Best motorcycle tyre pressure guages

Checking your motorcycle tyre pressure is often considered an inconvenience by many, meaning some don’t even bother finding out at all. But this can be a mistake. Wrong tyre pressures can ruin your fun at best and cause an accident at worst. Identifying the best motorcycle tyre pressure gauges is not always straightforward though. It can be hard to know where to start.

Why check your tyre pressure?

The correct tyre pressure will make sure that the tyre is contacting the road in the right way – the way it has been designed to. That means it will adopt the correct shape and present the optimum amount of contact with the road. If the pressure is low, then the tyre won’t be the right shape and will distort as you ride, leading to a loss of feeling for the road and a definite looseness to the bike’s behaviour.

If it’s too low, then in addition to the bike handling badly, the tyre could start to become damaged and worse, it won’t be able to sustain the levels of braking that you would be used to, increasing potential danger to you and other road users. Conversely, if the pressure is too high, then this will also affect handling by making the tyre too rigid and preventing it from presenting the right contact patch on the road. If your tyre pressure is incorrect you will likely require a tyre inflator to put them right.

The solution is simple. You can check your tyre pressures regularly with a gauge. This should be done once a week and perhaps more often if you use the bike daily. There are different types of tyre pressure gauges available. They range from simple pencil-style slide-out ones, to digital ones with separate displays and hoses. The easier to use, the better – it’ll mean you’re more likely to check your bike. Also think about how and where the valve on your bike is and the best way to get a gauge on it. A compact version should definitely be in your packing list for your luggage on your touring bike if travelling long distances.

Read MCN’s guides to the best sport-touring tyres, sports-adventure tyres, and best track day tyres.

The best motorcycle tyre pressure gauges

How MCN tests products

At MCN, our team of expert journalists have decades of experience gained over hundreds of thousands of miles. We don’t test our kit to destruction; we use it exactly how you do, in the real world and in all conditions. That means we can deliver impartial buying advice you can rely on.

Each of our writers has an in-depth understanding of the needs of today’s biker… because they are one.

If you can’t see a review against an item on this page, it’s because we haven’t tested it yet. These items will only be included if we think they’re important and relevant in the market, and rest assured, we will be working on bringing you a review as soon as we’ve done the miles.

To find out more, head to our dedicated page explaining how we test motorcycle products.

- Just so you know, we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this website - read why you should trust us.