Old Tires

[mystic red]

Just wondering what other motobrickers think...

[Motorhobo]

7 years is really pushing it...I might ride short distances at lower speeds but for sure no pillion till replaced. Depends on if it was my only ride or not. That's the problem with these polls...They're like incontinence...there's always a 'Depends' involved.

I said I'd ride it till I could afford a replacement knowing I'll incur the wrath of the righteous. But let me say that the replacement would be a very high priority, I would keep the mph low and would be very conscious of it.

Maybe consider changing the pillion option to 'no pillion'. Btw I had to google pillion to find out what it means.

[pdg]

There isn't an "inspect the tyres fully and make each decision on a case by case basis" option... :nono

Anyway...

I would never use or dismiss any tyre purely on it's age. First and foremost is condition, then in no particular order comes intended use, size/weight of bike etc.

For instance, here is a tyre that was less than 2 years old according to the sidewall date when I took the picture and that was not the worst part. I sold the bike this tyre was fitted to, but managed to convince the purchaser not to ride it home - I trailered it for him instead.



Remember, that tyre was UNDER TWO YEARS OLD and had covered less than 500 miles. When I sold the bike a year later it was still holding air, but I'd say only just...

That's what improper storage does. I was never really bothered with the bike (as my K turned up at almost the same time, guess which I chose?) so it just got left sitting. I also think the owner before me must've got 'something' on it to accelerate the degredation as the valve stem had perished and split as well.



Now, on the other hand, we have this - do note it's the same manufacturer as the tyre above:



I took this picture this morning, about 10 minutes ago in fact. This is the NINE YEAR OLD front tyre fitted to my K right now. I use it happily with any load and at any speed (up to, but never exceeding the speed limit of course), it grips peg-scrapingly well wet or dry, it's not cracking up at all. Where exactly is the problem?

To my knowledge, I have not killed any nuns or kittens through my use of 'old' tyres.


Honestly, I don't think there is really a poll option I can choose unless you add the one in my first sentence.



Now, on a related but side note - Riding until you see threads..........

Seriously? Do you actually know any (two very naughty words) basket case that would ignore tyre wear to that extent?

Or were you extracting the urine?

[richarddacat]

My Dad's bike (garage kept) had a new set on 6yrs ago with only 3421 miles on them. Obviously it was seldom ridden in those years. They looked good when I got it a few months ago but after three tank fulls the rear tire sidewalks started to split.
The tread and front tire still looked good but I replaced them both.
Not worth the risk IMO.

[pdg]

That 9yo tyre on the front of my K was 'about' 7 years old when I bought it, and it wasn't the first bike it was fitted to, I bought it 'used'.... It's since done a 'few' thousand miles.

I'm not telling anyone to do what I do, but I'm also not berating them for it.

Again as an aside, when I was phoning for tyre prices one local dealer wanted to know what the other tyre I had fitted was as "if it's a different make or model of tyre it WILL make you crash, and we wouldn't be happy to sell a single tyre anyway because it's dangerous if they aren't matched"... I said they could keep the tyres and the attitude and bought cheaper online and fitted myself.

[Motorhobo]

Seriously? Do you actually know any (two very naughty words) basket case that would ignore tyre wear to that extent?

Are you serious? Johnny...looks like he's calling you out!

[pdg]

So am I to believe that running a new tyre down to the canvas is 'safer' than a good condition but older tyre?

Seriously?

This (assuming it's fairly new)


is more appealing for you to ride on than this?


Sure, actual tread is only really important in the wet, can you state with absolute certainty that you aren't going to hit a puddle on a corner?

But even then, if you're using the term "down to the threads" literally rather than figuratively you're quite surely dicing with tyre failure far more than I am. For a start, getting rid of that much rubber means anything possibly puncture inducing has far less work to do, plus the lack of material will compromise the structural strength of the carcass - get a hole or heat it up properly and it's much more likely to lead to a catastrophic failure.

To hark back to a comment made elsewhere - I will indeed run my 'antiques', you can run your fluffy worn out tyres. I'll bet my 'old' rubber sticks to the road better than your 'new' cloth.

[Motorhobo]

I think we're on the same page here really...my comment was in reference  to pics Johnny posted a while ago where his tires were worn down to the cords from hard cornering. Those pics were actually really more about the hardness of the cornering than about the topic of this thread.

Three of four tires on my bikes are 5 years old but they look to be in good shape so I will replace them when if can afford it as soon as I can or when I see signs of deterioration or loss of integrity. So I wasn't suggesting you're wrong about anything...I'm not a tire engineer. I do think seven years the absolute max life of a moto tire...that's more an opinion based on fear than any empirical data. I'm scared f old tires...that's the bottom line and nothing's going to change that. Too much on the line with tires...do not want to push the envelope too much other what is arguably the most safety-critical system on the bike.

My 2 cents...

[johnny]

the tiors on my jeep are 12 years old... if they would fit the motobrick i would put them on there and ride the transcheddertrail without reservation...

j o