Should tires be replaced?

Bought a used '95 1100GS about two months ago that had very low miles (about 800!!). The original owner had the bike stored in a garage and took it back to the BMW dealer where it was originally purchased for a consignment sale. The dealer had replaced the battery once and put another new one in. Alledgedly the BMW mechanics flushed the fuel system, checked the oils and grease and generally went through the GS and certified it sound and ready to ride.

I asked about replacing the tires (Metzeler Enduro 4s) due to their age and the dealer said they would be fine. My sport riding buddies said get 'em off, they'll be slick and fall apart. I've ridden the bike about 700 miles and they seem o.k. Keep 'em or switch 'em?

I vote switch 'em.

Tires, relatively speaking, are inexpensive and are the only you have that connects you to the road.

I'm with Dave. Unless they've been replaced since the bike was first purchased I'd replace them.

It all depends on the age and condition of the tires. Do you know how old they are? Can you shoot us a good close-up photo?

If the tires are original, then replace them. Dave S. had it right: they're all that's between you and road, and rubber hardens with age. Even if uncracked, they're less resilient than they were when new.

You can check the date of manufacture by looking at the DOT # on the side of the tire. The final four numerals tell the tale: week (2 numerals) and year (2 numerals) when they came from the factory. If they're older than three years, IMO, they're too old.

I remember watching a "60 Minutes" type special on TV about tires having a usable shelf life. They showed how tires were blowing out and causing accidents for apparently no reason at all. Maybe someone else has seen it and can add more. End result (if I remember correctly) was that DOT was going to start requiring some type of maximum time that a tire could set on the rack before being allowed to be sold. I don't remember if it was three years or what. Tire manufacturing codes on the sidewall show the date of manufacture so it isn't hard to determine.

Hi Greg,

Please do yourself a big favor and replace those old tires. They are the only thing between you and the road or a hospital bed.
There is a usefull tire life expectancy and yours have expired some time ago. Tires are not expensive when your safety comes to mind.

Bad Tires

Greg,

Slam some new rubber on. I have bought some vehicles that have set. First, the rubber will be hard, the tires will wear out fast anyhow. If you have flat, the stuff in your tire repair kit is as old as the bike. The last thing you want is to turn a flat tire into an "Adventure Ride". GS replacement rubber is harder than the Z rated tires the other R bikes use. I put a new Tourance on my R1100GS this summer and after 5,000 smiles it was starting to crack around the tread.

Other things, consider having an annual done at the next service. Don't know what has been happening in the gas tank while it was setting, might consider having an external gas filter installed. If it plugs up, it's a lot easier to change than pulling the tank.

The grease on the driveshaft may have solidified into a wax. To have the driveshaft greased with new bearings runs about a hundred and a half.

JON

Looks like new rubber is in order

Thanks for all the replies. Before I totally commit here's a pic and the DOT numbers are: Rear - EB OY BOY 274, Front- EB 7R BOY 284.

Oops, forgot to shrink the pic

274 and 284 indicate that the tires were made in the 27th week (last week of June) and 28th week (first full week of July) of 1994. So, those tires are coming up on their 10th birthday. Are you planning to get a cake for them?

Well, I needed to spend my Xmas money on something. Thanks all, I'll get em changed.

Just to make the whole thing murkier, what are you going to put on it?

Tourances?

Yeah, I think so. I like the deeper tread "look" of the Enduro 4 but realistically I probably won't be on road surfaces that need it. I do get on a lot of dirt county roads but also have access to a lot of black top mountain twisties.