Hi, please can someone tell me when the tyre in the photo was manufactured as I am not sure which info on the tyre wall gives it. Thanks
Thanks guys! That means I was sold a tyre in August 21 which was approx three years and three months old. That’s pretty old in my book but I gather the manufacturer has 12 months to sell it to the trade then the trade have 5 years to sell it to the public - is that correct?
It’s not an exact science, there have been a few posts on here over the years and IIRC, broadly speaking, 7 years is the sort of time limit you’d start to question the suitability of the tyre. That’s not to say people don’t have bikes with older tyres fitted and are happy to ride on them. I’m not but in the last 25 years, I’ve always worn the tyres out in 12 to 18 months and my go to stockist, usually orders new stock for me. Many many years ago, a tyre fitter told me, if the indent in the rubber caused by pushing your thumb nail into it doesn’t recover in about 10 seconds, the rubber has gone hard and is past it’s best. That was in the days of 100% organic rubber and motorcycle tyres manufactured today are mainly manufactured from a majority of synthetic materials. Car tyres are an entirely different. Andy
Interesting points you raise, the tyre in question has about 2k miles on it and it has not been used much at all after 2021. Like you tyres prior to me being ill used to last about 18 months I am finally well enough to ride an bit again and the Mrs wants to ride again so I am checking the bikes over ready for spring. I was a bit concerned about the tyres hence wanting to check the manufacture date. I might just go for a new pair rather than just a front that way the Mrs can try the Rossi 4’s - not that she has anything bad to say about the Rossi 3! Mind you the 4’s are more expensive…….
If you have any doubt whatsoever about your tyres i would be buying new ones. And if you buy them locally I would check the build date for your own peace of mind
Tread depth and the condition of the tyre construction (cracking, lumps of “rubber” missing, steel threads showing) are criteria used to inspect tyres and are common points for an MoT failures. AFAIK, the date of manufacture for car and motorcycle tyres per se is not one of the criteria used. Buses and heavy vehicles are different. MoT guidance however, suggests a car tyre older than 10 years could present a serious safety risk. It will usually be down to the MoT tester’s interpretation of the guidelines. Andy
I’ve used old slicks (~4 years) and they’ve been absolutely fine. Obviously they should be stored appropriately. 4 years laid in a desert sun would likely knacker them.
So the tyres fitted in August 21 will actually be 8 years old in the last week of April. Put another way nearly 418 weeks old. That is quite sobering! I seem to recall my multi tyres were changed a month or so before that so I will check their manufactured date as well. It’s probably going to be expensive……but given we only have a credit card size contact patch between us and the road to brake, accelerate and lean I think it makes sense to change. ( before I retired I used to work in high performance elastomer sealing which is different to the tyre industry but the fundamentals of the chemistry and elastomeric ageing are broadly the same).
I think it interesting the use of the caveat “when stored correctly” they should be ok for up to ten years. These particular tyres have been sat on largely stationary bikes in a garage since 2021. Is a race track a good comparison to real life roads with poor surfaces, spills, rain and grot? Never mind car drivers occasionally forcing riders to take evasive action. Ozone and uv are the big potential killers.
Absolutely, I just thought I’d put the video up for interest. My Nsr250 had almost 10 year old tyre on it, they were like brand new, still soft, rode fine but I changed them anyway. When it come to tyres everyone has their own ideas but I think just trust your instincts and if you have any doubts change them or you’ll be thinking about them on every bend you take.
The last bike I bought had 10 year old tyres, they looked great as had only done a few miles, no perishing or cracks as had been kept in the dark. But they had no grip.
I checked the multi today they are stamped 38/18 so they are not much better than the monster - like yours @Gaffa22 they look pretty good. Interesting the very helpful tyre fitter I spoke to asked if the wheels had been regularly turned whilst in storage. The rear was off the ground (center stand) but the front was not.
