Dirt Bike Tire Pressure and Tread Check, Animated

Step By Step

1. Check it cold

   Gauge the tires before you ride, when they are cold. A tire that was just ridden reads high, and Honda, KTM and Yamaha all give the number for a cold tire.

   Careful. Never bleed a hot tire down to the cold number. Michelin warns it will be low once it cools.

2. Use a low-range gauge

   Take off the valve cap and press the gauge straight onto the stem so it doesn’t leak while you read it. A low-range gauge shows small changes far better than a car gauge.

   • Tire gauge

   Cold tire pressure, front and rear

   Bike	Spec	Source
   KTM / Husqvarna / GASGAS MX	1.0 bar (15 psi)	KTM 250 SX-F 2024 owner’s manual, p. 114 (off-road pressure, tires cold)
   Honda CRF250R / CRF450R	15 psi (100 kPa)	Honda CRF250R 2025 owner’s manual, p. 79; CRF450R 2025, p. 78 (cold)
   Yamaha YZ250F / YZ450F	15 psi (100 kPa)	Yamaha YZ250F 2026 owner’s service manual, p. 2-5 and 3-35 (cold)

   Use the cold pressure in your manual. Tire makers publish their own range: Michelin lists 0.9 bar (13.1 psi) for its Starcross 6 motocross tire, with 0.8 bar (11.6 psi) as the minimum.

3. Set it a little at a time

   Add or let out air in small steps and gauge it again each time. Set both tires to the cold number in your manual. If you tune for the track, Honda says to change it a little at a time.

   • Pump
   • Tire gauge

   Use the cold tire pressure, front and rear from the table above.

   Shop tip. Tire makers publish their own range for each tire. Michelin says rocky, hard ground wants a bit more air and soft sand or loam a bit less, but stay inside the published range.

4. Look at the valve stem

   The stem should point straight at the hub. Honda and Yamaha both say a tilted stem means the tube or tire is slipping on the rim. Let the air out, push the tire back round until the stem is straight, and check the rim lock.

   Shop tip. While you are at the rim, look for dents and loose spokes. A spoke that rings flat when you tap it is loose.

5. Check the rim lock nut

   The rim lock clamps both beads to the rim so a soft tire can’t spin. Check the nut is tight, and torque it to your manual’s number if it lists one. Yamaha warns a loose bead stopper at low pressure can let the tire slip off the rim.

   • Socket
   • Torque wrench

   Rim lock nut torque

   Bike	Spec	Source
   KTM / Husqvarna / GASGAS MX (M8)	12 Nm (8.9 lbf ft)	KTM 250 SX-F 2024 owner’s manual, p. 159

   Honda’s owner’s manual prints no rim lock torque and Yamaha’s service manual prints none for the bead stopper nut. Both say to check it is tight. Use your service manual if it lists one.

6. Read the knobs

   Look at the tread. New knobs have sharp square edges that bite. Rounded, shorter or torn knobs grip less, and Honda says to look for any abnormal wear. KTM wants a similar tread pattern on the front and rear.

7. Check sidewalls and age

   Look for cuts, cracks that show cords, bulges and anything stuck in the tire. Then read the age. The last four digits of the DOT code are the week and year it was made, so 2321 means week 23 of 2021.

   Tire age limit

   Bike	Spec	Source
   KTM / Husqvarna / GASGAS MX	5 years max	KTM 250 SX-F 2024 owner’s manual, p. 114 (regardless of wear)

   KTM recommends new tires after 5 years at the latest, whatever the tread looks like. Check what your manual says.

8. Pinch flats come from low air

   The air is the spring that keeps the tread off the rim. With too little, a square-edge hit squashes the tube between the tire and both rim edges, so it cuts twice. If you get a flat, fit a new tube.

   Careful. Honda says a patched tube may not be as reliable as a new one and can fail while you ride. Fit a new tube with every new tire too, because the old one is stretched.