Good things to look out for, thanks. I am not sure what data suggests keeping speeds to 50? The car tire manufacturers agree that a tire's life is considered to be 10 years. The car manufacturers OTOH recommend a 6 year tire life. One of the things I was thinking about is that this bike was in a garage, has touring bags and large fenders and likely did not get that much sun exposure. Since there is no cracking of any kind, I am beginning to feel more confident that they may perform normally? I wouldn't know how to assess if the tire would be prone to splitting or tread separation and kind of wonder how the tire manufacturers rate their tires as having 10-year life spans?

 

captbob, if you want to rationalize go for it. Ride on . You would not even be asking if you didn't think these tires were questionable. You don't really need to stop or keep your bike under you while turning .

 

Mike, I really have not ascertained if these tires are questionable. I have been having to independently look at some of the literature available on tires to get a sense of what the pitfalls might be. I don't think I am rationalizing anything and really don't know what that exactly means? Is it not rational to seek data about a subject that I don't know enough about to make an informed decision? I am afraid as a former scientist that opinions not interjected with some data carry less weight with me. You know the old saying about peoples excretory anatomy and opinions. I am honestly not trolling when I posted this thread. I am trying to find people that are willing to interject evidence-based information rather than conjecture. If that is irrational, then I guess I fit that profile. I am in the process of resurrecting a neglected 2005 Road King and have multiple tasks and items to evaluate and either leave as is or fix/change with an eye on budget issues as this is just a fun project bike that I acquired a few days ago. One of these items is to pull the cam chain cover off and inspect my spring-loaded cam chain tensioners. That for sure with 26k miles is something that I won't close my eyes to as I would like to keep the motor running healthy. The tire issue is a new one to me in a sense even after having owned 98 motorcycles. Usually, I just change them out if I have a question but the answers in this case are truly not yet apparent to me as to the risk/benefits of keeping or changing the tires.

 

I am calling BS here captbob, you know the risk. Do whatever you want to do it is your bike and your body. Please don't hike anyone.

 

Mike, I really don't know the risk other than bantering with you is likely to produce 100% dissatisfaction. Please let others that can contribute something substantive maybe chime in. Have a good one and keep the rubber side down. That's all I am trying to do BTW, I have no idea what "hiking" means and I will not loose any sleep trying to figure that out because it will not add to my understanding of my issue at hand. If you don't like my posts, please don't read them and waste both of our time. I hope some others will have a chance to look at the pictures I attached in my previous post and comment with maybe something more refreshing than calling BS.

 

Old tires do not magically disintegrate and kill everyone in a 2 block area , what they will do is harden depending on length of time sitting and two things happen they are slick as hell to ride on and they wear quickly in harsh choppy patterns which affects handling.

Less than 10 years old are ridable god knows I rode many an old bike with original tires with no problems just be aware you pushing the safety edge a bit and riding 2 up isn't the best idea.

 

Again calling BS 98 bikes and not heard of hiking? Ride safe Bob . I am out. Mike

 

TwiZted, That is the real-world experience I am looking for and what I might expect. Since I put on the Formula V which is designed to take away some of the hardness of the rubber, they may in fact actually be very rideable and safe tires. My wife gave up riding two-up with me many years ago and as you probably know, I snuck in a 2016 TGU with three wheels into the lineup that she feels very comfortable riding with me on. I can't blame her as I mentioned to her that about 1.5 years ago up in Arkansas, I almost dropped my Road Glide Ultra leaving a gas station on an off-camber driveway. As the bike leaned about 15 degrees over and was continuing to lean, a surge of adrenalin kicked in and there was no way in hell that I was going to drop that bike and snatched it up with great effort.


Mike, The Internet seems to be full of people that want to fight and as I get older, I am not one of them although if you are physically in my face threatening me, I will hurt you because I don't give a ****. Worked in max security prisons for 10 years and have seen a lot of badass folks. I am 67, been riding legally since I was 15.5 years old, have about 400k road miles on just about all kinds of bikes including lots of cruisers, sport bikes, dirt bikes, etc both foreign and domestic and that 98 number ain't no BS. Even tracked one of my sport bikes (Ducati 748) but found it to be a bitch to get out in front of the front wheel with all kinds of hairy turns and my brain not able to process the information fast enough to be really fast like my buddies. So, please, consider trying to play nice and if not, come on over, get in my face and I will try and kick your ***! Probably might not be successful at my age but I can still be a mean f@cker if I have to and I don't fight fair. BTW, my wife wishes that I still didn't have so much testosterone left at my age which is unfortunately cardio toxic and can make me a pain in the butt. Anyway, after all this bantering, I wish you well and keep the shiny side up while having fun.

 

Nowhere on their site does it mention motorcycles or passenger cars. It also sounds like a pain in the ***, and how long does a "treatment" last before you do it again?

"HOW DO I APPLY FORMULA V TO MY TIRES?
For racing applications apply three coats for three consistent days at least 24-48 hours minimum before racing. Formula V is applied using a standard paint roller with a small nap cover or an application apparatus such as RolloPrep. Simply pour from the container into a clean paint tray, wet the brush, and roll onto the surface of your tires.

HOW OLD ARE YOUR TIRES?
Did you know that in the US, retailers can sell tires that have never been driven on, but are 4 or more years old as new? The makeup of the rubber in tires starts to dry out and essentially break down over time, meaning that even new tires can start breaking down before you’ve even purchased them. Formula V can help restore the moisture back into your tires, giving you longer lasting tires and combating the aging process."

Basically with all this time spent on banter, just go buy some new, nice tires.

 

Well, got to do about a 120 mile test ride on my reconditioned Road King. Whew, had to change ALL fluids (gas, brakes, tranny, primary, engine) and crack the cam chest to check the spring-loaded cam tensioner shoes which were in great shape. No drips, no errors and runs/sounds like a Harley should. What fun! It has mini-ape handlebars that are a bit of an acquired taste but I was getting used to them pretty quickly. Stop signs seemed like a bit more of challenge after having been on trikes for the past year but with my feet able to be flat on the ground, the RK is a pleasant bike to ride slow or come to a stop.

As I was riding and leaning into curves, I realized that I have just as much fun on my trikes as I do on two wheels. What a pleasant surprise. I had expressed some concerns about my 8 and 9 year old almost new tires. They worked quite well in the dry with plenty of grip and nothing funny at 70mph. After flushing the brake systems, I did some panic stops to check the brakes and the tires and found that they both worked quite well. I checked the tires after the ride and there were absolutely no signs of any problems with cracking etc. My personal opinion after having read a lot of sources on tires is that if they have not been exposed to UV light and/or harsh/chemical environments, the tire manufacturers say that they are good for 10 years and I personally have no further concerns about safety issues. I will continue to check them periodically as I would any motorcycle tire but am very comfortable with my decision to keep them on the bike.

It had been almost a year since I had been on two wheels until a few days ago and I now realize that I was not missing as much as I thought I was concerning two wheels. I am going to enjoy the heck out of the RK as it is quite dissimilar from my Tri Glide and/or Can-Am F3-S Spyder which I consider my sport trike. They are all just a hell of a lot of fun!!! I want to have a day where I get to ride all three on the same day.

Thanks to all for having responded to this thread. I am sure that there will still be folks that are wishing me "luck" and thinking I am foolish for my decision but the empirical evidence (both the actual tires and tire literature) suggests that I likely will not die from "bad" tires.