Person wearing a white helmet and red jacket checking the front tire pressure of a black motorcycle, with a box showing a glove giving a thumbs down. — This is a gesture you should perform often | FM

Camara — This is a gesture you should perform often | FM

3 steps to accurately measure your motorcycle's tire pressure

When you check your tire pressure, you ensure that your motorcycle performs correctly and safely

27/07/2025 16:00:00h

Luis López Lozano

One of the motorcyclist's duties is to check the condition of the tires on their bike, both on the tread and "inside."

It's the latter that we're addressing here, as it's essential for the bike not to have strange and unpredictable reactions.

Moreover, if you ride it without monitoring the pressure of both tires, the degenerative consequences will show up sooner or later.

Two Michelin motorcycle tires in the foreground with a blurred winding road in the background

Monitoring the condition and pressure of the tires is essential | Michelin

Your tires and your safety

Imagine for a moment that your bike's engine starts leaking oil, and the residue ends up on the rear wheel: the result would be a disaster.

Keep in mind that a high percentage of your safety depends on the good condition of your bike's key parts.

Of course, one of them is the contact patch when you ride together. Think about it when you're about to set off and follow these three essential steps.

Man repairing the rear tire of a motorcycle in a repair shop

Go to your workshop to store the tires, but you are responsible for the initial inspection | Continental

1. Don't leave it for later

There are two premises here: on one hand, you must check the tire pressure regularly, without letting entire weeks go by between checks.

On the other hand, that "I'll check it when I get to the gas station" doesn't help much: anything could happen before you get there.

Conclusion: do it before you start riding, whether you're heading to work, which isn't far, or going out for a ride.

Hand adjusting tire pressure with a Michelin gauge in an automotive workshop setting

The pressure gauge shouldn't be missing from your motorcycle kit | Michelin

2. Use the same pressure gauge

Don't take chances with this either, because accuracy is important and those "cheap" pressure gauges are only good for what they're good for...

Of course, you shouldn't trust them. So you need to make a small investment to get your own and check it, remember, always before starting up.

Ideally, to top it off, compare it with another one you know is very accurate, for example, one at a specialist workshop.

Tire pressure gauge with orange dial and flexible metal hose

There are pressure gauges that are not very expensive and are accurate. Get one | KTM

3. The perfect pair

Now there are pressure gauges with portable inflators that add or remove air from your tires based on what they detect.

In addition to the comparison operation mentioned with this device, it's not a bad idea to have a good pressure gauge and a small air pump... the old-fashioned way.

Remember to always do it the same way, that is, when cold and with the values specified by your bike's manufacturer: don't play around with "raising or lowering" because it's not always a good thing.

➡️ News