Times have changed and people are so much more timid when it comes to things of this nature. We are also a throw away society being wasteful is the American way being old school makes us so aware of this.

We used to go to junk yards take old weather cracked tires off cars and run them on our bikes never once thinking about tire failure only how long would the tread last.

Muscle car with 25 yr old tires a waste, guess whose name is on the title. We have driven our cars every year to car shows, cruise-ins, and pleasure. Heck our motorcycle tires are 10+ years old and we ride that bike as much as we have time for. Gave up on the smoky burnouts years ago thus the long wear. There are only so many days in our summer season we have always had a lot of things going on so it is what it is.

Throwing away a perfectly good tire will always be a waste to me. As hard as I driven some of my hot rods on old tires for the life of me cannot see what the big fuss is all about other than pure hear say.

 

She ask you to wrench on her bike so give her your recommendations. You might want her decision in writing if it turns out to be the wrong one. lol

 

Well, I do all the work, except machining, on my Pans (same 65 Pan since October of '70), Shovels and Evos, so I do consider myself to be competent and a decent wrench. As I have said this is a first for me and my rule of thumb has always been 5-6 years max. And from the comments the responses seem to vary.

This is what Dunlop says on its site...

At what age is a tire no longer useable?

"Service life is dependent on many variables such as inflation pressure, storage, driving conditions, loads, general maintenance and abuse. Scientific or technical data indicate that a specific minimum or maximum service life cannot be objectively established. It is not appropriate to establish an arbitrary tire removal date based on chronological age due to the wide variety of factors affecting a tire’s service life".

This is from the Dunlop Warranty Tire and Maintenance Guide...

"It is not practical to try to predict the service life of any specific tire in chronological time since service conditions vary widely. The serviceability of a tire over time is a function of the storage and service conditions (inflation pressure, load, speed, road hazard injury, etc.) to which a tire is subjected. Consumers should not rely solely on the appearance of the tire but should be aware of any change in dynamic performance such as increased air loss, noise or vibration, which could be a sign to remove the tire. Therefore, it is essential to have tires, including spares, inspected regularly (at least monthly) for proper inflation pressure, damage and tread wear."

Also went to https://www.msf-usa.org and read the info from the Motor Industry Council regarding tires. Other general sites I looked at basically say if serviceable that 5 years is the max range; couple others indicated the max at 10 years...hence my reason for some input to my question.

And yes I know from personal experience about about a tire blow out but thanks for your assumption.

And to the others who have provided input, thank you.

 

Anybody who pays attention on here, knows you are a good mechanic. Sedona must be cranky today.

 

New tire time.

 

Agreed, cheap piece of mind.

 

Michelin advises replacement at 8 years even if it still appears ok. If I had a tire 6 years old that looked good I'd leave it on use up the remaining tread (which doesn't take long).

 

Hadn't checked their site, thanks. She averages less than 2K a year so I am thinking since I have already changed the front (10 years from her records and the tire date code), I will also do the rear (tire date code and records show 6 years and counting) and have some peace of mind.

 

On a used bike, you don't know if the previous owner kept the tires inflated properly. I don't think there would necessarily be evidence of episodes of overheating, secondary to under inflation.

So that is why I replaced the 8 year old tires on my used bike, even though they appeared pristine. One man's timid, is another man's prudent.

 

5 years is usually the rule of thumb but its just a rule. Its recommended but not required. If the lady doesn't ride much I would get cheap tires like shinkos or a cheap set of metz