Long term tire storage

[bryan]

Ah, another tire thread. But one of a different sort.

I just put new tires on my GS550 last season. Shortly after, I THINK I skipped a link in the cam chain. It also needs most of the gaskets replaced because they leak like crazy, and could probably use a top-end overhaul, frame powdercoating... I just got a "new" bike and I plan to tear down the entire 550 and do a nice resto on her.

My question...it may take me awhile. And I have these brand new tires. How can I best keep them "fresh" without them hardening over a couple of seasons? Stored in bags with a bunch of silica? Any ideas? Am I SOL?

Probably worried too much considering the relatively short timeframe, but I like my tires nice and sticky and my body safe and on the bike.

[chuckycheese]

Bag 'em

I'd bag 'em up and put them in an indoor closet. I bet when you take them out, they'll look great. A lot of people unknowingly buy tires that are a couple of years old. If you'd like to check that out, look at the tire code on the sidewall. It's a 4 digit number in a little indented portion of the sidewall. The first 2 digits indicate the week of the year and the last 2 digits indicate the year.

For example, 2606 would mean the tire was manufactured during the 26th week of 2006.

[themess]

Well-made tires will last for many years when they are out of sun and ozone. When I worked at Firestone, I saw documention of some front tractor tires and fire truck tires that were literally 30 or so years old and still doing fine. It is common for tires to be stored in warehouses for several years.

You don't need to bag your tires for their sake, unless you have some strange place to store them. Put them in a shed or in your basement or garage or something similar, and they'll be fine. However, be aware that oil is a major ingredient of tread rubber and sidewall rubber. On racing slicks, oil can be up to about 75% of the weight of the rubber. On typical passenger radials, it is about a third of the rubber. Anti-oxidants and anti-ozonants are added to this oil to combat chemical damage that leads to cracking and hardening of the rubber. Any of these oils can stain items touching the tire for long periods of time. This will be a bigger problem for high performance tires than for touring or high mileage tires.

(Was once a tire chemist.)

[chuckycheese]

Bag 'em

So.....I guess from that, we can assume if you store them in an inside closet, it would be a good idea to.....bag them!\\/

By the way, if you live near a Les Schwab Tire Center, they have really nice tire bags which they will give you.