Tire age - any dangers?

[JS5owner]

Hi guys,



Does anyone have an opinion (that is like asking if the ocean has water!) on the age of tires and danger of old rubber?



I have just acquired a 2000 Yamaha vstar 650 with only 800 (true) miles. The tires look great but I'm concerned about their age and lack of use. Has anyone of you who have acquired and older, yet unused, TW had any probs?



Thanks for the input! -Jeff

[PJungnitsch]

That's part of the reason I changed the tires on my '96 this year. Have heard about problems with aged tires on cars and thought that is nothing compared to a motorcycle. New tires were pretty cheap @ Motorcycle Superstore.



That said, there were no bad cracks and the tires seemed fine on the inside.

[qwerty]

I will not run tires more than 4 years after date of manufacture on anything. Old tires are a safety issue, even if they look fine.

[TW2007]

I will not run tires more than 4 years after date of manufacture on anything. Old tires are a safety issue, even if they look fine.

Don't risk your safety--- buy new tires. Just not worth it, especially if you commute and ride in traffic.



Mike

[Polar_Pilot]

The question has more variables than a simple yes/no answer.

Has the bike been stored inside or out in the sun light?

I run a car with original tires - I bought the car new in 1981. But in 29 years it has been in the garage more than 95% of the time.I have no concern what so ever about the condition of the tires.

On the other hand I have a project bike in the shop which sat in the sunlight for 10 years and I would not consider riding a foot on those tires.

Sunlight kills tires in my opinion,

What is the history of the bikes storage? The answer to that tells the story of the tire condition

[vuldub]

Are they tubeless or tube? If they are tubed and look in good shape, you might run them with new tubes. Hard to give you sound input without seeing the tires. If there is any question, get new ones - a flat or blowout at 65mph would not be nice.

[Xracer]

Tires harden with age even if stored indoors. Like everyone else I'd buy new ones along with new tubes and rimstrips. If they are tubeless then get new valve stems.

[JS5owner]

Thanks guys... The bike has been stored in a garage and my inspection of the tires indicates that nothing looks bad. I'll replace the tires asap none-the-less. They are tubed btw.

[ktrout01]

I just changed the original tires off my '89. I bought the bike last fall with 530 originl miles. It sat in the corner of a family room since it was purchased. The tires were in nice shape with no cracking. I got a little over 5000 miles out of them and just put Bridgestone 203/204s on. I love the new tires. They are much quieter and grab the road a whole lot better. I would not have riden on the original tires if they wern't in such good shape.

[TW2007]

The choice is yours and yes there is a risk but you need to decide whether you want to ride on those tires or not-it's one of those risk management choices in life. There is no right answer-you could get 5,000 miles off those tires and save yourself some money or you could be spending that money on your emergency room deductible but no one knows the outcome. The choice is all yours.



There a three items on a motorcycle where I do not compromise-1. anything from the axle out including tires/tubes, wheels, and brakes-2. suspension items, forks, shocks, swingarm, etc, and 3. the steering head (I'm sure others would add or subtract from this list, and others who could not care the least. I have learned that these items need to be maintained for a bike to be safe. This is my critical equipment list.



Tank slappers, blow outs and being stranded in the middle of nowhere is just no fun. In the past I have let some of these things lapse and they have caused me grief and several times have scared the "s$#^ out of me and thus has influenced my decision making and each of us will learn as we go. (I had a high speed loss of tire pressure on my 850 pound GL1800 at 85 mph in Idaho around Twin Falls-this led to the purchase of a Tire Pressure Monitoring System-and this event still is on my list of really unique experiences )



Best of luck with your choice.



Mike