Winter is upon us, and for some, that means their pride and joy gets tucked away in the garage until the drier, warmer roads re-emerge again in spring. But if you’re someone who enjoys the challenge that winter riding brings, or uses your motorcycle on the daily commute, winter may force some necessary changes to your motorcycle in order to remain as safe as possible during the colder, wetter months.

One of the biggest transformations you can make to your bike’s winter safety and performance is changing its tyres. Considering that the tiny credit card-sized contact patch is all that’s keeping you upright on wet and cold roads, you want to make sure that both of your tyres heat up and disperse water as quickly and effectively as possible.

Winter tyres vs summer tyres

Where car drivers may be familiar with dedicated winter tyres, designed especially for the conditions, motorbike tyres are not usually marketed as ‘summer’ or ‘winter’ specific. That said, some are better in colder conditions than others.

So, what are the main differences between the motorcycle tyres that perform best in the summer, compared to tyres that will provide grip in the winter? There are three key differences between the two – their structure, their rubber compound, and their tread pattern.

• Supple at cold temperatures: Winter tyres tend to have a higher natural rubber content which keeps them supple in the cold. The softer they are, the more the tyre is able to interlock with the road surface, improving grip and handling. Unlike summer tyres, which harden quickly in cold temperatures, winter tyres perform best in temperatures below +7 degrees.

• Tread pattern: ‘Summer’ tyres don’t contain very big or deep tread patterns. That’s in order to get the widest contact patch of rubber down on a dry road as possible for optimum grip, but the small tread pattern is good enough to disperse some water should there be a summer shower. A winter tyre has deeper and longer tread patters to disperse standing water, sludge or snow on the tarmac. The deeper tread pattern provides a cavity for water, sludge and snow to escape through, so it consistently has solid contact to the road surface.

• Heating up: The warmth of your tyres is fundamental. Simply put, warm tyres provide more grip over cold tyres. Because of a winter tyre’s softer inner carcass, softer outer rubber compound, and a bigger tread pattern compared to summer tyres, this allows them to effectively move around more, generating more heat in cold conditions as a result. More heat equals more grip.

Should I reduce the pressure of my tyres in winter?

When riding on the road, it’s not advisable to use tyre pressures outside the tyre manufacturer’s recommended setting. The reason for this is that they have been designed to work safely at certain pressures and deviating too far from them will significantly reduce their performance and effectiveness.

Some people reduce the pressure of their tyres in the winter, believing they’ll grip better. This isn’t a good idea, because although they’ll get warmer as they move around more, the contact patch will be deformed, and the tread pattern will perform less efficiently. They’ll also wear out quicker and potentially be dangerous, as it may adversely affect the handling of your bike.

What winter tyre should you chose?

Choosing the right winter tyre for you depends on the type of bike you have and the type of riding you do. If you ride an adventure bike on the road and use it for greenlaning at the weekends, the tyre choice you make will be totally different to a sports bike owner who rides on the motorway to work, and has a Sunday morning blast on twisty ‘A’ roads.

When it comes to choosing the right winter tyre for you, do some research on what other owners of your motorcycle use for their winter riding, and check out their reviews. There are plenty of forums and social media groups dedicated to most makes and models that are full of useful information. Manufacturer descriptions are a useful guide too. The tyre manufacturer’s website will usually give you a list of possible products, with descriptions of which applications each works best in, but tyres are often tested outside the UK on tracks or road surfaces that differ from the types of roads we have here in the UK. That’s worth bearing in mind when making your final decision but, in general, sportier tyres tend to work less well in cold and wet conditions than ones designed for more all-round ability.

If you’re a regular winter rider and are seriously considering changing your rubber to better cope with whatever the season can throw at you during a ride, buy the best tyres you can afford. The good news is that regardless of your budget, all new tyres will offer a certain level of good performance.

You should also bear in mind that, unless you’re racking up some serious mileage in the winter months, you don’t have to throw the tyres away when the spring comes back around. When you get them changed back over to your summer tyres, keep the winter hoops in the shed for next year!