Tire Age Question?
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Road Captain
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 511
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From: Russiaville, In
Tire Age Question?
ok so i yet again have caught a chunk of metal in my rear tire on my 11 road glide so i am going to have to replace it yet again...first one wore out at 10k (yep heavy right wrist) and now 5k later ive caught some metal..
i have a buddy that has a new take off dunlop rear that has a build date code of 3209 which by my math makes it made the first week of august 2009 would you guys feel safe running the tire? it looks perfect he bought it to keep onhand incase something happened but he hasnt had to use it in the last 3 years....
i have a buddy that has a new take off dunlop rear that has a build date code of 3209 which by my math makes it made the first week of august 2009 would you guys feel safe running the tire? it looks perfect he bought it to keep onhand incase something happened but he hasnt had to use it in the last 3 years....
as long as they don't have any cracks or show signs of dry rot they should be fine, when I go on vacation I put new tires on and if the old ones have 1/2 the tread left I keep them just in case and I've put tires back on that were 2 years old with no problems
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2010
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ok so i yet again have caught a chunk of metal in my rear tire on my 11 road glide so i am going to have to replace it yet again...first one wore out at 10k (yep heavy right wrist) and now 5k later ive caught some metal..
i have a buddy that has a new take off dunlop rear that has a build date code of 3209 which by my math makes it made the first week of august 2009 would you guys feel safe running the tire? it looks perfect he bought it to keep onhand incase something happened but he hasnt had to use it in the last 3 years....
i have a buddy that has a new take off dunlop rear that has a build date code of 3209 which by my math makes it made the first week of august 2009 would you guys feel safe running the tire? it looks perfect he bought it to keep onhand incase something happened but he hasnt had to use it in the last 3 years....
On the side wall, there are four numbers, the first two are the number of the week (1-52), the second set of numbers is the year. ex: 0312 = the 3rd week of 2012,
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 9,975
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From: Michigan
Never mind......your brother definitely has a death wish!
Even if he's just riding around town it's still dangerous to ride a bike with tires that are that old.
Seven years old maximum, regardless of mileage (provided that the bike is parked and stored indoors).
I bought two new sets of tires in June for my "keeper" bikes just due to age.
A 1998 Heritage Softail Springer with less than 9,000 miles and an '03 Road King with less than 300 miles!
I've had two tires that deflated very quicky (different reasons) and it wasn't an experience that I want to repeat, at any speed.
I managed to keep the bike up when the front tire went (I was riding solo) but unfortunately I dropped my '87 FXSTC (riding double) when the rear tire went.
If I were you, I'd encourage him to buy some new tires, OR refuse to ride with him until he does.
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: May 2012
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From: Carlsbad, CA
The auto tire industry is now publishing age life limits. I have heard 6 years. With the advent of hyper mileage tires, some are exceeding the "safe recommended life". Or maybe people are just buying fewer tires, and they still need the revenue. But, rubber does deteriorate over time, with exposure to sun, ozone, and just air. The deterioration can include hardening of the rubber, and consequentially reduced traction. I have had this happen on a low mileage car. The tires became hard and lost traction with still over 50% tread life.
There are many performance characteristics required of a motorcycle tire beyond the ability to hold air. With the small contact patch and leaning forces I certainly want as much traction as I can get, and would never go over 5 years.
You might want to do a finger nail test of those old tires, and will be surprized they no longer have the soft sticky tread a motorcycle tire should have.
There are many performance characteristics required of a motorcycle tire beyond the ability to hold air. With the small contact patch and leaning forces I certainly want as much traction as I can get, and would never go over 5 years.
You might want to do a finger nail test of those old tires, and will be surprized they no longer have the soft sticky tread a motorcycle tire should have.
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Elite HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2007
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From: People's Republic of Boulder Colorado
I bought a super-low mileage '82 FXE a couple of years ago that still had the original front tire on it & I ran it till it was nearly bald with no problems at all. Also a low-mileage '94 FXDS with the original front tire with the same result.
Personally, I think this issue of how old your tires are is a load of cr@p. If they aren't cracked and have some tread left, then screw it!
I'm sure that others will have different opinions, but this is mine based on my experience.
Personally, I think this issue of how old your tires are is a load of cr@p. If they aren't cracked and have some tread left, then screw it!
I'm sure that others will have different opinions, but this is mine based on my experience.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2010
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I bought a super-low mileage '82 FXE a couple of years ago that still had the original front tire on it & I ran it till it was nearly bald with no problems at all. Also a low-mileage '94 FXDS with the original front tire with the same result.
Personally, I think this issue of how old your tires are is a load of cr@p. If they aren't cracked and have some tread left, then screw it!
I'm sure that others will have different opinions, but this is mine based on my experience.
Personally, I think this issue of how old your tires are is a load of cr@p. If they aren't cracked and have some tread left, then screw it!
I'm sure that others will have different opinions, but this is mine based on my experience.