If it’s that time to replace your motorcycle tires, it’s the best time to start searching for a new tire. One thing that makes the wheel such a crucial component of your bike is that it’s possibly the best route to changing your riding style. For example, if you haven’t been impressed by your bike’s performance on specific surfaces or the load limit is limiting you, get your heart’s desires by investing in different tires.
Yes, it’s the only thing that holds the two together. First, make sure the hitch, coupler, draw-bar, and other equipment that connect the trailer and the tow vehicle are properly secured and adjusted. Second, check the nuts, bolts, and other fasteners to ensure the hitch remains secured to the tow vehicle and the coupler remains secured to the trailer. Lubricate the connection point if necessary, to permit free movement of the coupler to the hitch ball. Last, inspect the coupler ball socket to ensure it is not bent or dented. Any indentations could cause the ball not to seat properly.
Some people think that they need a dedicated track bike to do a track day. But, this simply isn’t true as long as you have a motorcycle that has a reasonable amount of cornering clearance. This includes most standard, sport, sport touring, adventure, and even touring machines. Cruiser motorcycles are probably the only machines that are not really appropriate for fast cornering and spirited riding.
Ken is author of "Motorcycling the Right Way” and "Riding in the Zone" (book and blog). He is also the "Street Savvy" columnist for Motorcyclist Magazine, and former longtime author of the Proficient Motorcycling and Street Strategies columns for Motorcycle Consumer News. Ken is Lead Instructor for Tony's Track Days, a 20 year Motorcycle Safety Foundation instructor, and owner of Riding in the Zone Motorcyclist Training.
The new Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa tires, which are manufactured in Germany, will have a “TD” tire sticker on the sideway to differentiate itself from other tires—presumably, TD stands for Track Day. So far, Pirelli is tight-lipped about what is new about the TD compound and what specific advantages is will offer. However, former AMA Superbike and AMA Formula Xtreme racer Jake Zemke has been working on the Supercorsa TD.
The performance of a tire depends on several things. First, there are different types of motorcycle tires made for different riders and bikes. This means that a tire will deliver what it’s meant for. For example, sport tires deliver an unmatched grip on diverse surfaces, but at the expense of the tread. If you’re looking for tires with the highest mileage, the best choice would be touring tires. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a compromise, the best option will be sport touring. First, identify where you will be riding; if it’s a commuting bike, go for tires with improved mileage and that performs well on diverse surfaces.
Those of us who ride big touring bikes such as the Ducati Multistrada and the BMW R1200GS are usually only interested in two things; comfort and performance. You see, big bikes like these are designed to munch mile after mile comfortably and quickly. They are styled as adventure bikes but most of us will never take them onto any surfaces more challenging than a patch of wet grass or gravel – it is for this reason that you’ll see most fitted with a road biased touring tire.
