P106
Tire Talk
BROUGHT TO YOU BY CONTINENTAL TIRES
W
hy is it necessary to check your
tire pressure frequently over
the summer? Heat is one of the main
factors when it comes to changes
in tire pressure, therefore the rider
must be alert and on top of constant
pressure and temperature changes. If
your tire pressure is not at the manu-
facturers recommend range, your
motorcycles behavior could change
and cause safety concerns.
These changes in tire pressure
are based on principles of physics.
It is important to understand that
pressure can be measured using
different units of measure such
as BAR or PSI and the increase or
decrease of air volume. Pounds per
square inch (PSI) is the primary unit of
measurement in North America.
The air inside the tire is trapped,
this allows us to increase or decrease
pressure as the tire expands and
contracts. As pressure rises, particles
of air strike against the inside tire
walls as they have less space by the
fact that they are being pushed and
Tire Pressure
Maintenance
Brought to you by Continental Tires
tire swelling is occurring. When
temperature changes, this process
becomes more complex, as air
is a gas that expands with heat
and contracts with cold tempera-
tures. Ultimately, there are physical
laws that explain the behavior of
air pressure and temperature in
the tires, but we won't go more
into depth here, just the necessary
information to understand the con-
cept. If interested in further theory
details, research Boyle's Law, Gay-
Lussac Law or the Archimedes.
The rule of thumb is that for ev-
ery 5° temperature difference,
tire pressure will become around
2% higher or 2% lower depend-
ing on temperature. In summer,
especially in mountain areas, very
