A method for manufacturing a motorcycle tire which tire comprises a tread portion, a pair of sidewall portions, a pair of bead portions each with a bead core therein, a carcass extending between the bead portions through the tread portion and the sidewall portions, a breaker disposed radially outside the carcass in the tread portion and composed of two or three plies of cords, and a band disposed radially outside the breaker in the tread portion and composed of at least one ply of at least one cord wound spirally and circumferentially of the tire, comprising a raw tire main body building process (S1a) for building a cylindrical raw tire main body comprising a cylindrical carcass formed by winding a strip of carcass ply material into a cylindrical shape, and the bead cores disposed in both end portions of the cylindrical carcass, a breaker building process (S1b) for building a cylindrical breaker ply by winding a strip of breaker ply material into a cylindrical shape, a sticking process (S1c) for applying both edge portions of the cylindrical breaker ply to the raw tire main body swollen into a toroidal shape by turning down the edge portions, a band building process (S1d) for building a band ply on the breaker ply (17, 18) by spirally circumferentially winding a tape for forming the band ply thereon, wherein the breaker building process (S1b) comprises a support ring closing step (S1b1) in which a pair of support rings each having a cylindrical outer surface are moved from their axially outer standby positions to their axially inner operating positions, wherein the support rings are disposed one on each side of an axial center corresponding to the tire equatorial plane, and supported movably in the axial direction so as to come close to each other or get away from each other, a first swelling step (S1b2) in which the raw tire main body is swollen into a toroidal shape, while decreasing the distance between the bead cores, so as to become a first swollen state, characterized in that the cords of the carcass ply are laid at angles of from 10 to 40 degrees with respect to the tire circumferential direction, a crown portion of the swollen raw tire main body protrudes slightly radially outwardly from the cylindrical outer surfaces of the support rings through a gap therebetween in the first swollen state, the breaker building process (S1b) further comprises a winding step (S1b3) in which a strip of the breaker ply material is wound on the support rings to extend across the gap, whereby a cylindrical breaker ply whose inner circumferential surface is adhered to the protruding crown portion of the raw tire main body is formed, the sticking process (S1c) comprises: a second swelling step (S1c1) in which, after the support rings are moved to the standby positions, a profiled deck is expanded from its contracted state to its expanded state, while decreasing the distance between the bead cores, so that the raw tire main body with the cylindrical breaker ply thereon is swollen to a second swollen state, and the inside thereof is supported by the profiled deck, and a turn-down step (S1c2) in which, in the state of the raw tire main body supported by the profiled deck, both edge portions of the cylindrical breaker ply are turned down onto the raw tire main body so as to shape the cylindrical breaker ply into a curved breaker ply curved along the outer circumferential surface of the profiled deck, and the band building process (S1d) comprises a tape winding step (S1d1) in which the tape is spirally wound on the outer circumferential surface of the curved breaker ply in the state supported by the profiled deck so that the band ply is formed along the outer circumferential surface of the profiled deck. a second swelling step (S1c1) in which, after the support rings are moved to the standby positions, a profiled deck is expanded from its contracted state to its expanded state, while decreasing the distance between the bead cores, so that the raw tire main body with the cylindrical breaker ply thereon is swollen to a second swollen state, and the inside thereof is supported by the profiled deck, and a turn-down step (S1c2) in which, in the state of the raw tire main body supported by the profiled deck, both edge portions of the cylindrical breaker ply are turned down onto the raw tire main body so as to shape the cylindrical breaker ply into a curved breaker ply curved along the outer circumferential surface of the profiled deck, and the band building process (S1d) comprises a tape winding step (S1d1) in which the tape is spirally wound on the outer circumferential surface of the curved breaker ply in the state supported by the profiled deck so that the band ply is formed along the outer circumferential surface of the profiled deck.