MoToRcyclE RoAD SAFETy REpoRT 2010 - Dekra

Vehicle safetyTips on motorcycle tyres• Carefully warm up cold motorcycletyres; initially avoid extreme sloping positionsand circumferential forces duringacceleration and braking.• Carefully run in new tyres – becauseof the separating agent – for at least 200kilometres.Motorcycle accidentscan be caused by defectiveor clogged valves.• Pay attention to the load reserves ofthe rear tyre when touring with a pillionpassenger; there should be 50 or morekilograms of load reserve (depending inthe type of motorcycle and the tyres).• Obtain and take note of the recommendationsof the tyre and motorcycle manufacturers,if only because of the optimalmatching of tyres with the wheel rim.• Check air pressure at least every twoweeks or at the start of a long journey.As the checking devices at petrol stationscan be out by up to 0.2 bar despite thecalibration identifi cation plate; better to putin an extra 0.2 bar. In this connection, anelectronic air pressure monitoring systemon teh motorcycle is highly recommended.• With tubular tyres, loosen the knurledheadscrew on the valve after infl ationand preferably turn it back as far as thevalve cap. This way, it is possible to tell bythe inclination of the valve stem whetherthe tyre has twisted or not. If it has there isa danger of a valve tear-off at the valvebase.• Take care when handling high-pressurecleaners, as tyres can be „burned“ by theeffect of corrosion despite cold water.sive residues remain after the labels havebeen removed. Also, when the labels areremoved, any adhesive residues can pickup grit and dirt from the surface of theroad, significantly reducing the adhesionin some parts. Another common cause isthat, soon after they have been fitted, thetyres are loaded with strong braking orcircumferential forces.Furthermore, investigations have shownthat the mounting paste used takes severalhours to dry. Failure to take this into accountleads to the tyre rotating on the rimdue to the high torques on the rear wheel.This significantly impairs the ride stabilityof the motorcycle. Tyres with inner tubesare subject to additional hazardous torquesof a valve tear-off or (slow) puncture.SPECIAL TRAINING FOR TYRE FITTERSAs far as the tyre remaining firmly inplace on the rim is concerned, it should benoted that a large number of different rimcontours are used, especially in the motorcycleindustry, such as CP rims, WM rims,MT rims, normal rims and many others.As regards the selection and matchingof the tyre to the rim, therefore, the tyredealer must inform the purchase whetherthe tyre can also be used for the correspondingwheel rim. This requires the tyredealer to read the product descriptions orask the tyre manufacturer. The incorrectmatching of tyre with rim contour mayalso lead to the tyre rotating on the rim,with the aforementioned additional hazardoustorques in the case of tubular tyres.Accidents have other causes. Valve capsin the form of a rifle cartridge are used,especially on Harley Davidson machines.These valve caps are much heavier thannormal metal or plastic caps and lead tothe deformation of the valve stem andthe formation of fissures with centrifugalforces at higher speeds. Breakdown sprays(Pannensprays) must also be used withcare, as the Latex in the spray may clogthe valve inserts and cause them to leak.The resulting gradual loss of air leadsCrash test carried out by DEKRA to optimise safety barrier systems.