Spring is here—thank goodness! If you ride a street motorcycle, it’s essential that you have good rubber under you.
In addition to checking your air pressure, take a few minutes to look closely at your tires for both tread depth and signs of dry rot. If your tires are over five years old, it’s best to replace them. There is a date stamp on one side of your tire to help you determine its age. At our shop, we are often shocked at how long some bike owners wait before replacing their tires. If you ever want to see something scary, come check out our pile of old tires!
Safety on two wheels is much more critical than on four. While it may be fine to ride a quad around the farm on older tires, it’s a completely different story on a motorcycle. Low tread wear can also be easy to miss—especially if you have a bagger-style bike where the rear tire isn’t very visible. Riders often experience uneven wear between the front and rear tires, so be sure to check both carefully.
If you have a heavy bike, it’s important to purchase heavy-duty tires. When you buy tires from a dealer like us, you may also receive road hazard protection. We offer this on both Dunlop and Shinko tires, which we keep in stock. There’s nothing worse than getting a nail in your brand-new tire without protection.
Like most shops, we do not patch motorcycle tires. However, we do offer tire installation while you wait. Give us a call today and let us get you set up with some awesome new rubber for your ride: 859-635-1700. We also sell and install dirt bike tires.
Speaking of riding on dirt—if your ATV or quad is not running, or if you need new tires, we’re happy to take a look. We repair hundreds of ATVs each year. Common issues we see include old gas and fouled spark plugs. If you have a carbureted ATV, consider using ethanol-free gas or adding fuel stabilizer when it’s not in use.
We recommend cleaning and rebuilding your OEM carburetor, as many inexpensive replacements found online often do not perform well. Also, be sure to check your airbox—not just for a dirty filter, but because mice love to nest there.
We typically service quads that are about 20 years old or newer. In addition, we sell brand-new youth ATVs and dirt bikes.
For more information, please visit our website at www.nkymotorsports.com.
