In this study, experiments have been conducted on the sample of solid motorcycle tire wastes to determine particularly the effect of temperature, feed size, and apparent vapor residence time on the pyrolysis product yields and their compositions. The maximum liquid yield of 49 wt.% was obtained at a final pyrolysis temperature of 475 degrees C, feed size 4 cm(3), with a residence time of 5 s under N-2 atmosphere in a fixed-bed fire-tube heating reactor system. The pyrolysis liquid products were characterized by elemental analysis and various chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. Chromatographic and spectroscopic studies on the liquids show that it can be used as liquid fuels and chemical feedstock, with a calorific value of 42.00 MJ/kg and empirical formula of CH1.27O0.025N0.006. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.