Regrooving tyres or motorcycle tyre tread cutting is a really bad idea.
Back in the day, when motorcycle tyres weren’t so good or the range wasn’t as comprehensive, you might see the odd racer cutting grooves into their slicks to create an ‘Intermediate tyre’ or you might find a keen home mechanic who was convinced that he could better a manufacturer’s tyre by cutting some additional tread into it.
The fact is, you really don’t need to regroove a tyre.
If you do try, you’re likely to damage the tyre, making it unsafe. Most tyres have around 3mm of tread before the outer meets the carcass. Cut a small nick in the carcass and you’ll have wrecked your tyre.
Some off-road or Adventure bike riders have played around with the tread-blocks on their ultra knobbly off-road tyres, trying to cut rounded edges onto the central blocks to reduce their road noise. This might work but it’s a bit of a square peg, round hole job. Just buy a pair of tyres better suited to the way you’re using your bike.
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