tires | Motorcycle Accessories and Apparel

Because I log thousands of miles a year on a big sport-touring motorcycle, I go through a lot of tires. I have sampled sport touring (ST) tires from Michelin, Metzler, Dunlop, Bridgestone, and Avon. I can say that I found positives in each of these brands, along ...

Dual sport riders probably encompass the widest range of interests in the motorcycling world. You have dual sport riders who spend all of their time on the road, and you have dual sport riders who only use the road to get to the trail. Riders who ...

The Dunlop D220 Sport Touring Radial Tire is a tried and true middle-of-the-road sport touring tire. It has been replaced (sort of) by the Dunlop Road Smart, but is still widely available as an OEM tire. The D220 came as original equipment on several popular bikes such ...

Avon Gripster AM24 tires have been spooned onto big dual-sport motorcycles for years. This is what is known as "tried and true" technology. The most common fitment for these venerable treads are 600 and 650 cc on off-road bikes that will spend more than half ...

Unless you ride with a sidecar attached, you probably don't carry a spare on your bike. With that fact in mind, smart riders carry some kind of option for fixing a flat. Some of the options include a spare tube and tire irons (for tube type tires), a ...

The softer compound Shinko 005 tires have been reviewed on SpotMotorcycles. I recently had a chance to test ride the Japanese company's longer-mileage 009 sport touring radials. I have mentioned in other reviews that there are two areas where a motorcyclist must not scrimp. One ...

I really like new technology. I really don't like gimmicks. The Pirelli Angel ST tires have both. OK, a little background here. The story is that these tires shared a marketing campaign with the movie Angels and Demons based on the Dan Brown novel. ...

I live in the Desert Southwest, so I am no stranger to flat dirt-bike tires. Thorns punch their way into my tubes, and the rocky terrain inflicts more than a few of the dreaded "snake bite" sidewall pinch punctures. Because of my treacherous home trail environment, ...

If you search the Spot Motorcycles site, you'll find that Ila did a nice review of the first generation Michelin Pilot Road tires. Now it's time that we take a look at the newest incarnation of the line, the Michelin Pilot Road 2 tires.

The Pilot Road 2 incorporates ...

I have found that I can't be satisfied with just one motorcycle. I need to have a pure street bike and a dirt-oriented dual sport. However, there have been times that I have had just a dual sport, so I understand the range of duties placed ...

The Triumph Tiger, the BMW R1200GS, the Moto Guzzi Quota, the Buell Ulysses, the KTM Adventure... What do all these bikes have in common? Well, they are all big, powerful, versatile dual-purpose motorcycles. They are all (with the possible exception of the KTM) most comfortable on the ...

Pure sport riders require a sticky tire and generally have relatively little concern for mileage. Pure touring riders have exactly the opposite mindset. Stuck in the middle is the sport-tourer. Just like the label suggests, the sport-touring motorcyclist desires the best of both worlds.

I have been sport ...

Scooter tires should not be neglected. Far too many people don't seem to understand the level of wear that stop-and-go traffic can put on rubber, even if that rubber is under a very light machine. If your tires are looking a little worn down, don't take risks like skidding during a stop ...

A couple months ago I was out, and an older guy came over to have a look at my machine. He lamented his riding days briefly and then asked if I would give him a burnout. I get that he missed his rebellious youth, I really do, but I still had ...

The U.S. has a lot going for it, but we, especially in my state of Michigan, have terrible public transportation. The cities are sprawling and walking isn't practical, but putting all that stop-and-go on your bigger machine isn't so much fun. Scooters are practical, even if they seem irreparably tied to hipsters. ...

The only folks I know who own dual sport bikes tend to ride mostly on the road. The off-road capabilities are for the weekend and the vacation. For some of these folks, I'd have to go so far as to say they got a bike that could handle the trail due to some ...

In this economy, I've been seeing more classic bikes trading hands. I've even seen repair shops specializing in these machines popping up. I don't believe this has anything to do with them being cheaper or folks having time to work on them. I think it's good old-fashioned nostalgia.

If you're fixing up ...

Tires: Those big, round, expensive things that you can't leave home without. Take every mile into account and they're pretty cheap, but it never looks that way when it comes time to buy them. Even those as tight-fisted as myself must understand that tire shopping is not where you want to cut ...

Camping last year, we pulled up next to a classic machine from the '50s. The owner, seeing a couple more bikes at this mostly-car event, came over to brag. Along with many impressive attributes, he said, "That's original rubber, too." Original rubber. Very old tires. He said this as if it were ...

Determining what's so special about each model of Bridgestone's radial tires can be difficult. Some are sport and others are super-sport, but what the hell does that mean? Rest assured that Bridgestone has engineered their tires carefully for specific conditions.

The BT-014 has a slight increase in stability and in wet grip over other ...

The tread down the center of my tire is nearly gone, yet I keep taking little trips here and there. I really need to stop doing this. If you are also running on some old tires, you need to stop as well. There are some great options for tires out there that ...

In business since 1946, Shinko began by making bicycle tires and tubes. In 1998 they bought the Yokohama Rubber Company's motorcycle tire business and molds, and now market these under the Shinko name.

While Shinko is probably less known to Americans than several other Japanese tire companies, they are gradually ...

Lately I feel as though I'm on an invisible tether. My tires are getting too worn for me to feel confident on a long trip. They have failed the penny test, and I know I should have replaced them a couple hundred miles ago. I've been doing some research, and there are ...

Typically used by low-geared trials bikes to aid their near-acrobatic stunts, the trials tire has gained a new popularity in the last five years or so. Someone stuck one on a motocross or enduro machine somewhere and right away figured out they had more traction than they'd ever experienced before. ...

Nothing invokes the romance of adventure motorcycling like the Paris/Dakar rally. Doesn't matter that it was held in South America this year; it's still the most grueling, dramatic, and amazing race on the planet. And Michelin was there, the riders using their Desert tire for 26 consecutive victories in the Dakar ...

So, for the sake of amiability, I'm not going to tell you that you need to run out and buy the Venom tires by Avon Tyres (that's British English for "Tires"). We're all adults and we make adult decisions, so here are the facts:

Avon has been making tires since 1890 and tires for motorcycles ...

A relatively new trend in off-road riding in the past few years has been to ditch the old trail-destroying aggressive knobbies for more enviro-friendly and ultra grippy trials tires. While trials tires are nothing new, they are gaining some serious popularity among pro riders and weekend warriors.

Dunlop's 18 inch D803 Rear Trials tire ...

As one of the most well-known and long-lived brand names in the motorcycle racing world, Dunlop continues to do its utmost to remain at the top. Cheaper tires abound, and as new tire manufacturers appear every year, the competition for your tire dollars is intense.

The Qualifier is the next generation in ...

Changing your own tires is like public speaking. Most people are terrified to do it, but those who do will tell you it really isn't that hard if you just get out there and do it every now and then. If you've finally reached the point where you are tired ...

If you're prejudiced against bias tires, listen up: sport tires are often bias-belted because the criss-cross pattern gives the tire a more consistent flex when cornering to handle a variety of surfaces. As comparison, radials have "slip-flex," or softer sidewalls which keep more of the center tread on the ...

The BT020 by itself, naked without a stripe, made a fair impression on the sport/touring world when it was released. Designed for that market, it is now the original equipment on a fair number of bikes from BMWs to Triumphs, and models from each of the Big Four are ...

It's not roadkill, but certainly a carcass meant to lay upon the road-rubber side down. This is Dunlop's latest entry for heavy touring bikes. A radial designed to handle weight up to 992 pounds for the rear tire, 937 pounds for the front, and a speed rating of ...