If you’ve read the article about tubed vs. tubeless motorcycle tires, you’ll know that violent blowouts are more common for tubed tires than tubeless ones.
But tire blowouts are just one thing you must worry about. If one or both tires have uneven tread wear patterns, that’s also a cause for concern.
There are some common reasons for both – regardless of which type you’ve got on your bike.
And in this blog post, you’ll discover 7 of these reasons. Also, you’ll get to know a tire’s average lifespan.
Quicklinks:
But first, something to keep in mind…
It’s worth noting that even tires that are meticulously maintained will eventually wear down if you keep riding on them for long enough.
It’s just part of the tire’s life cycle. As such, it’s normal.
But we’re not talking about normal tire wear in this article – we’re talking about the kind of tire wear that is either uneven or even abnormal.
Uneven Tire Tread Wear Reason: Tire Pressure Is Too Low
Yes, we’re talking about tire pressure once again, but since I already dedicated an entire blog post about it, I won’t ramble on about how important it is.
What I will tell you, though, is that something undeniable – a low tire pressure is known to cause your tires to wear done faster.
And that’s on top of wobbling, instability, and worsened fuel economy.
So bottom line – check your tire pressure regularly, and if it’s under what your instruction manual recommends, inflate your tires.
Uneven Tire Tread Wear Reason: Expired Best-Before-Date
Did you know that all tires have a” best before date” Case in point – on the sidewall, there’s a sequence of four digits (like the ones in the example below):
“4421”
But not so fast – these digits are NOT the “best before date” This digit sequence is when the tire was made.
So, for example, if you see”“4421,” it means that the tire was made on Week 44 (i.e., in November 2021).
Now, all you have to do is do the math – calculate the time that has passed between that date and today’s date. If that time exceeds a tire’s average lifespan, you know it’s time for a tire change.
So, what’s the average lifespan of a motorcycle tire?
The short answer? “It depends.” The long answer? “It depends on what kind of tire you’ve got.”
For example, sport bike tires are known for a few things – but longevity isn’t one of them. Typically, an average sport bike tire will only last for around 3 years.
On the other side of the coin, we have cruiser tires, which have a longer lifespan of about 5 years.
Reason for Tire Blowouts : Tire Dry Rot
Again, just like with tire pressure, there’s already an entire article on The Dual Wheel Journey that goes into detail about what tire dry rot is and why it happens.
But even then, this is something that bears repeating – tire dry rot is a common reason for sudden tire blowouts at the worst possible moments.
If you want to avoid one of these blowouts happening to you, it’s best to check the tire sidewalls before you ride.
If you see cracks in the sidewall, it means that the tire has dry rot – replace it immediately.
Reason for Tire Blowouts: One (Or More) Sharp Objects Are Plunged Into the Tire Sidewall
While you’re checking for dry rot in your tire sidewall, take the time to look for something that shouldn’t be in either your sidewall or in the tire itself.
Things like:
- Nails
- Pieces of glass
If you find any of these things (or even all of the above), remove them carefully. Then, check your tire pressure again.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out hat a sharp object that has pierced through a point in your tire will create a small hole in the tire, which in turn, creates an opening where the air inside the tire can escape.
And depending on the severity, you’ll need to either patch up the leak or even replace the entire tire if necessary.
Reason for Tire Blowouts: A Dented And/Or Bent Rim
So far, we’ve only talked about tires. But to conclude this article, let’s talk about something other than tires that cause tire blowouts – the rims.
Specifically, rims that are either dented or bent out of shape (quite literally).
It might not look as bad as the image above, but a bent rim is terrible regardless of how far it bends.
But why is this the case?
The rim is what the tire rests on as it rotates.
If one or both of your rims are bent, they will pinch the tires. In some cases, the bends on the rim might be severe enough for the tires to deflate or go “POP!”
Sometimes, a bent rim can be fixed using a process known as “wheel trueing.”
If you don’t have the equipment or the knowledge for that, the best solution is to replace the old, bent rim with a new one.
