Every Major Motorcycle Tire Brand Ranked Worst To Best
Tires are one of the most essential components in any roadgoing vehicle. They are the last article of assurance that bonds the driver with the road and are crucial to a vehicle's performance and safety. They must also be highly effective in diverse weather conditions, strong enough to counter the extreme forces applied to them, and durable enough to last many thousands of miles on various road surfaces.
Tires become even more important when applied to motorcycles, as their overall contact surface area is half that of cars. Add to this a motorcycle's generally faster acceleration, quicker braking, and acute lean angles when cornering, and the motorcycle tire plays a highly technical role in providing optimum performance and safety on the road.
It is challenging to rank motorcycle tire brands, as certain manufacturers excel in specific segments. Here, we will rank them while considering their overall suitability for various road conditions, their intended purpose, and those that are the most advanced in terms of their capabilities. Their heritage and reputation will also be considered, as some of these marques have earned their place in history as pioneers of motorcycle tire design and were essential to the product's evolution.
10. Maxxis
Maxxis is a niche Taiwanese tire manufacturer, established in 1967, focusing on all things extreme, with a range that covers performance cycling, SUVs, ATVs/UTVs, off-road vehicles, and motorcycles. Known for its products' cutting-edge technology and durability, Maxxis offers a diverse range of high-performance tires to bikers. Like its compatriot Kenda, it caters to a smaller market segment, focusing only on the off-road and scooter segments. Still, its consistent quality has solidified its position in the motorcycle tire market.
Off-road enthusiasts should consider Maxxis when shopping for tires, as the range is extensive and specific to several different surfaces and conditions. These include mud, hard-pack, desert, dirt, racing, and intermediate, so you can easily tailor your bike to suit your requirements with Maxxis tires. You'll also find a few different tires within each category so that you can narrow down your choices even further. Maxxis tires are also among the most affordable options, so they are a good choice for amateurs and hobbyists who need a cheaper solution when starting in off-road competition.
As a budget option that caters to the niche segment of off-road enthusiasts, Maxxis serves a valuable purpose but ranks lowest on our list. Compared to the top tire-producing brands, it cannot compare in terms of its selection, durability, and quality. However, that performance comes at a price, and Maxxis represents excellent value.
9. Kenda
While Kenda may not be on every road-going motorcyclist's radar, off-road enthusiasts will be aware of its product line that caters to those who venture off the beaten track. The Taiwanese company only makes tires for motorcycles and ATVs and has done so since 1962. Unsurprisingly, this experience in such a niche segment has earned it a strong following among riders seeking quality and longevity specific to their sport.
Kenda makes high-end tires for cruisers, sport bikes, and sport-tourers, among others, but its extensive range of dual-sport, motocross, and ADV tires stands out. These big block tires are designed specifically for off-road powersports, with models like the Sand Mad and Southwick II excelling in sand and soft mud, the Ibex designed for hill climbing, and all-rounders like the Knarly, Equilibrium, and Millville II for intermediate conditions. Kenda has developed tire compounds, especially for the off-road segment, focusing on providing maximum traction, durability, and a smoother ride.
While it is undoubtedly great at its job, Kenda simply lacks the variety and range of some of the more prominent motorcycle tire manufacturers and, as a result, places among the lowest in this ranking.
8. Shinko
Shinko may not be the best-known Japanese tire company, but it has been around since the end of World War II. Having purchased tire molds from the Yokohama company, it started making similar products in 1998. It has now shifted its manufacturing to South Korea, while the design and development arm remains in Japan, to bring us an affordable line of motorcycle tires that is also comprehensive. They are distributed worldwide, and further research and development are carried out in its United States headquarters to ensure the brand meets the changing demands of the global biking public.
The Shinko range is broad and covers all main motorcycle categories, with a prominent selection of motocross, adventure, and enduro models catering to the ever-growing ADV and off-road market. While the Shinko product line is impressive, it should be noted that the range is focused on the more affordable market segment, so the overall quality does not meet the same standards as premium brands, and performance lags accordingly.
Despite being cheaper than other brands, Shinko tires still stand up well in a competitive market, and they are perfectly adequate, especially if you ride less often and put down fewer miles on your motorcycle. For example, those looking for a secondary set of high-traction tires to complement their road tires might choose Shinko as a backup. While they won't rank alongside Michelin and Goodyear, they certainly earned their place in this ranking as a major brand.
7. Avon
British company Avon has been in the tire manufacturing business since 1904 and offers a broad range, embracing several different riding applications. Now a subsidiary of the Cooper Tire and Rubber Company of the U.S., Avon is famous worldwide among motorcycle enthusiasts. It provides specialized tires for niche vehicles, including superbikes, classic bikes, trikes, sidecars, and the more common sport bikes, trail bikes, ADVs, cruisers, and scooters.
Popular Avon tires include the Cobra range, recognizable for its snakeskin pattern along the tire wall and aimed at cruisers, tourers, and custom motorcycles. These are known for their agility, handling, and quiet nature. The Roadrider and Streetrider ranges are notable for their performance and reliability for on-road and off-road use, respectively. Avon professes to have developed some of the most advanced tire technology, with a unique silica formula that warms quickly to provide maximum grip and an internal jointless belt that improves stability and promotes even wear.
While Avon is a well-recognized brand among its peers, with the backing of a major international tire company, its products are more challenging to source than some of the big-name manufacturers. Add to this some issues with recalls of some of its popular products, and the company may have some way to go before it can rank among the top industry players.
6. Dunlop
Motorsports fans will have seen Dunlop bridges spanning circuits from Le Mans to Bathurst and logos plastered along tracksides for over 100 years. It is a brand often associated with racing, and this high-performance expertise has filtered through to the commercial markets. Since John Dunlop invented the world's first pneumatic bicycle tire in the late 19th century, the Dunlop brand has continued developing tires for two-wheelers. To this day, it persistently strives to improve its impressive line of motorcycle tires.
Dunlop was purchased by the Goodyear Tire Company as recently as 2021 after Goodyear had previously joined forces with Cooper Tires. This means that the two U.K. brands, Dunlop and Avon, are now owned by U.S. companies and function as their main motorcycle branches, with the parent companies focusing on cars, trucks, and SUVs. This was indeed a worthy acquisition, as Dunlop brings much to the table in terms of decades of research and development. Its comprehensive range spans every motorcycle segment and is sold under the racing, vintage, adventure, off-road, street, sport, and V-twin categories.
Dunlop deserves recognition in this ranking as one of the founding fathers of the tire as we know it. It remains relevant as a heavy-hitter among motorcycle tire manufacturers, with a strong product line that consistently performs across various segments.
5. Metzeler
While many brands started out in life making car tires first and foremost, Metzeler has been making motorcycle tires since 1892. As such, the company has evolved with the motorcycle, resulting in organic growth as materials and manufacturing methods improved alongside breakthroughs in engineering and technology. As a German brand, the tire quality is excellent, and it prides itself on being some of the toughest in the market, a fact suggested by its elephant logo. Now owned by the Pirelli Group since 1986, Metzeler remains a highly regarded brand among motorcycle enthusiasts of all descriptions.
As with all major motorcycle tire brands, the Metzeler range covers all bases and breaks its categories into even more specific subcategories than most. There is a good selection of electric vehicle tires, and motards and supermotards get their own category, as do sports tourers, enduro bikes, motocross, cruiser, and custom tires. Metzeler employs several patented technologies across its range, including the Mezteler Belt System (MBS), Metzeler Advanced Winding, Interact Multi Zone Tension tread compound, and Contour Modeling Technology, all of which are the result of much dedication to tire research and development.
Despite being under the ownership of another premium brand, Metzeler is just as highly regarded as being among the best in the industry. It is hard to compare motorcycle tires when manufactured to similarly high standards, and there is no doubt that Metzeler should rank among the best here.
4. Pirelli
Pirelli was founded as a manufacturer of rubber products as far back as 1872 and is among the oldest companies producing tires. Yet, it wasn't until the 1980s that the brand produced its first radial motorcycle tire. In all those years, it has remained headquartered in Milan, Italy, and is an essential contributor to the country's rich automotive heritage. Pirelli is no stranger to high-performance tires, as the sole provider of tires to Formula One for many years. This expertise is applied across its exceptional range, and Pirelli produces some of the best motorcycle tires, especially if you are among those riders who are as at home on the track as they are on the road.
Whether you require track, hyper sport, touring, adventure, or off-road tires, Pirelli has a solution. Tire families included in its "Angel," "Scorpion," and "Diablo" product lines each offer riders a very different experience, yet the same high standards are applied to each. High-performance tires demand hi-tech construction, and Pirelli is at the forefront of tire research and development. It employs various belt configurations to suit multiple applications and experiments with different compounds to determine the best for each specific tire's role.
While Pirelli tires are undoubtedly excellent, its range is less extensive and versatile than others. However, it deserves a placement among the best manufacturers for its heritage, quality, and dedication to its craft and for pushing new boundaries for tire development in motorsports.
3. Bridgestone
Established in Japan in 1931, Bridgestone took its name from its founder, Shojiro Ishibashi's surname, which translates as "stone bridge." From humble origins in shoe manufacturing, it has since become the world's largest tire manufacturer, with an unsurprisingly extensive range of motorcycle models. These are as popular on the race track as they are on the road, and the company has loosely categorized its product line under circuit, city, off-road, winding road, and gravel road conditions to help you narrow down your choices.
Most prevalent among Bridgestone tires are its "Battlax," "Battlecruise," and "Battlecross" series. The latter two are more niche, designed for cruiser and off-road models, respectively. In contrast, the Battlax range embraces many different motorcycle types, including racing, sports, touring, adventure bikes, and scooters. Bridgestone utilizes dual-layered internal belts that equalize tire pressure to provide the maximum contact surface area.
Japanese products are well-regarded for their technological prowess, and its tires are no different. Bridgestone is among the most recognizable global tire brands, and for good reason. Here, it ranks among the best tire manufacturers in the world for its superior range, quality, performance, and application of tire technologies.
2. Continental
Continental Tires is a renowned global tire manufacturer that traces its origins back to 1871 in Hanover, Germany. Having started out producing rubber and soft goods, it manufactured its first bicycle tire in 1892, marking its entry into the industry. Its motorcycle branch offers typically high-quality German engineering with a focus on research and development, and it is one of the brands whose products come factory-fitted to premium vehicles.
Continental claims to have a tire for every road surface, and it's hard to disagree. Whether you ride a large cruiser, enduro, sport touring, sport bike, a 50cc moped, or anything in between, you should find a tire to suit your requirements. Its products are instantly recognizable for having the prefix "Conti" followed by their designated purpose, for example, "Scoot" for scooters, "Track" for racing, as well as more role-specific subdivisions, such as the ContiSportAttack 4 street tire and ContiClassicAttack for classic bikes. Continental tires may comprise unique silica technology to ensure better traction in the wet, track-tested, high-performance tread compounds, ultra-durable designs, and offer confidence-inspiring levels of grip.
It should come as no surprise that Continental consistently ranks among the best tires in testing across its broad range of products. Its progressive attitude to tire development and pursuit of quality and performance over its 130-year history places it second in our ranking.
1. Michelin
Michelin is a brand whose products consistently impress road users of all vehicle types. The French company is recognizable for its Michelin Man logo and is famous for its consistency in the quality, performance, and technical aspects of its products, which are globally recognized and celebrated. As the official supplier of tires for MotoGP, the brand speaks for itself as being among the highest-performing motorcycle tire manufacturers, and it boasts a heritage that ranks it among the pioneers of tire research and development.
The Michelin range is extensive, covering 12 different biking categories, including niche classes like trial bikes, custom vehicles, and electric models. Within these are several various subcategories of tires, so even those with the most varied collection of motorcycles could equip their entire garage with Michelin products. Customers can rest assured that the best levels of research and development, including MotoGP technology, are applied to all its variants, such as its cruiser, touring, motocross, enduro, and street tires.
It is easy to see why Michelin consistently ranks among the number-one tires across significant categories and segments, including technology and innovation, customer satisfaction, performance, and durability. As one of France's most successful exports, with a heritage dating back to 1889, you will find Michelin fitters worldwide, making it easy to source, fit, and enjoy its products. Michelin ticks all the boxes in a very competitive market and, as such, deserves the top place in our ranking.