Replace tires every two years!

Read my post in K-bikes. My front tire looked new but was 7 years old. I was making a slow, wide turn and the front wheel slid out from under me. Although the tire was in good condition, it had gotten hard over time and lost its gripping ability.

If you buy a used bike, buy new tires.

If you have many bikes, buy many new tires.

How do you get tires to last two years? I am lucky if they last six months.

Mileage vs. Time

Agree with chfite - mileage, not years, determines tire life. Use the wear indicators as your guide.

That being said, if a bike goes un-ridden too long, the 'years factor' certainly kicks in, despite the low mileage. Older tires harden over time and develop lateral stress cracks from dry weathering along the sidewalls, making them unsafe.

Best solution - RIDE that BMW!!

Ride Often and Alert!

Tires

Coming up on 17,000 miles on my '05 and tire changes as wells as oil changes happen more often than change of seasons.

But you're right, even without mileage, tires need to be changed due to old age. I wouldn't trust my life on old tires. One tire blowing can lead to injury or death or worse, paralysis.

Hope you are ok and secondarily, your bike.

Regards,


Randy Kasal

Greenwald said:

if a bike goes un-ridden too long, the 'years factor' certainly kicks in, despite the low mileage. Older tires harden over time and develop lateral stress cracks from dry weathering along the sidewalls, making them unsafe.

Click to expand...

uhhhhh, I think that was the whole point of the original post.

I would agree with Greenwald. Old tires get hard.

I have owned around 50 bikes, most of them bought used. After a couple of the experiences mentioned in OP, albeit usually with the rear tire, I use a bright light and magnifier to inspect. It it passes visual, I sand it to remove the hard skin. No more slipping. Well, at least not premature sliding.

Some of us ride a lot of miles in short periods of time and others don't. Some of us have a main ride - and other bikes we don't ride a lot. So some folks have old tires on their bikes.

And as noted above tires harden. We sometimes think in terms of weather checking and sidewall deterioration but sometimes don't think in terms that the hardened rubber isn't as sticky as Mr. Metzeler made it.

Tire company advice varies a little bit but most say a manufacture date 3 years ago is OK to use - and it probably is if you burn it up in 6 months. But if it starts out 3 years old and gets to the ripe old age of 5 before you wear it out iat is probably a bad thing to be riding around on.

I check date codes when I buy tires - and if it is over 2 years old I tell them to find me a newer one. But then I buy my tires from the same dealer I have dealt with for 23 years, and sometimes buy tires 10 at a time (just did - for 5 bikes), so they let me be picky.

Replace tires when they need it!

I rode 2,000 miles on tires that were 25 years old and dry-rotted beyond any sense of safety.

"YMMV"

And in college I knew some folks who would drink a case of beer and go street racing. Didn't prove to me how prudent they were.

Tire Age

I called Pirelli/Metzler to ask about their tire recommendations a couple months ago. The telephone rep said that their tires had a five year shelf life. Don't know if I agree, but that is what he said. The Metzlers I bought are date stamped 2007.

Ralph Sims

SheRidesABeemer said:

You need more bikes.

Click to expand...

Will you call my Wife and tell Her that????? Please??????

I go through 3 sets of tires a year...sometimes 4. One bike, an R1200ST, ridden everyday.