Riders Preferred Membership
Shop by Vehicle
Track Order
Contact UsBest Motorcycle Tires
OF 2026Written By: Team Zilla
Last Updated: March 2, 2026
What's the best performance upgrade for your motorcycle? It's tempting to add an exotic exhaust system, a trick suspension setup, or a set of monster brakes, but the right set of tires is the most effective way to transform your motorcycle.
Plus, if you decide to make other improvements, the overall experience will be that much sweeter when you're rolling confidently on the right tires. Here at RevZilla, we log countless miles each year, testing all the latest tires from the industry's leading manufacturers. We are also deeply familiar with time-honored favorites, constantly comparing and checking our notes to find the clear winners for every riding style.
The best all-around tire for street riding was an easy choice this year. Michelin's Road series of tires has been among our top picks many times, and with the introduction of the Road 6, Michelin has delivered its best Road tire ever. These tires are intended for sport-touring, and they come in a range of sizes to cover many of today’s most popular street motorcycles. What sets these tires apart? It turns out that sport-touring is an understatement. The Road 6s are sporty enough to handle the most aggressive canyon carving you can find with maximum grip and outstanding feedback when leaned over. The touring capability is excellent, as well, and it is possible to get well over 15,000 miles out of a rear tire in regular street riding. Of course, your mileage will vary depending on what you ride, and how you ride it, but no other tire offers the same balance of performance and longevity. They also excel when encountering wet or debris-covered roads. So whether you’re commuting, having fun in the twisties, or taking a road trip, a set of Michelin Road 6 tires will perform at the highest levels.
Pirelli’s sporty, silica-rich high-performance compound is engineered with a profile inspired by their work with the World Superbike Championship. Designed for aggressive road use, the Diablo Rosso IV tires offer agile response, quick turn-ins, and a large contact patch for improved adherence over previous models.
Pirelli’s sporty, silica-rich high-performance compound is engineered with a profile inspired by their work with the World Superbike Championship. Designed for aggressive road use, the Diablo Rosso IV tires offer agile response, quick turn-ins, and a large contact patch for improved adherence over previous models.
Metzeler’s Cruisetec earns our best cruiser performance tire. It’s at the top of the food chain for all-out grip and cornering in its class, so if you’re looking to ride the tightest roads with total confidence, spoon on the Cruisetecs. They are stable on the highway, too. While these tires won’t last as long as a dedicated touring tire, you can still expect to get somewhere between 8,000 and 12,000 miles from a rear tire, which is another point in the Cruisetec’s favor.
The Michelin Commander III Touring Tire is engineered for the long-haul rider whose goal is to cross state lines without worrying about tread depth. The Amplified Density Technology (ADT) creates a highly rigid tire carcass that improves feedback and prevents the "squirm" common in heavy touring bikes. Using a 100% silica rubber compound across the entire tread, Michelin has managed to extend tire life significantly while maintaining excellent wet-weather braking performance. It’s the "buy it once, ride it forever" (or at least for 15,000+ miles) solution for the serious traveler.
The Michelin Commander III Touring Tire is engineered for the long-haul rider whose goal is to cross state lines without worrying about tread depth. The Amplified Density Technology (ADT) creates a highly rigid tire carcass that improves feedback and prevents the "squirm" common in heavy touring bikes. Using a 100% silica rubber compound across the entire tread, Michelin has managed to extend tire life significantly while maintaining excellent wet-weather braking performance. It’s the "buy it once, ride it forever" (or at least for 15,000+ miles) solution for the serious traveler.
We chose the Michelin Anakee Adventure 2 Tires as our pick for the best street-biased ADV tire. Think of them as the perfect every-man ADV rubber; they’re great for the fire roads and gravel roads that most of us spend a majority of our non-pavement time on, while still maintaining enough street-manners to get around town or across long stretches of highway. This updated design provides a significantly quieter journey with a 30% reduction in perceived noise while simultaneously increasing longevity by 14% for your longest tours. Unless you’re looking to tackle super technical single-track routes on your next adventure, the Michelin Anakee 2s are the right choice for you.
If you’re going to be on more technical terrain, and aren’t as worried about pavement performance, then the Motoz Tractionator RallZ Tires are our favorite pick for this year. Their aggressive profile, self-sharpening tread blocks, and hybrid natural/synthetic compound all combine to make for a high-performance off-road biased tire ready to take your ADV machine deep into roads less traveled.
If you’re going to be on more technical terrain, and aren’t as worried about pavement performance, then the Motoz Tractionator RallZ Tires are our favorite pick for this year. Their aggressive profile, self-sharpening tread blocks, and hybrid natural/synthetic compound all combine to make for a high-performance off-road biased tire ready to take your ADV machine deep into roads less traveled.
50/50 Tread
Dunlop
Trailmax Mission Tires
The "Staggered Step" tread features deep, widely spaced lugs for confident wet weather traction and reliable trail grip
40/60 Tread
Continental
Twinduro TKC80 Dual Sport Tires
This Fan Favorite Has Ben Improved To Provide A More Stable Ride, Wet Grip, And Off-Road Performance Overall
We always like to include a pick for that 50/50 rider who just can’t make up their mind whether they’ll be on the street or in the dirt. Dunlop’s Trailmax Mission do a great job splitting the difference between street and trail, with a clever tread pattern and versatile compound that will provide sure-footed grip on a variety of surfaces and in a variety of conditions. They’ll be beyond their limits on more technical terrain, but they’re strong contenders on the surfaces we usually put the most miles on.
We had to include the TKC80 Dual Sport Tires on this list as an honorable mention. They’re a perennial best-seller with good reason. Their rock-solid dependability and durability, predictable performance across a variety of conditions, and budget-friendly price point all combine for an option that’s tough for any ADV rider to pass up.
We had to include the TKC80 Dual Sport Tires on this list as an honorable mention. They’re a perennial best-seller with good reason. Their rock-solid dependability and durability, predictable performance across a variety of conditions, and budget-friendly price point all combine for an option that’s tough for any ADV rider to pass up.
Dirt Tires
Motocross
Dunlop
Geomax MX34 Tires
Delivers Better Traction Across Various Terrains, Enhanced Mud Evacuation, And Increased Cornering Stability
Enduro Front
IRC
Enduro VE-35F Tires
For Use in Cross Country Enduro Conditions
Enduro Rear
IRC
VE-33S Gekkota Tires
Offers Puncture Resistance, Stability, And Enhanced Traction For Improved High-Speed Cornering
The Dunlop MX34’s build off of last year’s pick: the MX33. The newest iteration offers improved traction across a wider spectrum of terrains, improved mud evacuation technology that keeps your knobbies as clean as possible, and a new carcass material to achieve increased cornering stability.
For the technical Enduro and Woods rider, the IRC VE-35F is the "Best Front" setup for durability. These tires use a high-stability compound that resists knob-tearing even when subjected to the sharpest rocks. However, the IRC VE-33S Gekkota is the "Best Rear" for extreme conditions. It utilizes a super-soft gummy compound that allows the tire to deform and wrap around obstacles like an octopus. It offers a "cheater tire" level of grip on wet roots and slick rock faces where traditional hard-compound tires would simply spin. If you're looking to turn "unrideable" trails into your personal playground, this is the rubber you need.
For the technical Enduro and Woods rider, the IRC VE-35F is the "Best Front" setup for durability. These tires use a high-stability compound that resists knob-tearing even when subjected to the sharpest rocks. However, the IRC VE-33S Gekkota is the "Best Rear" for extreme conditions. It utilizes a super-soft gummy compound that allows the tire to deform and wrap around obstacles like an octopus. It offers a "cheater tire" level of grip on wet roots and slick rock faces where traditional hard-compound tires would simply spin. If you're looking to turn "unrideable" trails into your personal playground, this is the rubber you need.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best motorcycle tires for street bikes?
As with most things motorcycling, this one comes down to having the right tool for the job. The best street motorcycle tires will offer plenty of grip for canyon-carving while being durable enough to log thousands of miles' worth of highway and around-town duty. In other words, these aren't one-and-done race slicks. Rather, they're a middle-of-the-road compromise between performance and longevity that balances rubber compound and tread pattern to get there.
What are the best dirt bike tires?
The answer here depends on the dirt you dig and the frequency with which you dig it. Pure motocross bikes live strictly on earthen tracks; they need big and brutal knobs on a harder compound tire carcass to hook up in the loamy turns and berms. ADV bikes that spend considerable amounts of time covering highway slab mixed in with some fire roads will benefit from a 50-50 tire that's DOT-legal. Competition cross-country bikes and trail bikes exist in more of a middle ground, with occasional roadway or hard-pack surfaces forcing them to run something less aggressive than the MX knobbies.
How to change a motorcycle tire?
We've got a fun and informative walk-through here, but the general process is as follows: remove the wheel from your motorcycle, deflate the tube or tire by removing the valve core, loosen the valve stem nut and any rim lock nuts, use a bead-breaker to get the tire off the rim bead, install any rim protectors and utilize tire irons to pry the old tire off the rim, check for rotational direction of the new tire and install one side over the rim bead, insert tube unless the tires are tubeless-type, begin to work the other side of the tire over the opposing rim bead, tighten valve stem and rim lock nuts, add air until the tire is fully seated.
The Best Motorcycle Tires
The Best Motorcycle Tires
Watch
