Tyre warmers are worth their weight in gold.
They make you less likely to crash and they maximise your track time.
Obviously if you are riding your road bike to a trackday, you won’t be able to bring warmers as you also need to have paddock stands to keep your wheels off the ground. However, some trackday organisers do rent them and it’s well worth using warmers if you can.
Tyre warmers help you spend the maximum amount of time enjoying your bike on track and they also reduce the risk of you having a crash from your tyres not being up to temperature and not gripping when you need them to.
It can be a bit frustrating wasting precious laps at half-pace to build heat in your tyres. Especially if someone crashes early on in the session, you lose that heat waiting in the pits and you’re back to square one.
Without warmers I always have a slight bit of doubt in my mind even when I’ve taken the time to build my speed; the tyres feel good but are they fully up to temperature?
Tyre warmers give you the confidence to get going from the start, meaning you can focus on your lines and braking markers and not on the tyres.
A decent set of tyre warmers will not only give you that confidence but they’ll also help you maximise your tyre’s life.
So, what motorcycle tyre warmers are the best? We’ve put together this short guide on the different models of tyre warmers out there and some handy advice if you’re wondering what’s the correct tyre temperature or the lifespan of motorcycle tyres.
Even though tyre warmers are worth their weight in gold, the good news is a quality set only costs a couple of hundred pounds.
Check out our recommended picks below.
The brand trusted by Rossi & Co
From the main suppliers to MotoGP. These Capit Suprema Spina tyre warmers are designed for professionals but simple enough for trackdayers to fit and forget. With exclusive TNT self-adjusting technology keeping your tyres at a constant 85-degrees, there isn’t a thermostat to worry about and they’re oil, water and petrol resistant.
Temperature adjustable with a digital readout
Digital display with real-time temperature readings during heating, the MotoGP tyre warmers have an adjustable heat setting between 44 – 99-degrees C, so you can reduce the heat between sessions or customise the temperature for the conditions out on track.
Tyre warmers improve tyre life
If you don’t use warmers, you’ll get fewer miles from your tyres. With a warmer, not only is the tyre surface up to temperature but the carcass and the wheel rim also carry heat. This means the tyre won’t tear or pull from the outset as the tyre has a very equal temperature throughout.
Cold tear is a nightmare for bikers and tyre life, it tends to happen on the rear tyre under acceleration and it causes a tearing pattern in a brand around the tyre, usually around 1-inch from the edge of the tyre – right at the angle where you’re standing the bike up and giving it maximum gas.
As the tyre gets worn, this band becomes noticeable on the bike and makes the rear feel loose and slightly lacking grip on corner exit.
Post-session you should stick your warmers back over the tyres. It’s up to you if you want to turn the warmers on but there are two schools of thought. Keeping a tyre hot all day, i.e from a track session straight into a warmer can cause the tyre to remain too hot and it can feel greasy. Ultimately you don’t need to keep it hot all day but some people do. If you have a set of tyre warmers with temperature adjustment, you can just set the temperature to 40-degrees C and leave your tyres in there to slowly lose their heat but remain at a temperature that’s easy for you to quickly increase.
Or you can stick the warmers back over your wheels, leave it like that for 20 minutes to allow the tyre to gradually reduce temperature in a controlled manner. Then you can put the warmers back on for 20 minutes before your next session.
If you don’t use warmers, your hot tyres rapidly lose temperature which can unsettle the rubber compound, from where it cools and contracts. This prematurely wears the rubber as it goes through these extreme heat cycles, meaning you’ll get fewer laps from a tyre.
The cheapest tyre warmers
You don’t need to spend a fortune to get a decent tyre warmer. We have found these Uber Motorcycle Tyre Warmers at almost half price, reduced from £195 to £105.
Uber has developed these tyre warmers with LED indicators, so you know when the tyre warmers have reached their maximum heating temperature of 80-degrees Centigrade. With Velcro fastenings and elasticated sides, the fully insulated tyre warmer retains heat making them perfect for your track days or racing.
Uber Motorcycle Tyre Warmers / Demon Tweeks
What tyre warmers do they use in MotoGP?
The majority of the MotoGP and WorldSBK grid use Capit tyre warmers. The top teams, like Valentino Rossi’s Monster Yamaha team use Capit Suprema Vision tyre warmers.
With an adjustable warming temperature between 40 – 120-degrees, Capit Suprema Vision tyre warmers are the most common tyre warmer on the MotoGP grid. The heating matrix is designed to provide wide tyre coverage over the centre and sides giving even warming of the tyre – exactly what you need when you’re preparing to race.
They come in a few different versions but M/L is the size that would fit most road or track bikes. The sizing is to fit a 120/17 front and 180/17 rear and they cost £695.
Still, if they’re good enough for Rossi…
Motorcycle tyre warmers and tyre temperature video
This is a pretty good video from highly-experienced racer Mike Edwards. I raced with Mike in the 848 Challenge series and learnt a lot from him during this time.
You’ll pick up some great tips from Mike’s 40-plus years experience racing at the sharp end.
Motorcycle tyre warmers: Ben's Top Tips
When you fit your warmers, wrap the strap around a spoke nearest to the tyre valve. This will stop the warmer from pulling at the valve but also ensure that when you have secured your warmers in place, the valve will be easily accessible.
Make sure the tyre warmers are flat against the tyre, not bunched up as they may burn out.
Before re-fitting your warmers, remove any loose debris or worn out rubber bobbles from the tyres
Double check that your warmers are plugged in when you put them on. I returned to my bike 5 minutes before a race bike only to realise I forgot to plug the warmers back in after using the kettle. Doh!
Get a tyre pressure gauge with a hose attachment, making it easy to get on the valve and check your pressures.
Give your warmers at least 40 minutes to get the tyres hot. If the rim feels warm, then the tyres will be fine.
Other Good Tyre Warmers
We’ve researched the best tyre warmers for this review. You won’t go wrong with our recommended picks but if you want to see what else is out there, these are some other great choices.
Oxford Tyre Warmers
No nonsense, accurate LED indicators let you know when your tyres have reached the correct temperature.
Holroyd Tyre Warmers
Holroyd has an eBay shop full of UK manufactured tyre warmers. They supply Race-Tech tyre warmers which have a decent price and plenty of positive reviews.
MPW Race Dept
Contoured to fit the tyre perfectly, these Superbike tyre warmers provide a constant 80-C operating temperature. The durable Cordura fabric will keep these warmers going season after season.
Diamond Digital Tyre Heaters
Manufactured with Du-Pont Nomex fire resistant fabric, you’re sure to be safe with these ultra-high-tech digital tyre warmers by Diamond. Controllable temperature 30 – 99 degrees, the deep elasticated sides maintain side wall and rim temperature.
Motorcycle Trackday Tyre Pressures and Temperatures
What pressures should I run my tyres at on track?
This is a good question as motorcycle tyre pressures are a vital factor on track. Your feel, safety, tyre life and lap times are all affected by the tyre’s pressure
Motorcycle tyre specialists Two Tyres have published this excellent guide to motorcycle trackday tyre pressures so be sure to check it out as it covers every tyre we can think of.
While we’re talking pressures, check out the Two Tyres Digital Tyre Pressure Gauge which is a great bit of kit for accurately checking your tyre pressures.
Tyre Warmer FAQs
What temperature to tyre warmers run at?
Tyre warmers run between 80 and 90 degrees Celsius. If your warmers have adjustment, they will usually have adjustment between 40 and 120-degrees.
Do road tyres need warmers?
Road tyres don’t need warmers as much as race tyres as they are designed to heat up quickly. However, all tyres will benefit from time in tyre warmers as it helps to get the tyre surface, carcass and rim up to temperature, meaning you have an even temperature throughout your tyre and you can get up to speed much quicker.
How often should you check your tyre pressures
Check your tyres once every fortnight if you’re riding regularly. Always do this on cold tyres; how do you know if your tyres are cold? As a rule of thumb, a cold tyre hasn’t been ridden for around 2 hours or only ridden on a short run of less than a couple of miles at a reduced speed. If your motorcycle’s stored, check them before you go out and after the first session to ensure you haven’t got a slow puncture.
Do I need to put the warmers back on after each session?
Tyre life is affected by the minimum and maximum temperature range that a tyre reaches and the time it takes to go between each extreme. If you put warmers on after a session, you allow the tyres to cool more gradually and you keep the minimum temperatures higher which improves tyre life.
What are the best motorcycle trackday tyres?
A decent pair of road-legal Sports tyres are perfect for trackdays or you could opt for a more track-focused road-legal option or indeed a racing slick. check out our guide to the best motorbike tyres for more info.
Sources
Thanks to the following websites which helped us research and write this motorcycle tyre pressure gauge guide:
https://www.brannan.co.uk/celsius-centigrade-and-fahrenheit
http://www.cambriantyres.co.uk/tyre-warmers-pirelli-supercorsa-sp/
https://www.michelin.co.uk/motorbike/tips-and-advice/tips-motorbike/tyre-pressure-for-motorbike
