i'm looking at a pretty good tire deal. so good i contacted the seller to make sure there was no typo, and to ask if they were old tires. he said they overstocked and were trying to sell them off. he said most of the tires he looked at were in the 2012 manufactured year range.

i'm still pretty comfortable buying one, but was thinking about buying a second (it's a bike i mean to have for a while). by the time i used it though, i'd be in that 6-7 year period for sure.

would it help if the second tire's not exposed to the elements (an unheated garage though, and assuming it's been in a warehouse up to this point also), or should i just buy the one and leave it at that? i guess i could also ask him if they could find the latest tire dates if i agreed to buy more than one, but being an internet sale, who knows if they'd really bother to look. thanks for any advice.

 

The seller should be willing to provide the date code. It's a 4 digit code, easy to find. First 2 digits are the week made, last 2 digits are the year made. Tires dry rot with age. Personally, by 6 years, I'm looking to replace them. I wouldn't want to mount a 5 year old tire unless I was going to wear it out in a season or two.

There's only 2 tires on a bike and they are both vital to your safety. You have to decide if the it's worth it.

 

5 year shelf life


Bwana

 

Tire manufacturers recommend 6-10 years

 

I bought an '07 Sportster 2 months ago. It still had the original (8 yr old) tires. The back was worn out. The front still had around half the tread left, but you could see cracks and dry rotting. This was a bike used only in summer, and garaged.


Check out: Motorcycle Tires: Age Matters

 

It makes a difference how / where a tire is stored. If they're still boxed / wrapped and warehouse stored, they'd probably be quite OK. If they're exposed and in the proximity of chemicals, sunlight or electric motors,, not good.

 

thanks all.

i think i'll just buy one. along with everything else it's a mod project so there's no saying when i'll even start using the first one, which would have the second one on the shelf possibly even longer. they have the "make an offer" option so i may see if i can get two for even less, so i won't be out much if i decide not to use it. thanks again.