Another Tire Question

[lragan]

The '96 I bought Tuesday has tires that have not been changed in ~ 8 years.  It has been sitting in the PO's garage most all that time.  He recently took it out and had Kasson here in Austin clean up the carbs, so it starts and runs just fine, BUT...

I have examined the tires carefully.  They still have plenty of tread, and still have the mold "hairs" in place.  I can find no evidence of checking or cracking.

Question for the group.

Should I replace these with new tires based solely on age?

[TLRam1]

Nope, I would run them.

Unless you are over 10 years of age and or stored poorly.

[TLRam1]

I had info regarding this subject waiting for this question to post it up, now I may have deleted it, I will keep looking.

[hootmon]

I would replace them. I find tires get hard after a couple of years.. If they are still covered in the new protective coating_  fine but otherwise I'd swap them out...

[TLRam1]

I would replace them. I find tires get hard after a couple of years.. If they are still covered in the new protective coating_  fine but otherwise I'd swap them out...

Don't listen to him, you ask why....just look at his cat, now think what HE looks like. 

[Cannon]

I would replace them. I find tires get hard after a couple of years.. If they are still covered in the new protective coating_  fine but otherwise I'd swap them out...

Don't listen to him, you ask why....just look at his cat, now think what HE looks like. 

If you look carefully at that cat, you see a well protected and nicely set up bikers cat, just as it should look. It actually grants for a owner with reliable and accurate opinions about bikes in general and for certain about tires as a field of the highest expert level of knowledge. I agree with hootmon; safety first, as for the cat.       

[Charles S Otwell]

If you decide to replace them let me know, I'll buy them, I wouldn't be the least bit concerned about running them.

[dgc67]

Unless you are over 10 years of age and or stored poorly.

Well, looking at your pic I would say your a little over 10 years of age.  Not sure how well you have been stored though.   

[lragan]

Unless you are over 10 years of age and or stored poorly.

Well, looking at your pic I would say your a little over 10 years of age.  Not sure how well you have been stored though.  

I am over ten -- about seven times over.  

Storage has not been too good, either.  In horse terms its "rode hard and put away wet".

[TLRam1]

Unless you are over 10 years of age and or stored poorly.

Well, looking at your pic I would say your a little over 10 years of age.  Not sure how well you have been stored though.   

I need to do a better job of Restoring. 

[TLRam1]

I found it.

http://www.safetyresearch.net/safety-issues/tires/

From Safety Research & Strategies

One of the most important documents disclosed to NHTSA regarding the industry knowledge of tire aging is the British Rubber Manufacturers Association (BRMA), which consists of the same tire manufacturers who are present in the U.S. market, recommended practice dated June 5, 2001. The BRMA's recommended practice on tire aging states

"BRMA members strongly recommend that unused tyres should not be put into service if they are over 6 years old and that all tyres should be replaced 10 years from the date of their manufacture."

It also notes that environmental conditions like exposure to sunlight and coastal climates, as well as poor storage and infrequent use accelerate the aging process.

"In ideal conditions, a tyre may have a life expectancy that exceeds 10 years from its date of manufacture.  However such conditions are rare."

The BRMA document goes on to say that aging may be identified by small cracks in the tire sidewall, however,

"'aging' may not exhibit any external indications and, since there is no non destructive test to assess the serviceability of a tyre, even an inspection carried out by a tyre expert may not reveal the extent of any deterioration."

Further, Kane's comments to NHTSA disclosed little-known warnings in the owner's manuals of German vehicles (i.e., Mercedes, BMW, Audi, VW) and Toyota that tires older than six years posed dangers.  This information, combined with a number of other technical documents provide clear evidence that the tire and vehicle manufacturers are aware of, and likely in the possession of important data and testing upon which these obscure findings were based.  However, none of this information was disclosed to NHTSA in response to its request for comments about tire aging.

As a result of our continued research into tire aging, SRS petitioned NHTSA on November 5, 2004 requesting the agency take three important interim steps to address the tire age problem. 

We requested
(1) a Consumer Advisory alerting the public to the hazards,

(2) NHTSA request specific information from the tire and vehicle manufacturers that will help with further evaluation of the problem, and

(3) petitioned to require a date of manufacture molded in both sides of the tire in a non-coded fashion.

SRS is continuing to document the scope and magnitude of the tire aging problem as well as its investigation into what is known and when it was known about this danger.

Other Tire Aging Developments:

Ford Motor Company added a 6-year tire replacement recommendation, regardless of tread wear, to its website and all 2006 owner's manuals.  DaimlerChrysler acknowledged it too will add a 6-year replacement recommendation.

[Smoked U]

Lawrence:

I think what I would do is take the bike out for an easy ride and make sure I did some hard low speed cornering with it to really work the tires. Now go back and examine the sidewalls again. No signs of cracking? Good. Then just work up from there. Just keep a close watch on it. Front tires are my main concern. Safety first in your mind, of course.

My old Dunlop on the rear of my V65 started getting a few small cracks in the sidewalls, but I rode that thing until it was a "Cheater Slick" before I put a new Pirelli on it a few weeks ago.

[Charles S Otwell]

A good way to check the sidewalls is to let the air out of the tire and push down on the tire until the tire is completely flat , then check the side walls for cracks and flexibility.

[kwale86]

Its almost the time of year to change over to winter air anyway.

[kwale86]

http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=45

I like the name of this website.  They stole my first name.