Tire condition and pressure will greatly affect the quality of your ride. If you find a change in your gas mileage, check your tire pressure. If you find a change in the control of your bike, check your tire pressure. If you find some change in your pocket, check your tire pressure.
Look over your tires for punctures often; I am not talking days but miles here. Check your tires at every gas stop. Look for nails and check the tread depth.
An easy way to check the tread depth is the “ware bar” ( a little high spot within the depression of the tread of the tire). Once the ware bar is equal to the height of the tread it is time to replace the tire.
I checked my tires once after riding the roads around Bandera Texas and found the rear to be at the ware bar. I mistakenly believed the tire would hold up to Las Vegas. By the time I got to Phoenix I had a good ten inches of cords exposed. There is no way this tire would have made it to Vegas. Once your tire is to the ware bar it will fall off fast.
Ever notice how it is the left side of the tire that wares out the fastest? This is partly due to the curvature of the roads. When they build a road they make the center of the road higher so the water will drain off. This slight curve causes the left side of the tire to ware more quickly. A way to counteract this is, whenever you get a chance and the divided highway is clear go ahead and get into the passing lane and ride for a while. Be sure to watch your mirrors and be ready to get back into the proper lane when there is another vehicle around you. These miles you travel in the left lane are free miles as far as your tires are concerned, as you will never be able to ride in the left lane enough to counteract the ware you will receive on the left side of your tire.
Tire ware on the left side is also caused by turning on surface strees. In the United States we spend much more time making a left turn than a right turn. This is not to say we make more left turns but that we spend more time and distance in a left turn. A left turn has a wider arch than a right turn and the tire spends more rotations making a left turn thus wearing the left side of the tire more. A right turn is a sharper tighter and less rotations for the tire.
On the Goldwing inside the trunk there is a sticker displaying the two types of tires recomended. The bike comes from the factory with Dunlop tires but a Bridgestone is also on the sticker. The Bridgestone is by far the best tire for the Honda Goldwing 1800. When the engineers designed the bike it was around the Bridgestone tire but when the factory produces the bike they got a better deal on the Dunlop tire so they added the Dunlop to the sticker and released the bike with the Dunlop tire. This holds true for any bike that has two tires listed on the sticker, The tire that did not come on the bike but is listed on the sticker is the better tire for the bike.
