LOOKING AFTER YOUR TYRES

I have just returned from a long trip of 50% tar and 50% off road..... as in off any real road.

However, I again observed tyre wear in varying degrees on many bikes.

Mine have not shown any appreciable wear at all.

Not be cause I'm any better or worse than any peers.

I simply cannot justify throwing tyres away easily. Not in expense or in ethos.

Riding sweep you get to read sign and watch other bikes and how they are ridden.

No surprises then that some riders are pleased when they get as much as 3 000km from a tyre ... when they could get 15 000km out of the same tyre if they looked after them.

For me it is a point of honour to never spin a tyre off road or in technical condition and to never lock and drag a wheel.

Not that I do not do either or both.  My genie can't stay in the bottle too long and when I let her out, she can rip and tear along with the best of them.

Just its become a point of pride to not, because neither is necessary if you can ride a bike properly.

We all should be responsible about the environment and about the cost of road maintenance and this alone should be enough to encourage us to not tear up the passes by dislodging rocks, gravel and surface unnecessarily.

If your tyres wear down excessively or quickly it has more to do with your particular style of riding than with road conditions.

The GS 800 is a bike with huge power-to-weight advantage and it tears out of corners in a really sexy drifting motion.

But it also eats the tyre and destroys the road.

I also notice who gets punctures and that too is a little more than just lady luck.

It's about riding trim and style once again.

Which means it is almost predictable who will get punctures.... and love them as much as I do, they never disappoint.

It's also probably not a good idea to rip n tear when you are way out on the back roads - far from workshop infrastructure and resources. Look after your bike and your tyres as this is what has to get you back home again.