It’s all very well to bang on about the importance of selecting the correct tyre, but understanding just what the hell it is you’re being offered can be a little daunting. Adventure Rider Magazine went in search of truth and the meaning of all those letters and numbers on a tyre.
In the next few pages we’re going to be mainly concerned with interpreting the designations and information on a motorcycle-tyre sidewall. That information will help lead to the selection of the tyre best suited to a particular motorcycle or application, and that’s seriously important. We’re fudging a little here, because while we’re nailing our colours to the mast on tyre markings, we really want to underline some important information and ideas around tyre selection in general. We’ll probably do that anyway because we just can’t help ourselves, but we strongly recommend readers scare up a copy of issue #40 and immerse themselves in some good, basic knowledge on tyre selection and application.