensions in such models, every city madman can put them on his blue Drozd and rush off towards Magadan.
All-terrain tires
But, unlike in the automotive industry, the rise of the parquet crossover motorcycle class hasn't dampened the popularity of true touring enduros like the Bavarian Great Goose. Such motorcycles can travel on roads with any surface, as well as without it.
Therefore, tires designed for driving on asphalt and dirt in a ratio of 50/50 (as an option: 60/40) are produced by every world-class motor rubber manufacturer. Their task is to provide an acceptable grip on both dirt and asphalt roads.
The resource of such tires, as a rule, ranges from 13,000 to 15,000 km. It should be noted that the higher the rubber resource, the larger the contact patch of the tread with the coating. Therefore, with the growth of off-road characteristics of tires, the resource decreases. Also, the harder the composition of the rubber, the higher its survivability. But grip on wet roads with hard rubber will be noticeably worse.
Off-road tires
The most off-road, among the “civilian” tires, designed for the most desperate travelers and rally marathon participants. They allow you not to think about the presence of any road under the wheels.
These tires have a very strong carcass that provides the necessary margin of safety, which allows you to move on some models even on a punctured wheel. Often, a slight reduction in pressure will achieve more even wear and improve traction on wet pavement.
The resource of such tires is approximately 6000 - 12000 km.
Off-Road Sport Tires
Not for highway use only are not certified and do not have an OTP approval. These are special tires for motocross and enduro, not designed for high speeds. True, there are separate models from this category that are approved for use on the roads, but this is more of a nod to consumers. The resource on the roads of these tires is small, road characteristics, such as handling and braking, also leave much to be desired.
Therefore, we can rather talk only about the possibility of driving on these tires to real off-road without changing shoes. They have a diagonal design and are designed for use with chambers or mousses. They are mainly produced in dimensions R21, R19 and R18 and very rarely - R17. These tires can be divided into motocross tires and enduro tires.
In each of these segments there are sports-oriented models, and amateur formats are more versatile (usually these are old models that no longer satisfy athletes, but are in demand). Unlike many other types of motor tires, motocross and enduro tires are consumables. They must work out their task with maximum effect and, by and large, the residual resource is not of interest to manufacturers.
Motocross tires
Motocross is a very intense, short ride with high shock and alternating loads from acceleration to braking on a pre-prepared track with relatively uniform soil. To do this, the cross tire has a hard cord, high and aggressive lugs and a relatively hard rubber compound.
Motocross tires are available in different types for different types of terrain. They differ in the tread pattern and the composition of the rubber used. The main pattern: on hard ground, tires with wide lugs and more elastic rubber are used, on soft ground - with rare tread blocks and harder rubber. The tire pressure used is 1.2-0.8 kPa: the softer the ground, the higher the pressure.
Enduro competition tires
Enduro competitions include other additional types of obstacles: logs, fords, stones, rocks. To effectively overcome them, tires are used that combine the properties of tires for motocross - for overcoming unpaved areas, and trial - for other obstacles. For this, a very soft tire carcass is used, the maximum width and elasticity of the rubber compound for better grip.
The FIM European Enduro regulation provides for a limitation on the height of the tread used, so the block height on these tires is lower than on motocross tires. These tires are used with mousses instead of tubes to maximize the effect of low pressure inside the tire without the fear of blowing or spinning the tire.
All-terrain tires
Also, most manufacturers produce all-round types of tires, amateur format, combining cross-country and enduro characteristics. (Usually these are old models that no longer satisfy athletes, but are in demand.) Among the tires for enduro, there are also models of a universal format that are suitable for use in both cartri-cross and enduro, can be used with tubes and mousse.
Running in road tires
Having bought and installed new tires on a motorcycle, do not rush to check its adhesion at maximum speeds and angles of inclination. Each new tire must undergo a run-in, during which its carcass, bandage and rubber layer are run in and reach the design characteristics. It is believed that the distance is 100 km. enough to break in a new wheel. After passing it, do not forget to check the pressure in the wheel, as well as inspect it for proper fit and possible geometry violations. If there are no problems, the wheel is ready for full operation.
It must be remembered that most of the motor rubber models are coated with a special compound before use, which prevents it from drying out and aging during storage. It is believed that rubber coated with this composition retains its properties for five years. After installing a new wheel, you must carefully erase this layer during break-in, gradually increasing the angle of the motorcycle to the maximum values \u200b\u200bthat you use during operation. But remember that by erasing the protective composition, you start the process of drying the rubber compound.
And after 2 years, regardless of the mileage, the wheel will need to be changed. It must be remembered that tires require running-in not only before operation, but also after winter storage. A layer of dried rubber forms on the surface of the wheel, which must be carefully wiped off during the first rides of the new season.
Tire pressure
If you bought your motorcycle new from an authorized dealer, it must have a sticker indicating the recommended pressure for the front and rear wheels. As a rule, this information is placed on the rear swingarm of the motorcycle. In the future, most motorcyclists are guided precisely by the numbers indicated in it, naively believing that they have optimal pressure for all occasions. In fact, the values indicated on the pendulum, at best, are suitable for rubber, which the motorcycle is equipped with at the factory.
In reality, in order to find the optimal tire pressure, we need to take into account not only the motorcycle model, but also the tire model, the weight of passengers and luggage, as well as the conditions of this particular trip. And the first thing you need to build on is the rubber model installed on the motorcycle. Each motorcycle manufacturer posts on its website information about the recommended pressure in each of its tire models.
These data take into account not only the features of the type of motor rubber we are interested in (tourist, sports, etc.), but also the design features of each model and the technologies used in it. This is especially true when the motorcycle is used "not for its intended purpose."
For example, when a sportbike is fitted with touring tires and set off on a journey; or when a road builder is used for kart training with uncompromising racing slicks. Remember, in such cases, you need to focus not on the recommendations of the motorcycle manufacturers, but on the information of the engineers who developed your tire model.
But that's not all! If we return to the ground and look at the real operating conditions of motor tires, we will see that on the same tires someone goes to work and to a party place, someone travels to neighboring regions and countries, and someone does not get out from the karting track. How to adjust the pressure in each of these cases?
General recommendations will be quite simple. Let's say you have a road bike with the recommended pressure on the swingarm: 2.25 BAR at the front and 2.5 BAR at the rear. If you have road or road-sport tires, this pressure is more suitable for a touring trip on a lightly loaded motorcycle. In this case, the contact patch will be smaller, the tire will bulge less, and, accordingly, its wear will be slower. If you are traveling with a passenger and several cases for very long distances and at high speeds, it is better to increase the pressure in the rear wheel to 2.8 - 3.0 BAR.
After running several thousand kilometers in this mode, the rear wheel will most likely form a flat ground. But the carcass of the tire will not suffer, and there will be no danger of its destruction. The pressure in the front wheel should not be raised above 2.5 BAR on powerful heavy motorcycles, and 2.3 BAR on medium-sized vehicles. If you increase the pressure in the front wheel even more, then the tire life will not increase from this, and the likelihood of losing grip during braking will increase.
In the city, motorcyclists most often ride without a passenger, make more maneuvers, accelerate and brake. The importance of the tire resource in this case gives way to grip properties. The cost of a mistake, loss of traction and unplanned slipping can be unreasonably high. Under these conditions, on an average motorcycle weighing about 200 kg, in road and sport tires, it makes sense to maintain a pressure of about 2.2 BAR in both tires. Thus, we increase the contact patch and help the rubber warm up faster for better grip. Naturally, the life of the tire decreases with decreasing pressure. But you need to be aware of what is more important: the durability of the rubber or the traction reserve.
On powerful liter motorcycles, the load on the rear wheel - and therefore wear - is even higher. And only the owner himself chooses the balance between road grip and the wear rate of the rear wheel.
Finally, a go-kart or racing track. A place where tire resource does not play any role. Only the coupling parameters of the rubber with the canvas of the race track are important. Numerous experiments and experiments undertaken by people who regularly test motorcycles on karts and racing tracks - motorcycle journalists, experts and athletes - show that most sports, road and road-touring tires provide the best traction at a pressure of 2.1 BAR - on the front wheel , and 1.9BAR - on the back, on cold tires. For some rubber models, this value may differ slightly, but in most cases its difference fits into the error of a conventional pressure gauge manufactured in the People's Republic of China.
Lowering the pressure further does not add traction and only worsens the handling of the motorcycle. When the pressure in the front wheel drops below 1.9 BAR, when cornering, the bike's handlebars begin to bend, that is, it tries to turn in the direction of the turn. If the rear tire loses pressure to 1.6 BAR, then in corners the rear of the motorcycle begins to float on the pavement, there is a feeling that is best described by the word “squish”.
Considering that the pressure applied on sports tracks allows for the greatest traction properties of motor tires, many people use it when driving in the city, where the margin of the handle can be a great help when making detours or during emergency braking. But you need to understand that tire wear at such a pressure will be higher, and its resource will be less.
Special mention should be made of powerful sport bikes, which often have a recommended pressure of 2.5 - 3.0 BAR on the swingarms. It must be understood that such motorcycles wear tires much more intensively. And the resource of the same rear wheel model on a road bike and on some Eradin will differ by 2 times. Partly recommended high pressure allows you to slightly extend the difficult life of the “cylinders” on such motorcycles. But don't be under any illusions. When you try to go through a "knee" turn, such a high pressure in the wheel can easily send you into a slippery.
If, on the other hand, you regularly train on sports tracks, then, most likely, special racing tires are already installed on your motorcycle. As already mentioned, this rubber has a special thermal regime. And if for ordinary sports rubber the working temperature is considered to be 50 ° C - 60 ° C, then the temperature of racing rubber in a warm state reaches 100 ° C. Naturally, the pressure in such rubber in the last laps of the race and in the cold state is seriously different.
As a rule, the pressure in the rear wheel "cold" in such tires ranges from 1.4 BAR to 1.6 BAR, and in the front - from 1.5 BAR to 2.1 BAR. Such low numbers are often shocking to beginners who see the 2.9 on the swingarm of their new "liter" sportbike.BAR. But it is these indicators that allow the tires to quickly warm up to the design temperature and increase the pressure in the wheels to operating values.
In this case, if you are not an experienced road rider who plays with tire pressure, adjusting the behavior of the motorcycle to the characteristics of different tracks, we recommend that you strictly adhere to the values recommended for your particular racing tire by its manufacturer.
Cross tire pressure
Motocross tire pressure is 1.2-0.8 BAR. The main rule: the softer the soil, the higher the pressure. In this case, it is necessary to take into account both the properties of a particular track and the style of the rider.
In classic enduro, mousses with different pressures are used instead of chambers: 0.4-0.9 BAR, depending on the type of tracks.
Selection of tires of non-standard size
On various forums, you can often find questions from novice motorcyclists regarding the possibility of installing a rear wheel wider than the stock motorcycle. Most often this is due to the fact that in their eyes a wide rear wheel looks more sporty and attractive compared to a narrow one. Often, some draw analogies with car wheels of a larger diameter and width. We will not argue that no matter how wide the wheel is on the old Super Truck, in the eyes of beautiful strangers, it still will not compete with the shiny and illuminated Golda. And just try to understand the physics of the process.
So, what can we expect if we firmly decided to install a non-standard rear wheel with a wider width on the motorcycle.
The first problem we will face is that the rim remains the same width as before. That is, a wheel of greater width, stretched on a narrow rim, does not become wider. It flattens and becomes higher than stock. Its diameter grows, the speedometer starts to lie, the back of the motorcycle rises a little. But most importantly, the tire profile carefully calculated by the manufacturer is violated.
In 2012, in the Russian championship SHKMG, a single type and size of rubber was approved for all classes and types of motorcycles - 190/55/17. Given that the rear wheel disc of 600cc sportbikes is designed for size 180/55/17. Such a replacement did not bring big changes to the behavior of the motorcycle. Although some athletes, for example, Ilona Sergeeva, noted the worst grip on non-standard rubber in the extreme angles of inclination.
Another example of using a narrow rim and wide tire is the KTM RC 390 and KTM Duke 390. They come stock with a 150/60-17 rear wheel. This means that we will not be able to use the entire surface area of the tire, and the contact patch will be lower than calculated for this model in this size. All this raises questions regarding the optimality of the selected rubber size. We noticed this nuance back in May 2014, during the KTM Duke 39 test.0. And in July 2015, while shooting the RC 390 at the Firsanovka karting track, MotoRRika team rider Ivan Gorev did not take into account this feature of the motorcycle and sent KTM into slippery conditions, missing the rear wheel.
If we're not happy with a simple tire change while keeping the stock rim, and we decide to go further with a wider rear rim on our bike, then other problems get in our way. It is necessary that the disk and the wheel are normally located in the pendulum and do not touch it when moving. The driven star of a non-standard disk can be shifted to the side relative to the leading star, which will quickly "finish" the chain of the motorcycle. If we managed to get around all these problems, then, as planned, we get a motorcycle with a rear wheel wider than the original.
If we try to ride such a motorcycle, we will notice that its handling has noticeably deteriorated. And now it takes more effort to "put" the bike in a turn. Why did it happen? The fact is that a motorcycle with a wide rear wheel has to lean at a greater angle, applying more effort, to pass the same turn at the same speed. That is why engineers and experts are well aware of the rule: the more wheels already installed on a motorcycle, the more willingly it “dives” into a turn and steers easier.
Therefore, even on powerful "liter" sportbikes, for which every square millimeter of wheel grip with asphalt is worth its weight in gold, you rarely see rear tires wider than 190mm. or 200mm.
Wheel marking
180/55 ZR 17
Profile width in mm, 180.
Profile height in percent of width, 55.
Tire design radial, ZR.
Rim diameter in inches, 17.
M/C is an abbreviation for motorcycle (found on tires that have car sizes).
73 - load index.
W - speed index.
Radial - radial tire construction.
Tubeless - tubeless (sometimes referred to as TL), TT (Tube Type) - chambered.
Continental is the name of the manufacturer.
ContiRoadAttac2 GT is the name of the model.
<=Rear - the arrow indicates the direction of rotation of the wheel
www.conti-moto.ru - the manufacturer's website.
The DOT abbreviation indicates that the tire complies with the safety regulations of the US Department of Transportation.
The letter “B” in a circle is the approval mark according to the test results under UNECE regulations, the number next to it is the country where the test was carried out.
Date of manufacture of the tire - the last four digits in an oval, for example 3811 38th week of 2011.
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The prices don't match. ..I made an order.I arrived and the prices are wrong..
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