Motorcycles are excellent vehicles that help you navigate narrow roads and congested cities to reduce commuting time. However, it is vital to maintain your bike to enjoy optimal performance and continued safety on the roads. A tyre is one of the most crucial components of a bike that has an immense impact on the ride quality. This article will help you understand when to change road bike tyres.

If you are confused about when is the right time to replace the tyres on your bike, you should look out for the signs given below:

• Wear and tear: The most common sign that is an indicator for you to replace your tyres is wear. Tyre manufacturers generally put a Tyre Wear Indicator (TWI) mark on the sidewall of a tyre that looks like a triangular arrow. It helps you ascertain the level of wear after which it would not be advisable to use the tyre. If the curved surface of your bike’s tyres reaches this mark, you should replace it.

• Uneven tread wear: While a tyre may not get completely worn out, it does not bode well to neglect it. Whether you should continue to use a tyre or not largely depends on the tyre’s shape. For instance, a common form of uneven wear that you might come across is when your tyre wears into a squarish shape. This kind of uneven wear means that the tyre requires repair or replacement.

• Cupping of the front tyre: You will witness another type of uneven wear when your front wheel is cupped or scalped. What happens is that your tyre gets worn out along the tread length, causing stability problems. This kind of wear is caused due to a poor suspension setup, so the next time to see it, replace your tyre and have your suspension checked and serviced.

• Punctures or cuts: If there are excessive cuts and punctures on your road tyres, they need to be changed as soon as possible. Cuts and punctures can create an uneven contact patchness that will negatively affect the quality of your ride and your bike’s performance.

• Tyre age: Even if your tyre looks usable, there is a factor that significantly affects usability, and that is age. Usually, manufacturers recommend that tyres should not be used five years after the manufacturing date. This is because the oils present in the rubber compound evaporate as time passes, causing it to harden. To figure out the manufacturing date of your tyre, check for a four–digit number on it. The first two digits point to the week number and the last two to the year of manufacturing.

Now that you know more about when to change two–wheeler tyres maintain their condition with regular upkeep and replace them when needed. Also, remember to keep your two–wheeler insurance policy renewed without fail as it is mandatory to have basic third–party coverage while riding on the roads in the country.