Any motorcyclists here?

[tomhenry]

The tires on my bike were made in 2018. I had them mounted in 2019 and, because of ....... life ......... I've only ridden the bike 1,313 miles since I had them mounted.

I want to start riding again and am told that the life expectancy of a motorcycle tire is only 5 years. Maybe six if the tread is good, no cracks, etc.

Do any of you follow this criterion? The tires look really good and have always been in my garage overnight. The rear tire is elevated via the center stand and the front tire rests on a carpet remnant (to prevent the cement from leeching the tire's oils).


Do any of you follow this criterion? The tires look really good and have always been in my garage overnight. The rear tire is elevated via the center stand and the front tire rests on a carpet remnant (to prevent the cement from leeching the tire's oils).

For what it's worth, I ride like an old man. That's .. because .. I'm an old man. No twisties around here. Streets are flat, straight and intersect at 90 degree angles. The speed limits on some of the roads I travel are 75, 80.

I'll occasionally goose it to 100 to get past the latte sipping, cell phone texting soccer moms in their SUVs, but it's rare.

And, no passengers. Ever.

 

[Rotorhead1026]

Tom, is there any dry rot? Bike stored inside? Tires not allowed to go (and stay) flat? If “no, yes, yes” then I’d say you’re GTG.

 

[Protocall_Design]

That sounds like kilometers per hour. A hundred kilometers per hour is around 62 miles per hour. Are you in the USA?

 

[tomhenry]

That sounds like kilometers per hour. A hundred kilometers per hour is around 62 miles per hour. Are you in the USA?

Yes, MPH. The bike is a Triumph Tiger Explorer XC w/140 hp. Weighs right at 600 pounds. Shaft drive triple.

 

[muzzlestuffer2012]

The tires on my bike were made in 2018. I had them mounted in 2019 and, because of ....... life ......... I've only ridden the bike 1,313 miles since I had them mounted.

I want to start riding again and am told that the life expectancy of a motorcycle tire is only 5 years. Maybe six if the tread is good, no cracks, etc.

Do any of you follow this criterion? The tires look really good and have always been in my garage overnight. The rear tire is elevated via the center stand and the front tire rests on a carpet remnant (to prevent the cement from leeching the tire's oils).


Do any of you follow this criterion? The tires look really good and have always been in my garage overnight. The rear tire is elevated via the center stand and the front tire rests on a carpet remnant (to prevent the cement from leeching the tire's oils).

For what it's worth, I ride like an old man. That's .. because .. I'm an old man. No twisties around here. Streets are flat, straight and intersect at 90 degree angles. The speed limits on some of the roads I travel are 75, 80.

I'll occasionally goose it to 100 to get past the latte sipping, cell phone texting soccer moms in their SUVs, but it's rare.

And, no passengers. Ever.

You should be fine if they aren't dried out and still have a tack to them and no cracking.

 

[tomhenry]

You should be fine if they aren't dried out and still have a tack to them and no cracking.

Yes, they are tacky with no cracking.

 

[Marine Corps Air]

I don't ride motorcycles any more - it's not me, but the idiot four-wheeler drivers.

I understand what you have said but I would still go to the tire dealer for an opinion. I know that they are in the business of selling tires, but

a. it's not usually the regular (?) roads that cause tire failure and front end alignment damage (cars), it's the blasted objects in the road and pot holes,

b. can the tires withstand a high stress event from an emergency stop or laying the motorcycle down to avoid a collision (and possible death)?

Bill

 

[Rodan]

Tires begin aging as soon as they come out of the molds. Conditions (such as UV light) can accelerate the degradation of the tire's material compounds, but even stored inside they WILL degrade.

I've got a lot of miles on bikes, both on the street and racetrack, and will just say this: tires are important on a car, but they're critical on a motorcycle. I wouldn't ride on 6 year old tires... if something happens where you really need everything they've got, they won't have it to give.

 

[wood714]

I think the tires would be cool. Back in my younger "poor" years I rode all summer with a roofing nail in my back tire. It never lost air pressure.

 

[oink]

Go to a motorcycle store. Use your thumbnail and press into a new tire. Then go home and do the same to yours.

 

[Bald1]

Your fine. Someone will be along to say you’re not because of X Y & Z. I’ve had as many as 4 bikes at one time. I ride in the northeast. Our season isn’t long enough to wear out a tire in 6 yrs when mileage is spread out over 4 bikes. I started riding at age 8. I’ll be 55 next month. Never had a “bad” tire simply because it aged out.

 

[jjrr]

I won’t push it past 5 especially on front tire. I have a like new tire on the rear of my bike that is 6 and it’s coming off before this riding season.

Added comment, I know that motorcycle tires are not the same as a car or truck tire. They see different stresses and they don’t have the surface area to hold them to the rim as a car tire. I had a tire on my one ton flat bed completely disentigrate with a load of lumber and it was spectacular, the tire was old and it looked ok. I limped on to my destination on the the other dual tire same vintage and you can bet I bought new tires right away. Not a motorcycle tire but an sound good looking old tire, that’s where the the comparison comes in..

 

[Imissedagain]

Read post #10.

If you ride and are not knowledgable about tires,
maybe you should ride slow and stay a safe distance
behind those soccer Moms.
Give the EMTs a day off.

Been riding almost 60 years and built a Harley chopper,
in the late '60s, at Castle AFB.
OIC of the motor pool was a Master smallbore teammate.

Customizing my '79 XT500 as time permits.
Might put a sidecar on someday.
Gringo grandpa es muy loco.

 

[forindooruseonly]

Former service manager at a motorcycle dealership here.

Replace them. As mentioned, tires start aging as soon as they are produced, whether they are ridden or not. Lots of trade-ins with low miles on bikes that were 5 to 6 years old and we always put new tires on them for resale, no matter how good the tires looked. A bunch of those good looking tires didn't look so good on the inside.

I wouldn't trust highway speeds on old tires. Maybe just putting around town, but not faster than that. But I've had a bad crash and don't want to go through that again, so maybe I'm just overly cautious now.

 

[bdGreen]

New tires.

Just do it.

Put that all behind you on your future riding.

Peace of mind.

bdGreen

 

[ggibson511960]

Unless your storage is near oxidizing chemicals (swimming pool) you should be fine as long as you don’t see visible dry rot cracking, not likely with modern rubber compounds until you age them 10+ years. Unlike car tires, bike tires are made to run flat and stay on the rim for safety. Been riding Triumphs for 50+ years; 68 T100R, 95 Thunderbird, 98 Trophy 1200, and one lone remaining 70 TR6C. My Goldwing carries me the most. It eats tires, averages 5,000 miles rear and 10,000 front, all gently ridden at moderate (60 mph) speed.

 

[ladder13]

Sold my 9 yo low mile Geezerglide in 2011. First thing the guy did was replace the tires that I should have done earlier.

 

[kozmic]

New tires is not a bad way to go. However, no cracks or rot and good tread would be fine for me. A 'tweener would be inner tubes. Not a total fan, but might give you some piece of mind

 

[Pisgah]

Although someone always disagrees with me, I know from people actually engaged in the making and selling of tires that the 5-year thing is a "sell by" date, not a "this is when your tires go bad" date. Your tires are still fine.

 

[CH4]

As long as the sidewalls are cracked and you have good tread, you’re GTG.
Be safe