For the readers that have never paid much attention or the readers that are not very aware, you can’t imagine just how much information your tire sidewall contains. It is information that spins and spins without stopping while you ride your motorcycle.
Today, we are going to decode tire sidewall codes, this way you can check out your own tires and the information may even surprise you!
- Tire size. In this case: 180/55ZR17.
- Next to the tire size are the initials M/C. This means that this tire is indeed a motorcycle tire. It also gives you the load index and speed rating.
- We can also see the Maximum weight the tire can load (corresponding to the load capacity index) with the standard tire pressure. From the picture below, we can see this specific tire can support 805 lbs at 42 psi. Next to that, we can see the tire internal carcass construction information.
- Tire brand.
- Direction with an arrow indicates the direction that the tire must be installed so it’s not put on backwards. It also denotes which position the tire must be installed: front or rear position.
- Tire model, information and specs. In this case, the image shows the sidewall code of a ContiRoadAttack 2 GT. The GT at the end means it’s a tire designed for heavier Sport Touring motorcycles and has a reinforced structure.
The acronym DOT (Department of Transportation). It means that the tire is authorized for the US market.
We also can see the manufacturing date. The first two numbers inside the oval indicate the week the tire was made (week 31), and the next two numbers are the year that it was manufactured 11 (2011).
The initial “E” means European homologation. After the letter “E”, you can see a number. This number corresponds to the country where the tire has been approved.
The other numbers refer to the type of vehicle it is and the authorization number.
Have you ever tried decoding your tire’s sidewall?
If not, then now is time to put in practice what you have learned.
Until the next post!
