Every tyre has markings on the sidewalls, including your new set of Aspira Premio tyres. Being able to decode these markings is important for our safety as well as for our enjoyment.

Let’s use this tyre as the example:

130/70-17R 62H

130

Nominal width of the tyre in milimetres (mm), measured at the widest point.  Tire manufacturers vary the exact width by up to plus or minus 4% to tune the characteristics of the tyre. This is why certain tyres are wider than others and vice versa, despite being noted as having the same width on the sidewall.

70

The following number is the sidewall’s height. However, this is not measured in milimetres; instead, it is the aspect ratio of the tyre’s width. In this case, the sidewall’s height is 70% of 130 mm. The tyre’s true sidewall height is also altered by up to plus or minus 4%.

17

This number shows that it fits a 17-inch diameter wheel (rim). Other sizes for motorcycles are 15, 16, 18, 19, 21.

R

Radial construction. The letter is omitted if the tyre is of bias-ply construction.

62H

There are two parts to this number and letter sequence.

“62” stands for the tyre’s load index at maximum inflation pressure. Referring to the table below, the load index for this tyre is 265 kg (at maximum inflation pressure).

“H” is the tyre’s maximum speed rating which is 210 km/h, if the tyre is inflated to maximum pressure and carrying 265 kg of load.

So, the true way of describing the tyre’s speed rating is NOT just the mere speed attainable by the tyre, but the maximum weight it is carrying at maximum inflation pressure.

TL

If you look at the above picture again, you will see TL130/70-17R.

The letters show that this tyre is a tubeless type. Similarly, there are tyres that indicate so by printing “TUBELESS” on the sidewalls.

On the other hand, tyres with inner tubes should have the “TT” (tubed tyre) symbol imprinted on them.

Manufacturing code

There are four numbers in an oval or square. The first two denote the week, and the last two the year the tyre was manufactured. For example, “3022” means the tyre was produced in the 30^th production week of the year 2022.

Direction or Rotation of Tyre

Each tyre has arrows on the sidewalls to denote the intended direction of rotation. DO NOT mount your tyres against the direction of travel.