Five Tyre Safety Tips for Bike Riders

However good a driver you are and whatever bikes you drive, tyres are vital to your safety.

Tyres are the only parts of your car in contact with the road. Safety in acceleration, braking, steering (in four wheelers) and cornering all depend on a relatively small area of road contact. It is, therefore, of vital importance that tyres are in good condition.

Here are a top five tips on tyre care and maintenance to obtain the maximum mileage and trouble-free service from your tyres.

1. Tyres should be checked regularly, removing stones and objects embedded in the tread. If the tyre has bulges it must be examined by a tyre specialist since these could indicate internal damage. Wipe off oil or grease with a suitably diluted detergent.
2. Use tyre pressures recommended for your vehicle and type of motoring and heck inflation pressures regularly (at least once a fortnight) when tyres are cold. Tyre pressures normally increase as in warm weather or on a journey. This increase in pressure should be ignored—never adjust pressures when tyres are hot. Tyres should not be inflated above maximum pressures specified in the handbook.
3. Tyre treads are designed to give good wet grip but road surface condition plays the major part in tyre to road adhesion.
4. Misalignment wear—rasped and feathered tread condition is caused by wheel misalignment and results in rapid wear. It can affect front or rear tyres.
5. Tyres deteriorate with age which shows as cracking of the tread/sidewall rubber, often accompanied by carcass deformation. Premature ageing may be induced by external factors such as certain sidewall cleaning/enhancing methods consequently it is inadvisable to use petrol, general solvents and detergents (surface active agents) for the cosmetic leaning of sidewalls.

Furthermore, the application of those transparent varnishes which form a rigid film that can split when the tyre flexes resulting in concentrated cracking of the side wall veneer is discouraged. From a cosmetic point of view and for the preservation of the compound, the best results are achieved with liquid wax (neutral or black).