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How old is to old in tires?
Hi all...
i had to purchase a new used rear wheel for my sei from ebay. wheel couldn't hold bearing in. the hole got out-of-round. so for $50 plus shipping i got wheel,bearings,rotor, and tire. the tire is really nice, an elite 3, 90% tread, but manufactured 2007! no cracks now. i don't know about you but it's xmas in michigan and i need the bucks. the original tire was junk. would you put a 5 year old tire on your bike?
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#1 12-13-2011, 11:47 AM,
Four years old will be just fine.

Now if it were 14 years?
'RIDE TO BE SEEN' :d

Most common quote from a cager after killing a motorcyclist.

"I never saw him" instead of "I never looked for him".
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#2 12-13-2011, 12:28 PM,
Hopefully you will wear it out before too long anyway Smile
The only stupid questions are the one's that are not asked.

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#3 12-13-2011, 03:25 PM,
The professional recommendation that sticks in my head is to scrap a tire when it is 6 years old even if it looks like new because the rubber cures, becomes hard and makes for dangerous driving. Now, if it was stored in a dark freezer for all those years, away from sunlight and heat, it might still be good, but, no garantees on that. The temptation is great to use a great looking old tire on a motorcycle, but, one serious accident because you could not turn or stop in time will send you, otherwise, to a new tire with soft, pliable rubber if you're still alive.
Ed (Vic) Belanger - 1954-2015
Founder of gl1200goldwings.com

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#4 12-13-2011, 04:44 PM,
You do as you like, but I would use it.
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#5 12-14-2011, 09:28 AM,
I'm with Vic.

The Dunlop tires that came with my bike had good > 85% treads but were way over 5 years old (and probably the bike stood at least for 2-3 years or more in storage in one spot resting on those tires***). There were very small but visible surface cracks in the sidewalls, and when the front tire developed a slow leak ... that did it for me. Now I have a great set of Shinko 230 Tourmasters ($217 for the pair) on the bike costing under $275 including mounting. That's really low cost life insurance. :d

At an interesting m'cycle safety site, writer Billy Edwards summarizes the date numbering system molded into the side wall of each tire since 2000. So at least, with this Department of Transport system, you can find out DIRECTLY in which month and year the tire was manufactured.
Here too, in agreement with Vic's standard the six year aging limit is stated as the "natural" lifetime of a motorcycle tire.

Trying to answer Brobbed's question, a tire manufactured in 2007 according to these standards still has one more year left in it.
______________________________________________
*** Earlier this year, when I got home after working overseas for 6 months, my 1999 V70 Volvo when driven over 55 mph had violent vibrations coming from the front end. Even though my front steel belted radial tires were less than one year old, my Volvo mechanic found that the vibrations were caused by a flat spot on each tire from having stood in one place for 6 months. I HAD to buy a new set of front tires! [My mechanic doesn't sell tires! :d ] That cured the vibrations.
LESSON: If you're storing a car or bike for months, it's best to put it up on blocks and not have them resting in one spot on the tires.
I added this note 'cause LOTS of Wings that people buy have been stored for YEARS. If like me with my car, the owner had stored the bike in one spot on its tires, chances are the tires got damaged.
______________________________________________
[Image: Akriti2450x338.jpg]

" ... If you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas." ~ George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
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#6 12-14-2011, 01:03 PM,
Ive got a Bridgestone Spitfire Touring that still has the original wrapping on it if anyone is interested.

I bought it in a barn lot and have been saving it for my own bike but mine are like new and I have two spares already. I won't pretend to know that much about tires but when I read Vic's post I looked at it and see no signs of age and the rubber feels like any other tire (pliable).
Anyways if anyone from this site decides to buy it and finds out they are not comfortable with it I will refund the purchase price

I called Bridgestone and the salesman told me these tires were made in the mid to late 80's for our bikes so its got a few years of sitting around

BTW the $169.00 price was on the original wrapping - I would be glad to get $40 or $50 bucks for it


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#7 12-15-2011, 07:33 PM,
1060dsl

The manufacturing date code is stamped upon the side of the tire, it has four numbers in a raised rectangle, and should be something like '0587' which would mean for example that it was made in the fifth month of 1987.
'RIDE TO BE SEEN' :d

Most common quote from a cager after killing a motorcyclist.

"I never saw him" instead of "I never looked for him".
Reply
#8 12-15-2011, 07:46 PM,
The six year rule comes from the Ford Motor Company's exhaustive studies in the 1990s on aging of tires, and what degrades the rubber. The link is to PowerPoint slides with detailed information on how fast tires age. This is what led to the six year standard. Ford found that tires in Arizona age twice as fast as in Detroit ... the greater heat being responsible for the difference (amount of oxygen in both regions is the same).
[Image: Akriti2450x338.jpg]

" ... If you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas." ~ George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
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#9 12-16-2011, 01:15 AM,


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