Shared ratio result

For your bike

• Fit a matched pair

  Run the same make and model front and rear. Tyres are designed as a pair, and mixing them changes how the bike steers and where it lets go. Rears usually wear out first; if you replace only the rear, match the front's model.

• Scrub new tyres in

  New tyres are slippery until the release agent wears off. Take the first 100–150 km gently, building lean angle gradually, and be extra careful in the wet and on painted lines.

• Check pressures weekly, cold

  Bike tyres lose air faster than car tyres and pressure changes the handling more. Check them cold, before you ride, against your owner's manual or the swingarm sticker, and add the pillion figure when two-up.

• Two-up and luggage

  Weight in the rear works the rear tyre hardest. Choose GT or reinforced (RF) versions where they exist, never go below the load index in your manual, and use the laden pressures.

• Wet and cold mornings

  Bike tyres need heat to grip. On cold mornings the first few kilometres are the riskiest: brake early, keep lean angles small, and watch for paint, tar snakes and leaves.

• Replace by age as well as tread

  Rubber hardens with age even when there's tread left. Check the DOT date code and replace tyres older than about five years, sooner if they're cracked.