Anything to do with bikes

[Platinum]

Hi,
My name is Adam and im new to this site. I am currently trainning to be a Motorcycle Mechanic in England.
I just wanted to say, out of all the mechanic sites iv been on this has to be the best by far.

I was woundering if anyone knew why on the rear tyre side wall on a motorcycle, why the tread changes direction?
I think its something to do with the drive chain but im not sure!

This picture sort of shows what i mean, if u look at the side wall of the rear and the front you can see the rear goes in a diffrent direction

[Chris Longhurst]

Hi Adam
There's normally no real "reason" for this other than grip and wet-weather handling. Every tyre manufacturer comes up with their own tread patterns which are based on a couple of things. Research into how the tread performs in different weather and road conditions, and believe it or not, opinion panels. So they may have two different tread designs for a certain rubber compound and tyre type, which both perform the same, and they'll put them in front of a panel of Joe Average's and ask which one looks better.