When To Change Bike Tyres? 13 Signs To Do It Today!
The tyres of your motorcycle play a crucial role in influencing your riding experience. Most people are not aware but two wheeler tyre life in kms is less as compared to car tyres. Maintaining well-maintained motorcycle tyres is crucial for ensuring safety and performance while riding. Worn-out tyres can ruin your vehicle’s performance and even put your loved one’s life in danger. Once the life of bike tyre has reached 5 years or lasted for 30,000-40,000 km, it’s time to change the bike tyre. Proper tyre maintenance can improve motorcycle performance by ensuring that the tyres are in good condition and properly inflated.
In this blog, we have covered 13 different signs which indicate that your motorcycle needs replacement. Let’s dive in.
13 Signs That Your Motorcycle Tyre Needs Replacement
1. Tread Wear
The most common sign that your motorcycle tyre needs replacing is excessive tread wear. The tread is the rubber part of the tyre that touches the road. It helps to provide traction and grip, which are essential for safe riding. To check the tread depth, look for the wear indicators (TWI) moulded into the tyre tread. These are small raised bars that are located every 1/32 of an inch (0.8mm) apart. If the tread depth is level with the TWI, it’s time to replace the tyre. In India, the minimum legal tread depth requirement for vehicle tyres is 1.6mm.
To reduce tyre wear, it’s important to regularly inflate the tyres to their proper pressure, avoid bad road surfaces and weather, and rotate the tyres periodically. Remember the average life of bike tyres in km is between 30,000-40,000 km. Using high-quality tyres may help extend the life of the tyres and improve their performance. Remember to grab your bike riding accessories like helmets, gloves, and water bottle holders before your long ride.
2. Cracks and Cuts
Finding cracks, cuts, or bulges in the tyre sidewall is one of the signs that your motorcycle tyre needs replacement. It can weaken the tyre and make it more likely to fail. When the tyre fails, it can cause a blowout. A blowout is when the tyre suddenly loses air pressure and deflates. This can happen suddenly and without warning, and it can cause you to lose control of your motorcycle, which can lead to a crash. In some cases, a blowout can even cause the tyre to come off the rim of the wheel.
Therefore if you find a crack or cut in your tyre, with the help of a tyre repair kit you can try to repair it. However, it is important to note that not all cracks and cuts can be repaired. If the crack is too deep or the cut is too long, the tyre will need to be replaced. The 5M Tyre Repair Kit is a quick and easy way to repair small punctures and cuts in motorcycle tyres. It is a good option if you are not able to replace your tyres immediately.
3. Uneven Tread Wear
Uneven tread wear can be caused by several factors, including improper inflation, misalignment, and worn-out suspension components. When the tyre is underinflated, the centre of the tread wears out faster than the edges, while overinflation causes the opposite. Misalignment can cause one side of the tyre to wear faster than the other, leading to scalloping or cupping.
Uneven wear can also be a sign of a different problem with your bike, such as unbalanced tyre pressure or a bad suspension system. To avoid these issues, it’s important to regularly inspect your tyres for uneven wear and address any underlying issues. Proper inflation is crucial, and you can use a portable tyre inflator like the Portronics Vayu Portable Tyre Inflator to keep your tyres at the recommended pressure.
4. Age of the tyres
Your motorbike tyre may be too old to ride on, even if it has more than adequate tread and no tears or punctures. tyre ageing occurs due to exposure to UV light, heat, and oxygen, leading to the rubber drying out and developing cracks.
Telling the age of tyres can be challenging, which is why it’s recommended to replace it if it’s been used for more than five years, regardless of its remaining tread. Older tyres are at a higher risk of blowouts and other safety issues because they can become brittle and lose their elasticity.
5. Loss of Grip
Imagine you are riding on a perfectly dry road, but as you round a curve you suddenly see someone coming from the other end, you apply the brake but the grip takes some time. This reduced traction can affect handling and lead to slipping or sliding in various road conditions. Typically, soft rubber is used to increase motorcycle grip. Since the tyre’s contact patch with the road is small, using hard tyres can make the motorcycle slide.
Because softer rubber wears more quickly, the increased traction provided by soft rubber on the motorbike results in a shorter lifespan. To ensure the correct traction at all times, it is important to change tyres after the soft rubber becomes worn out.
7. Excessive Noise
If you hear a humming, buzzing, or whining sound while riding, it’s best to inspect your tyres. Unusual tyre noise can be a sign of wear and can be caused by several factors, including worn-out tyres, misalignment, and poor road conditions. The possible cause could be low tyre pressure, or worn tread due to which the tyre is not able to absorb bumps and road irregularities. A damaged side wall or loose nail or screw can also lead to unusual noise.
The solution is to check if the tyre pressure is at the correct level and look for signs of uneven wear or damage in the tyre. If the tyre is damaged, it should be replaced. To avoid these issues, it’s important to regularly inspect your tyres for signs of wear and address any underlying issues.
8. Punctures and Repairs
When it comes to punctures and repairs, it’s essential to know when it’s safe to repair a tyre and when to change bike tyres. The location and severity of the damage are often the deciding factors between getting a tyre repaired versus replaced. If the tyre has been punctured in the tread area and the puncture doesn’t measure more than 1/4 of an inch in diameter, a simple repair may do the trick.
However, if the tyre has sustained serious damage in a crash, such as cuts or tread separation, it should be replaced, not repaired. To temporarily fix a puncture, you can use a TMC Spuncture – Compact Puncture Kit or a Motul P3 Tyre Repair 300 ml. However, it’s important to replace the tyre with a new one as soon as possible.
9. Performance Deterioration
tyre conditions can significantly affect braking and cornering performance. As the tyre tread wears down, it can reduce the tyre’s ability to grip the road surface, which can lead to longer stopping distances and reduced cornering grip. The average bike tyre life is 5 years. This can be especially dangerous in wet or slippery conditions, where the tyre’s ability to grip the road is already compromised.
Ensure that the minimum tread depth for motorcycle tyres is 2/32 inches. If the tread depth is below this level, the tyres should be replaced. Cuts, bulges, or cracks, can compromise the structural integrity of tyres and make them more likely to fail.
10. Bulging or Bubbling
If your bike suddenly starts to wobble, it’s a sign that your tyre is low on air. And if your motorcycle starts to make weird noises or the grip becomes unstable, that’s an indication that the sidewall of your tyres is too worn out.
When the tyre’s internal structure is damaged, causing air to leak into the layers of the tyre and create a bulge or bubble on the surface means your tyre needs immediate attention. This can be caused by hitting a pole, curb or road hazards or from overloading the bike beyond its capacity.
11. Bead Damage
When driving on over or underinflated tyres, hitting a pothole or curb, or simply regular wear and tear, the bead gets damaged. The damage can cause the tyre to lose air pressure, which can lead to poor handling, decreased fuel efficiency, and even a blowout while driving.
There are a few things you can do to help prevent damage such as have your tyres installed by an expert mechanic using proper tools, ensure that your tyres are properly inflated, inspect your tyres and look for any sign of damage.
12. Loss of Air Pressure
Proper tyre pressure is crucial for optimum motorcycle control, and underinflated tyres can cause a list of safety risks, including decreased handling and riding precision, poor fuel economy, and poor braking performance. Monitoring for slow leaks and sudden pressure drops is also important to ensure that your tyres are in good condition. Slow leaks can cause a gradual loss of air pressure, which can lead to poor handling and decreased fuel efficiency over time.
Sudden pressure drops, on the other hand, can cause a blowout while driving, which can be extremely dangerous, especially at high speeds.
13. Visible Wear Indicators
Most motorcycle tyres have built-in tread wear indicators (TWIs) that are located on the sidewall of the tyre. These indicators are typically raised segments of rubber that can be found in one of the tyre grooves, usually off the centre of the tyre.
The TWIs indicate the manufacturer’s lowest amount of tread that should remain on the tyre to ensure safe riding. When the tread wears down to the level of the TWIs, it is time to replace the tyre.
Conclusion
A damaged tyre can affect your riding experience and may also lead to an accident, so it’s important to regularly inspect your motorcycle tyres for signs of wear and tear and to replace them. Other signs such as low tread depth, visible wear indicators, cracking along the sidewalls, bulging or bubbling, cupped or scalped tyre, tyre not fitting properly, punctures, cuts, or sidewall bubbles indicate that your motorcycle tyre needs to be changed.
By inspecting your tyres regularly, you can identify potential issues, ensure proper tyre pressure, extend tyre life, and improve motorcycle performance. Wearing appropriate gear such as a helmet, and gloves is important while riding. Bikester Global Shop is popularly known for its high-quality riding gear and accessories.