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  • Here is a guide to motorcycle tyre markings.

  • Knowing how to read the markings is important.

  • Tyres affect not only your bike’s handling but also your safety.

Alright, let’s settle this once and for all. We are still hearing all sorts of assumptions about motorcycle tyre markings.

We’re not criticizing anyone here, but it pays to get them right. For one, you don’t get cheated by unscrupulous workshops. But more importantly, tyres affect your bike’s handling and your safety.

Okay, let’s begin. Let’s take the following numbers from a Bridgestone T31 front tyre as a reference.

120/70ZR17M/C(58W)

120

It denotes the nominal width of the tyre measured at the widest point of the tyre, in milimetres (mm). You may have noticed that one brand of tyres may be wider than another. That’s because manufacturers may vary the width to tune for different handling characteristics, by +/- 4%.

70

Indicates the tyre’s aspect ratio or in other words, section height. It is expressed in percentage, not a direct measurement. So, 70% of 120mm is 84mm. Again, different manufacturers vary aspect ratio by +/- 4%.

ZR

The two letters represent two different meanings, although joined together.

“Z” is the tyre’s speed rating which in this case is 240+ km/h. Interestingly, the “Z” symbol on Pirelli tyres stands for “Zero” as in zero tolerance for mistakes.

“R” means radial construction. NOT racing. The letter is omitted if the tyre is a bias-ply type (usually on dirtbikes, dual-sport, older cruisers, and kapchais).

17

The wheel (rim) size in inches.

M/C

The tyre is for motorcycles. You hear this Lani? Please don’t let us hear “medium compound” again or we’ll slash your tyres.

(58W)

There are two parts to this as well.

“58” stands for the tyre’s load index. It’s the code that says the maximum load of this tyre is 236kg at maximum inflation pressure.

“W” is the tyre’s speed index, 270 km/h in this case. This is where it gets confusing. Didn’t the “Z” already indicate that the tyre can exceed 240 km/h? Ah hah. There’s a reason why the load index and speed index are married to each other.

It works like this: The maximum speed at which you should ride while carrying 236kg at maximum pressure is 270 km/h.

However, the brackets around “58W” means the tyre can go faster than 270 km/h (provided you’re not carrying 236kg, of course).

There are other markings on the tyre’s sidewalls, also. Let’s take a look at them.

TUBELESS

Tubeless. Certain tyres may carry the “TL” designation. Conversely, tube tyres may carry the “TT” symbol. No, “TT” DOES NOT mean the Isle of Man TT.

GT

You may come across a tyre with the GT marking after the above markings i.e. 120/70 ZR17 M/C (58W) TL GT. “GT” means the tyre is designed for heavier motorcycles such as the BMW R 1200 RT, Kawasaki 1400GTR, Yamaha FJR1300, among others. It’s not recommended to mount it on your middleweight bike just because “the GT version lasts longer.” Yes, it does last longer on your Versys 650 because the tyre’s compound and construction are meant for heavier bikes.

MAX LOAD

Refer to (55W) marking above. Virtually all tyres carry this marking. See what this one says? Just like what the load and speed indexes indicated. Also note the maximum pressure, which is 290 kPa or 42 psi in this case. DO NOT ever exceed this.

Four-digit numbers in an oval or rectangle

Together, they denote the manufacturing date of the tyre. The first two digits tells the week, while the last two are the year. For example, “2918” means the tyre was produced in the 29th working week of 2018. While there are 52 weeks in a year, there may not be production during every week.

Rotation or Direction

Every tyre has an arrow to mark the direction of rotation for the tyre, hence it should be mounted as such. DO NOT mount it against the intended direction – even if it “feels better when mounted backwards.” (You may laugh, but we’ve actually had riders telling us so.)

CONCLUSION

So, there you are. There are still more markings and symbols but these are the most important ones.

While every team is busy preparing for this weekend race at the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, there’s plenty of activity happening behind the curtain.

Ducati Corse Sporting Director Paolo Ciabatti revealed that they are “very close” to announcing a partnership with the VR46 Racing Team.

“Honestly, yes, I think we are very close to reaching an agreement, to be honest; I think probably before Assen, you can expect some kind of announcement.

“I hope everything goes right in the last few days and we can make it public,” said Ciabatti.

If the deal went through, Ducati would field eight Desmosedici on the grid consist of the factory team, Pramac Racing, Gresini Racing and VR46.

Meanwhile, Gresini Racing has signed a two-year agreement with Ducati to compete in the 2022 MotoGP season, with Enea Bastianini leading the team alongside rookie Fabio Di Giannantonio.

In another news, Razlan Razali denies earlier reports suggesting Petronas Sepang Racing Team (SRT) decided not to renew Valentino Rossi’s contract beyond the 2021 season.

According to the local publication, SRT made a unanimous decision not to extend the 42-year old contract as the team can’t afford to wait on the rider decision regarding his future.

However, Razlan’s insist that his side is yet to determined the riders line-up for next season.

(source: Crash.net, MotoGP)

Razlan Razali, team principal of Petronas Sepang Racing Team (SRT), has decided not to extend Valentino Rossi’s contract beyond the 2021 season.

Razlan made the decision considering the uncertainty behind Rossi’s commitment as the rider is yet to confirm his future at the team.

According to Razlan, the decision was made unanimously.

“We (SRT) can’t afford to wait for Rossi’s decision whether he wants to continue racing beyond 2021.

“After a thorough discussion with the team, we unanimously agreed not to extend Rossi’s contract for the 2022 season,” said Razlan.

The latest decision by Razlan’s allow the team to go back to their initial plan of recruiting new and exciting talents.

Despite racing with full factory support, the 42-year old rider struggled with his form this season as he currently sits 19th place in the championship, 100 points behind the championship leader, Fabio Quartararo.

Benelli is the latest motorcycle manufacturer to introduce its mobile application, namely the “MyBenelli” in Europe.

Downloadable on Android and iOS devices, the application allows riders to receive a host of information pertaining to their motorcycle on a real-time basis.

Developed in collaboration with MOTO.APP, riders can also share content on social media and get in touch with other “MyBenelli” app users, including accessing the brand catalogue or e-shop.

It can also inform riders of the motorcycle battery condition, plan maintenance and helps to find the nearest service centre.

The new application will work with Benelli (2021) range above 500cc as all of the motorcycle will come equipped with a b-box, a proprietary black box that can communicate with the “MyBenelli” app.

Gresini Racing will return to 2022 MotoGP as an Independent MotoGP Team with Ducati as the manufacturer of choice.

Team Gresini also confirmed the full Italian line-up for next season with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) and Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) as the main rider.

The agreement will see Team Gresini will compete in the 2022 and 2023 MotoGP season with a Desmosedici machine.

According to Gigi Dall’Igna, Ducati Corse General Manager, the possible agreement was met at the end of last year with (now deceased) Fausto Gresini.

“We’re incredibly happy to have reached this agreement with Gresini Racing for the next two MotoGP seasons. We had laid down the foundations of a possible agreement with Fausto already at the end of last year and we would like to thank – from the bottom of our hearts – his family for carrying this project forward with us.

“Gresini Racing has been an especially important institution in MotoGP for many years and we are confident this partnership, which can count on two very talented riders such as Enea and Fabio, will be of great satisfaction for all parties involved,” he said.

Meanwhile, Nadia Padovani, Team Principal and of owner of Gresini Racing, expressed her gratitude towards Ducati.

“It’s a very emotional moment for each of us. In previous months, our efforts merged with a strong emotional push to shape the future of Gresini Racing, and now are immensely proud and happy to make the official announcement. It is a project born out of continuity and based on values upon which Fausto built this amazing institution.

“My thank you goes first and foremost to Carmelo Ezpeleta for making sure we never felt alone during these months, to Ducati for trusting our projects, to Flex-Box who joined us in this new challenge as title sponsor and obviously to Fabio and Enea: I’m sure they will give their best to wave the Gresini Racing banner high.”

(source: MotoGP)

Suzuki presents the all-new 2022 GSX-S950, a brand new motorcycle build to tackle the mid-segment naked bike category.

Based on the recently launched GSX-S1000, the 950 version maintain the original, modern street-fighter looks, including the electronic package making it one of a complete machine in the category.

While swingarm and riding mechanics derive from the iconic GSX-R, the GSX-S950 was developed mainly for road use.

In terms of performance, the 950 is powered by a detuned 999cc in-line four-cylinder found on the GSX-S1000 that now makes 95hp @ 7,800rpm and 92Nm @ 6,500rpm.

Nonetheless, the GSX-S950 comes with cheaper 43mm KYB front forks, Tokico front callipers (Brembos on the GSX-S1000) with ABS, straight handlebars and Dunlop Roadsport 2 radial tires.

However, you still get to enjoy the electronic packages that include:

  • Suzuki Traction Control System (STCS)
  • Ride-by-Wire
  • Suzuki Easy Start System
  • Suzuki Low RPM Assist

The all-new GSX-S950 are available in two colours, Suzuki and Glossy Matt Black.

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