WHY TUBELESS TIRES ARE NOT USED WITH SPOKE WHEELS ??

Now-a-days most of the vehicles are using tubeless tires with alloy wheels but when it comes to spoke wheels we don't see tubeless tires fitted to them. though some top of the line adventure superbikes come with tubeless tyres even on spoke wheels.In this article we will find out the reason why tubeless tires are not generally used with spoke wheels.

The spoke wheels have spoke fitted with the rim.When these spokes are fitted with the rim it leads to formation of small gap between spoke and the rim.If we fit tubeless tires with the spoke wheels the air will escape through these small gaps but in case of tubed tires there is a tube to hold the air so this problem does not arise in spoke wheels.

But there is a solution to this problem which is to seal the part where rim and spoke nipples are fused together. The rim strip is removed, cleaned for any dirt or rust and then the inside of the rim is sealed. One of the common sealants used to seal the wheels are 3M Marine adhesive sealant 5200 or 3M 540 polyurethane adhesive sealant. But this is again not a long term solution.

WHY CRUISER BIKES HAVE HIGH RAKE ANGLE ??

You might have noticed that the angle of inclination of the front shock absorbers is high in case of cruiser whereas in racing bikes it is kept low.Have you ever wondered the reason behind this.

First of all let us understand what this angle of inclination known as.It is known as castor angle or rake angle.The caster angle or castor angle is the angular displacement of the steering axis from the vertical axis of a steered wheel in a car, motorcycle, bicycle or other vehicle, measured in the longitudinal direction. It is the angle between the pivot line (in a car an imaginary line that runs through the centre of the upper ball joint to the centre of the lower ball joint) and vertical. 

Rake angle has a crucial role in a motorcycle’s handling characteristics. Generally speaking (means there are exceptions), the greater the rake angle, the more stable the motorcycle is at higher speeds. It is normally accepted that the responsiveness of a motorcycle’s handling is inversely corresponding to the rake angle values. More precisely, the smaller the rake angle, the more agile the bike is. If you take a look at a chopper and a superbike, you will be able to notice the rake difference between the two.

To better understand this, let us take Honda CBR250 and Bajaj Avenger, as both motorcycles are from  different categories, they have their own characteristics. Let us get into the comparison, Honda CBR250 has a rake angle: 26°, as we all know, Honda CBR250 offers excellent cornering capabilities and it is very flickable, but does not offer a straight-line stability. Coming to Bajaj Avenger, it has a major difference in its rake angle compared to Honda CBR250, this is influenced by the good high-speed stability of the Avenger, but making a U-turn requires a high steering effort.

So,if the rake angle or castor angle is high it leads to better straight line stability but cornering capability is reduced.On the other hand.lower castor angle leads to excellent cornering but reduced straight line stability.

KNOW WHY REAR TIRES ARE THICKER THAN FRONT TIRES IN MOTORCYCLES !!

You might be wondering why motorcycles have thinner front tires than rear.Well this article aims to provide the reason behind it.

First of all let us understand why thick tires are required at rear.In case of motorcycles the maximum weight is on the rear tires so we need thicker tires to withstand that load.Also motorcycles are rear wheel drive vehicle which means the engine drives the rear wheels so thicker tires are required to maintain stability.Also thicker tires increase the grip which also adds to stability to the vehicle.

Now in case of front tires,if we increase the thickness of front tyre then the grip will increase but this increased grip will take much effort of the driver in order to turn the vehicle so the front tires are thinner than rear tires.Also thinner tires cuts a considerable amount of cost.

So these are the reasons why thinner tires are used in front of a motorcycle.If you liked this article share it with friends and let them know.