Why do motorcycle tires wear out so quickly compared to car tires?
In answering this question, we must first make sure that we are comparing apples to apples. When you think of it, the vast majority of motorcycles are high performance vehicles compared to most cars. Consider that you rarely see a motorcycle with less than ”H” speed-rated tires. By comparison, the vast majority of cars ride on non-speed-rated tires. Power-to-weight ratio and speed are big factors in respect to tire wear. Unfortunately, when many people compare mileage, they do so with a family sedan and a much higher performance motorcycle. Another significant factor in this comparison is the size of the tire contact footprint. In the case of a car, the footprint is much larger and there are four, not two tires contacting the pavement. You must keep in mind that virtually the entire width of the relatively flat tread of a car is in contact with the road all of the time. A car remains upright, even when cornering. This results in a much smaller contact footprint for a motorcycle tire.
