There are two excellent reasons to make sure your tires are in good shape: Your safety and your wallet. Routine maintenance ensures they’ll last longer and serve you better! Whether you are riding a two-wheeler or a four-wheeler, and whether you’re offroading or riding on highways and surface streets, your tires are critical to both safety and performance.

Caring for your ATV, UTV, or motorcycle tires isn’t that different from caring for your car tires. Here are some tips on making sure that you are maintaining them properly, which is the best way to get a long life out of them. Please reach out to the team at Northern Power Sports if you’ve got any questions, we’re always happy to help. We’re in Fairbanks, Alaska, serving North Pole and College, Alaska.

Yes, this is the same old song we sing about everything, but it’s true! Your owner’s manual has critical information about inflation, rotation intervals, and more.

The correct degree of inflation is essential, and it helps improve your fuel economy, reduce overall tread wear, and extend the lifespan of your tires. It also contributes to rider safety and comfort. Use a tire pressure gauge to check how many psi (pounds per square inch) you’ve got in each tire. The best time to check is when the tires are cold, for a precise reading. Make sure your tires match the manufacturer’s recommended psi level.

You should always do a walk-around inspection of your vehicle. Look for any damage to the tires, foreign objects lodged in the tread, and cracks. Your tires can also reveal some important information:

• If the middle section of the tread is wearing faster than the edges, your tires are over-inflated.
• If the edges wear faster than the center of the tread, your tires are under-inflated.
• If the wear is uneven on a tire or among the tires, your vehicle needs alignment, and/or your tire should be balanced.

Tires don’t last forever, so make sure you know what to look for to determine whether your tires need to be replaced. Highway and off-road tires are somewhat different in this regard.

Storing your vehicle indoors will help the tires last longer. If that’s not possible, protect the tires from the sun and try to keep them cool and dry. Don’t store them near corrosive materials.

If you notice any noises, vibrations, thumping, or rumbling, inspect your tires immediately. Likewise, if your vehicle pulls to one side or the other, hop off and inspect your tires carefully.

Your tires bear the brunt of a heavy load, so don’t overdo it. Once again, check your manual and don’t put more weight on your vehicle than it can handle. Overloading can damage many components of your motorcycle, quad, or side-by-side, including your tires.

We hope you take the responsibility of tire maintenance seriously. Northern Power Sports is here for you if you’ve got any questions or need service for your motorbike or powersports vehicle. Find us in Fairbanks, Alaska, where we serve North Pole and College, Alaska.