If your golf cart could use new tires, we carry the top brands at competitive prices.

Whenever you ride your motorcycle, it’s always a good idea to wear a helmet. Make sure your helmet fits properly and has a sticker indicating DOT compliance. Not all states have helmet laws, but wearing a helmet is one of the most important safety measures you can take when riding.

Most states require a motorcycle license, registration & insurance. Check your state’s laws and make sure you’re operating your motorcycle legally.

Be sure to check over your bike before you ride. Take special care to check your tires. They are the most important parts of your motorcycle. Check the surface of the tires, as well as the tire pressure. If you do need to replace your tires, check out our huge selection of motorcycle tires to find the ones that are right for you.

The easiest way to learn proper motorcycle safety is to take a basic rider course. These are offered by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation and you can easily find one in your area. Source:  www.msf-usa.org. 

• It's important that all small engines are serviced regularly, which for the average home owner means AT LEAST once a season. (Check your mower's owners manual for service interval details).
• Sharpen the blades. Your lawn will not only look better, but will remain healthier if you always cut with sharp lawn mower blades. That occassional rock, stick, or even heavy leaf debris can dull the blades considerably throughout the season. The best way to sharpen the blade/s is to remove them from the deck and sharpen with a hand grinder. (Make sure that you remove the spark plug wire or key from your mower before sticking your hand under the mower deck!)
• Greese all areas of your chasis and deck. The most frequent breakdown during mowing season is bearing replacements. This can be avoided in most cases if you keep them well lubricated.
• Clean or replace the air filter. Mowers are subject to a lot of dust throughout a season, so it is very important that your engine is able to pull adequate airflow through the filtration system. If the filter is plugged, the engine will be starved air and will run warmer than intended.
• Time to replace worn lawn tires. Check the sidewalls for cracking or otherwise known as weather checking. This is also a good time to assess the performance these lawn mower tires delivered during the last mowing season. Did you have problems making it up some hills when the grass was slightly damp? If so, you may want to consider a lug design tire that will offer a lot more traction, while still not being incredibly hard on turf.
• Battery maintenance. This is a great time to check the water levels in your lawn mower's battery. If the battery has been left outside during the winter, you may even need to replace it.

While you're watching this winter's snow melt, I hope you're able to perform all of these maintenance steps to keep your lawn mower in tip top shape! 

The Lawn Tire Guy 

Most trailer tires need to be replaced long before the tread wears out. The sun's UV rays and winter weather, cause considerable cracking in the sidewalls on many trailer tires. If you see any type of tread separation, cords showing, or sidewall cracking, it is time to replace the tires before pulling the trailer.

A trailer tire blowout can cause considerable damage to the trailer, boat, nearby traffic, and could also cause trailer sway leading to the driver losing control. Don't expect to get the same type of mileage out of a set of trailer tires as you would with car or truck tires. Most experts will say that trailer tires will last 3 to 5 years and 5,000 to 15,000 miles depending on how the trailer has been stored, loads hauled and the weather elements the tires have been exposed to.

The following are some common trailer tire facts to consider when selecting replacement trailer tires in addition to caring for your tires once mounted.

• Always have identically sized tires on your trailer.
• If a tire fails on a tandem axle trailer, you need to replace both tires on that side since the other tire is likely has been compromised by the excess weight.
• The combined capacity of the trailer tires must be equal to or exceed the Gross Vehicle Weight of the axle.
• The combined capacity of all the tires should exceed the loaded trailer weight by 20%.
• ST trailer tires have a maximum speed rating of 65 MPH.
• The heavier the load and the faster the trailer travels, the greater heat that will build up within each trailer tire.
• As heat builds up, the tire's structure starts to weaken.
• Under inflation is the #1 cause to trailer tire degradation. Always inflate your trailer tires to the maximum inflation listed on the tire's sidewall.
• Check the tires inflation when cool and haven't been exposed to the sun. Temperature will change the tire's air pressure. See you didn't think that PV=nRT formula you used in Science class would ever be used again.....wrong!
• The ideal storage for trailer tires is in a cool, dark garage at maximum air pressure listed on the tire's sidewall.
• Use tire covers when ever possible if the trailer is left outside. This helps protect against direct sunlight.
• For long term storage, put the trailer on blocks to take the weight off the tires.

We certainly hope that this Trailer Tire information has been helpful to you. For replacement tire information, check out our great selection of trailer tires at www.SmallTires.com

The main difference is within the actual construction of the tire. The carcass of all tires is made up of layers of rubber fabric or plies. The most common fabric used is polyester. The direction these plies are "laid" in relation to each other, differentiates between a bias ATV Tire and a radial ATV tire. The plies on a bias tire run 45 degrees to the center lin of the tread, alternating in direction with each layer. The net effect of this, is rubber plies running in 90 degree angles to each other.

The plies on a radial ATV tire, run 90 degrees to the center line of the tire and overlap instead of crisscrossing. This design allows the side walls of ATV tires to be more flexible, longer tread life, better steering control, and a better ride across the field.

So which ATV tires are best? It really depends on what you intend to use your ATV for. For pure off-road use, bias tires are probably the best choice. Bias offers better cleaning characteristics, keeping the tire from "balling-up" with mud in those extreme conditions. Bias ATV tires also tend to have softer rubber, allowing for better grip in off-road terrain.

Bias tires also have some disadvantages. They tend not to handle as good at high rates of speed due to their greater flexing. These tires also tend to wear faster.

Radial ATV tires should be considered when used on Quads in both on and off-road settings at high rates of speed. These tires handle better at fast speeds, and tend to allow for better steering as well.

Who makes the best Radial ATV tires? There are several great manufacturers out there. We tend to sell more Carlisle ATV tires than any other brand right now. Carlisle makes the A.C.T. ATV tire in radial design in addition to the Badlands A/R ATV tire. Again, I'm not saying these are the best on the market, but quite simply we sell these 2 radials the most.

For more information, visit our on-line store at http://smalltires.com

Until next time, The ATV Tire Guy is going to hit the trails!! Have fun, be safe, and enjoy riding your ATV!

Directly proportional with the explosion of numerous ATV Makes and Models, has been an equal increase in styles and sizes of ATV Tires. So why so many different ATV Tires? Because these machines are designed for racing, working on the farm and ranch, taking a Sunday drive, hauling an Elk off the side of a mountain, plowing through knee deep snow, crawling through mud fields, and just about any type of activity you can think of! Pick an activity, and there is an ATV tire for you today!

There are four basic categories of ATV Tires. All Terrain tires, Mud, Race, and finally Sand ATV tires. All terrain tires are the most abundant and probably the most popular. They will last the longest and ride the best because they are not designed with huge lugs, but rather moderate tread design. Examples of this type of ATV Tire are the Carlisle 489.

Mud ATV tires are used in Mud terrains obviously. These tires have very aggressive lugs which are great for Mud, but hard on the back when used for trail riding due to their rough ride. These tires tend to wear much faster than less aggressive All Terrain types. Examples of this type of ATV tire are the Mud Wolf by Carisle, Kenda Executioner, ITP Mudlite, and many, many more.

Race tires are built for speed and for dirt tracks. I talk to numerous customers each day on the phone. It is always fun for me to talk with the Quad racers, because they are passionate about their tires! I find that a racer that is seeking a specific tire, will not be talked into another brand or style of the same size....they like what they like.....period! Once again, there are numerous brands and styles to choose from, but the most popular at our store are ITP Holeshots, Titan Fast Trekkers, and the Carlisle Fast Trax.

The final segment and becoming more popular each day, is the Sand ATV Tires. These tires are specifically designed for.......you guessed it.......the sand. Rear tires have paddles that help the Quad accelerate rapidly in the loose sand, while the front tires are fairly smooth with the exception of a center "fin" that helps the Quad steer. Some rear Sand ATV tires have a required "Right" and "Left" tread design, so make sure you understand what you are ordering if purchasing on-line. If you're not sure, it is always best to speak with a sales specialist prior to buying.

Well, this is quite simply a short story on why there are so many darn ATV Tires available today! I plan on writing about the many choices some of the main ATV tire brands offer in the future. Until next time, enjoy the outdoors on your ATV!!

For more information, check out our online store at www.smalltires.com

Carlisle makes numerous styles that can be used for lawn mowers, golf carts, etc. The most common question we receive from customers is what the difference in tread pattern is between the Turf Trac R/S lawn tire, and the Multi Trac C/S.  The Multi Trac has a square shoulder, while the Turf Trac has rounded shoulders. What is the difference? One could argue that the Turf Trac will be less aggressive when turning on your lawn, causing less damage. They both are great lawn tires. They also both come in 2 and 4 ply, with their larger sizes coming in 6 and 10 ply.

Turf Saver and Turf Saver II tires are also from Carlisle. What is the difference? Turf Saver II's again have a rounded shoulder and only come in 2 ply sizes. The Turf Saver, has a more square shoulder, a wider array of size offerings, while also coming in 2 and 4 ply versions. Both styles come in the very popular 18-8.50-8 golf cart tire size.

Check out our site for more details www.smalltires.com

For now, the Lawn Tire Guy, needs to get back to the phones!