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Tires too old?

5K views 42 replies 18 participants last post by  TWgeezers 
#1 ·
I just got my first TW, a 2005 with less than 1,000 miles on it. It still has the original tires, which makes me wonder if they should be replaced due to age? The bike has spent its life garaged so they don't appear to have any sun damage or dry rot. But will they have degraded over time to the point I need to replace them anyway?
 
#39 ·
Odd. Thought I answered this from my phone last night.

Depending on condition, the prices range from very reasonable to .. Just walk away. I've seen them from 800 to 4500, and some of the lower priced bikes were in pretty good condition.

The bike is great for anyone who does all their own work, as the labor charge to remove all the Tupperware can exceed the total value of 3 PC800s.
Once you learn the sequence, it is relatively easy and fast.

As to high mileage issues, when they get up to and over 100k, there might be a coolant Oring issue, and then there is some oil leak that I think is a cam plug rubber thing that is a pain in the ass to fix. Other than that, there is a vacuum gas line tee thing that develops a leak in the diaphragm and makes it run rich. My rider has this issue. The fix is to replace it with a brass tee. It still starts and runs fine.


This bike is also the one that made me a believer in Seafoam. I was reluctant to remove "all that plastic" from this bike that was left outside for years. Figured I'd try the Seafoam. Dumped half a can into the tank, got it started and let it run. Smoothed out in about 20 minutes and has not missed a beat since. Later on, I would use Seafoam to bring a 19 year put away wet 85 K100 in the same fashion. Another trouble free bike.
 
#42 ·
I just went outside and took the CB160 off the lift and put the PC up and started to remove the plastic. Only came inside because I was overcome with Brakleen fumes.
I'm going to check out the oil leak, fix the fuel splitter, do an oil change, raise the front fender a bit and install the new front tire and wheel I have sitting around here somewhere.

And all I wanted to do today was take apart that BMW R1100R tank to check for hose issues.

Those racks for the back of the PCs are pretty nice. I don't like the look of a box back there even though it is a necessary evil at times.
 
#43 · (Edited)
We store our bikes raised up on Chinese motorcycle jacks with the safety locks on so they're not just resting on the hydraulic valving. This keeps tires off-ground, "un-deformed" and, given they're in garage, less exposed to ozone, sunlight. We don't ride that often, so the great majority of our tires' lives are spent in the air (when you think about it, aren't most tires' lives spent sitting still?!). If for some reason we have an unmounted tire, we store it double-wrapped in trash bags to further reduce ozone/sunlight exposure; also should be stored without distortion/pressure of objects on/around it.

We also similarly "trash-bag" our trailer spare tire and our tow-vehicle/daily driver 6th spare wheel and tire that we have in wear rotation (having 6 of the same model of tires gives another margin of safety against "Tire Model Discontinuation Syndrome" (TMDS) where, after destroying a now-discontinued model tire by road hazard you feel pressured to either buy two new tires to keep on the same axel, or to buy four new tires to match.... Again, we rotate the 6 tires for maximum wear....

Note: we bought our way-surplus-capacity cycle jacks some years ago when Pep Boys had them for about $50!

Whether or not cracks are showing, I would not drive over, say, 40mph on any vehicle tires over, say, 8 years old, regardless of treadwear. Just me. Yes, industry guideline for maximum safe tire age is six years.
 
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