South East Biker Motorcycle Forum

Ask Pete

Dear Pete,
The tyres on my Cagiva Canyon are getting low and will need replacing soon. How can I tell when to replace them before they are illegal?
Les,
Haywards Heath

Dear Les,

To quote from the MOT manual, your tyres will be illegal when;
1. The tread pattern is not clearly visible over the whole tread area.
2. The depth of tread is not at least Imm throughout a continuous circumferential band measuring at least three quarters of the breadth of the tread. Tread Wear Indicators (T.W.I) can be found on all modern tyres. These are moulded into the tyre pattern and are little bars which become visible when the tyre reaches its minimum depth of tread. Check that there is a visible tread pattern around the complete circumference of the tyre and ensure that the tread depth meets the requirements using a depth gauge. The best advice I can give you is to replace your tyres before they reach the T.W.I as manufacturers will not guarantee that TWIs are set above the legal limit. Also your tyres will not work as well in wet conditions, so replace them sooner rather than later!

Hi Pete,
The indicators on my DT125 work fine until I switch the headlight on, then they are stuck on! Any ideas? The bike starts fine but hasn’t been used much as it’s been stored.
Jon,
Eridge

Dear Jon
It’s more than likely to be a battery issue, particularly if the bike hasn’t been used much for some time. Charge and test the battery to see if that solves the problem.