how old is too old?

[60ratrod]

cause i think i'm gonna be looking at tires for both my kz and my gs this spring. the gs because the tires are getting a little low on tread, and the kz because i think the tires might be getting too old, but i don't know how old is too old. i think the kz tires are 5 years old, and both have the same tires as well. they are Avon tires iirc

 

[Guest]

Check for dry rotting between the treads. I've ridden on 10 year old tires before, but as long as they look good there fine.

 

[Guest]

Check for dry rotting between the treads. I've ridden on 10 year old tires before, but as long as they look good there fine.

You can if you want, No way in hell I would. I don't even like 4 year old tires.

 

[Rob S.]

Yeah, crack open the wallet. It's nice to see the little "titties" on both tires.

Well, I like it. :biggrin: (Pirelli Sport Demons).

 

[amxsteve]

You may not see cracks and if you ride very cautiously you may be ok. BUT there may be one time when you say oops and realize you needed new shoes. Play it safe and put on tires. Older tires in my opinion do not offer the same grip as newer ones.

 

[JEEPRUSTY]

Oh bollocks change your tires once a season as I do,
GD sidewall cracking is the order of the day way north up here.

 

[60ratrod]

The 650g definitely has cracking between the treads, but since the depth was on the low side of my liking they were gonna be replaced in the spring anyway. The kz's tires though show no cracks, but I think the date on them is 09. And I think the only miles on these tires are what I put on them. Well, new tires for both this spring it is then

 

[Guest]

Have you checked the date of manufacture on the sidewalls?

 

[60ratrod]

I forget which part of the tire it's on. I don't think my 650g's tires had the date, not that I could find anyway

 

[Allie]

Older tires in my opinion do not offer the same grip as newer ones.

It's a fact. Rubber dries as it ages, and dry rubber doesn't stick the way new rubber does. Personally I'd feel uneasy on 5 year old tires, due to consensus I've drawn from people's opinion. Maybe you can get away with it, maybe tires age differently, depending on conditions... I've never tested it. I can tell you that 10+ year old skins are 'interesting' to ride on. Fortunately I wear tires out before age is an issue.

 

[78550GS]

Tire manufacturers will recommend tires over 5 years old to be scrapped. This is what I go by when deciding on tires.

When you go to pick up new ones, make sure to check the date on the new ones as well. Some places still have 6 or 7 year old tires sitting around in stock.

 

[Griffin]

Eight year old tires on a bike that has been ridden occasionally and has been kept in a garage away from direct sunlight generally will be in far better shape than three year old tires on a bike parked outside all the time.

UV rays and direct solar heat degrade the rubber much more quickly than the rubber naturally outgassing when stored in a dark, cooler space.

 

[Guest]

I forget which part of the tire it's on. I don't think my 650g's tires had the date, not that I could find anyway

It IS a little hard to find, sometimes, it's usually close to the inner edge of the tire, so using a flashlight and slowly rotating the tire helps. It's in the form
of a letters and numbers in a skinny oval. The letters don't matter, but the numbers very much do. The front tires on a couple of my bikes, one far from
running, one in the repair process, both Bridgestones, were made almost exactly 10 years apart. The oldest numbers are 0703, which indicates that it
was manufactured in the 7th week of 2003, the newer numbers are 0613, telling me that it was made the sixth week of 2013. I forget when this system
was required to be embossed on the tire, but it's been going on for a few decades now. 'Bingle' tire manufacturing dates, many sites will give you more detail.

 

[Steve]

Tire manufacturers will recommend tires over 5 years old to be scrapped.

Well, of course they do, they are in the business of selling tires.

And, ... oil change companies tell you to change your oil every three months, too. Because they are in the business of selling you oil.

As Griffin mentioned, it's not so much the age, it's how they have aged. I probably don't ride hard enough in a typical ride to notice the difference, but there is always the chance of that one OOPS moment where I wished I had better traction.

.

 

[78550GS]

Well, of course they do, they are in the business of selling tires.

And, ... oil change companies tell you to change your oil every three months, too. Because they are in the business of selling you oil.

As Griffin mentioned, it's not so much the age, it's how they have aged. I probably don't ride hard enough in a typical ride to notice the difference, but there is always the chance of that one OOPS moment where I wished I had better traction.

.

Yes they are in the business of selling tires, as I work for one of those manufacturers.

The point I was trying to make.... I should have elaborated a bit. Griffin hit the nail on the head though, as did you. The WAY the tires are stored has a very significant impact on the degradation of the tire.


However, I would not ride on a tire that has sat in a cooled, dark warehouse for 20 years. I definitely wouldn't ride one that had 5 miles on it, but has sat in the sun for 3 years in Arizona. These are factors, like it or not. I need to talk with the lab and get them to design a tire that fits everything, has super glue grip, and lasts 100K.

 

[Vmass]

FYI: I just received a set of Avon Road Riders from MC Super Store. Dated 3313, which makes them almost 14 months old.

I assume that is typical, as well as acceptable.

 

[Guest]

FYI: I just received a set of Avon Road Riders from MC Super Store. Dated 3313, which makes them almost 14 months old.

I assume that is typical, as well as acceptable.

Those are fine. It is almost impossible to get brand spanking new tires, with a date code like 3414 (oh by the way only 97 days until Christmas lol). 1 or 2 years old is fine.

When you order online or what ever, they just grab off the shelf. I have even asked my bike shop here if they can order a specific date code on the tire, they said not even, we are at the mercy of the seller/shipper. They won't take the time to check. Though I did have a Dunlop rep send me a replacement front tire, he went out and checked himself. I had just bought a new set of tires and the front tire started cracking with in a couple months. Took it back and checked the date code, omg, it was a 6 year old new tire. . The front they had in stock, the rear tire they ordered and the date on it was only about 9 months old. We then went to the tire racks and I just pulled a random tire out and checked the date, it 7 years old. When the store manager got wind of what happened, he had his parts guys inventory the dates on the tires. They ended up tossing about 15 street tires that had been sitting in the back for a number of years. Dunlop did make good on the tire by sending me the replacement free of charge.

 

[60ratrod]

Well I'm not gonna stress too much since the gs is off the road for the season, and with the weather here in the puget sound area this time of year, I only have a couple more rides before my season is over. And I go to school in VA for a little over a month at the end of October for the EA-18G Growler aircraft

 

[Griffin]

Your best bet to get the "freshest" tires is to order them from the big online retailers like Motorcycle Superstore, Dennis Kirk, Bike Bandit, etc... They have large inventories that turn over regularly, so the odds of getting a tire more than a year old are pretty slim, unless you have a real oddball size.

Since I have so many bikes, my tires age faster than they wear out. I have some 6 year old Metzeler Lasertecs on my GS1100E that have less than 1,500 miles on them, and look like new. My bikes spend all their time in a garage, so the tires probably have less than 100 hours of sunlight exposure on them.

I'm not worried about them at all. I was just riding that bike a couple weeks ago, the tires worked great and I was pushing them pretty hard.

 

[60ratrod]

well i went for a short ride today and checked the dates on both bikes when i got back. when i talked about avon tires, it was because that's what i was looking at online. but "Sarge's" tires are kenda challenger series. the front's date is 3909 and the rear is 1803, but aren't showing signs of aging like cracking or glazing, and look like they haven't seen much sun.

"Shelah's" tires are dunlop d404 series tires. the front's date is 4106 and the rear's date is 3006. these definitely show signs of age.