Tired of Tires

[prodigit]

I don't know if it's ever been mentioned, but on tires you can read a lot more than their profile width, height, and rim size.
There's info on there that tells you how many miles the tire is rated for, and what the max speed is.

Usually the higher the top speed of the tire, the higher the mileage.
The harder the tire, the higher the mileage
The softer the tire, the better the grip.

So there's a tradeoff.
Some companies try to get better grip, by increasing contact surface to the road, but if it ever rains, you don't want to ride around in slicks.
So there's a tradeoff too.

Your tire profile should be able to run through water(deflect it), while still have a large portion of the tire touch the road. Especially on a motorcycle, there's usually a strip smaller than 1 by 1 inch touching the asphalt.