Motorcycle Tire Info
Being a motorcycle shop with a Service Department we change a lot of different motorcycle tires on a variety of bikes. We sell tires from all the major tire manufacturers you know. Avon, Bridgestone, Continental, Dunlop, Metzeler, Michelin, Pirelli, and Shinko are just a few tire brands we sell.
The most common question we get asked is, “What is the best tire out there for me?” Well that is not so simple to answer sometimes. First it depends on what you ride which may limit what motorcycle tire is available. Second would rely on what type of riding you do. Do you ride mostly on the Interstate, as a commuter back and forth to work, just on the weekends on the back roads through the twisties, or just on the track every time you can. The third criteria would be is what your priority on what you want to get out of the tire. Do want a very soft sticky tire or a harder carcass tire for more mileage. Last how much you may want to spend on tires. Let’s look at these issues more.
What tires are there for your ride? Well if you have a Honda Rune then the only tires available are the Dunlop D251 tires recently made available to all retailers. At first these tires were only available exclusively to a Honda dealer. If you have a sport bike, you have a multiple variety from each manufacturer, let alone the overall selection from all the manufacturers. If you ride a Honda Goldwing GL1800 you have a choice of five different manufacturers. When looking at a variety of tires research load rating and speed rating to see if the tire is capable of supporting you and your motorcycle.
So where do you ride? Mostly commute every day? Ride on the track all the time? Mix of all types of riding? A daily rider would not want a tire made for the track and vice-versa. There are track tires that are DOT approved and legal for the street, but you will not get much mileage out of them. Also if you ride in the rain you may want to look at a tire that is designed for more inclement weather versus for hot summer nights.
So what do you want the tire to do for you? Do you want a high mileage tire or high performance tire? Those two priorities are on the opposite side of the spectrum when manufacturing a tire. A high performance tire will be a soft sticky tire designed just for that feature. A high mileage tire will be a harder tire which will not be a very sticky tire but still overall perform well. Do you want a tire to follow steel-grated bridges well? Then you may want to look at the tread pattern. Some tread patterns make it easier than others to drive over those bridges.
Keep in mind there are bias-ply tires and radial tires. It is not recommended to ride with a mix ply tires. Either ride with front and rear bias tires or front and rear radial tires.
When it comes to how much to spend on a tire will depend how much of a tire you can afford. We do our best on bringing to you the best discounted tires we can to save you money. Some tires do cost less than others due to the name brand, technology on building the tire, where the tire was made in the world and of course the currency exchange.
If you are not sure what tires you should buy or what tire sizes you need, contact us. We will inform you what is recommended for your motorcycle. In the end the decision is yours to make.
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