FYI: Age of a tire (How old is a tire?)

Age of Tire (How old is tire?). Most everyone knows this but just in case some don't.

Check the sidewall for the date stamp, a four-digit code inside a rectangular box.
These indicate the week of the year, and then the year, that your tire first popped
out of the mold. So a date stamp of “4012” would read as “the 40th week of 2012,”
or some time in early October of 2012.

Prior to 2000, it was a 3-digit code: 2-digit week + year of that decade.
Example "408" would be the 40th week of 1998 (or maybe 1997).

BTW, it's common for a new motorcycle to have 18-month old tires.

Added to the “Tag Cloud”.
OM

I'll make the comment before someone else surely does: If your tires have a 3-digit code then you're lucky to be alive because you're riding on 19+ year old tires.

Good info!

And pass on buying tires from any dealer that stores them in the shop windows.

I've seen dry-rot cracking on 'new' rubber due to UV exposure. Buyer beware.

When I buy new m/c tires I specify that they have to be less than a year old, preferably less than 6 months. My guy has no problems meeting my demands so far

Good luck.

75450 said:

I'll make the comment before someone else surely does: If your tires have a 3-digit code then you're lucky to be alive because you're riding on 19+ year old tires.

Click to expand...

I was thinking that as well, I have a long parked /5 sitting on a lift waiting for me to finish the refresh...the tires are 3 digit and even though the tread looks fine, the cracking is obvious and will never hit the road

greenwald said:

Good info!

And pass on buying tires from any dealer that stores them in the shop windows.


I've seen dry-rot cracking on 'new' rubber due to UV exposure. Buyer beware.

Click to expand...

Have seen this often and always scratch my head as to why that isn't obviously cooking the tires thru the glass to the shop folks.

greenwald said:

Good info!

And pass on buying tires from any dealer that stores them in the shop windows.

I've seen dry-rot cracking on 'new' rubber due to UV exposure. Buyer beware.

Click to expand...

Regular untreated glass will block all UV-B and UV-C radiation but it allows almost 100% of UV-A radiation to pass thru. So, the question now is: Does UV-A radiation deteriorate rubber? My uneducated guess would be yes. (UV-B causes sunburns. UV-A causes skin cancer. UV-C rarely reaches the earth's surface.)

The service manager at the local BMW dealership says 6 years is the limit for tires, even if there is still good tread and no visible signs of cracking. He claims that 6+ year old tires are usually too hard for the road. I believe him but I must admit that I have ridden many, many miles on tires older than 6 years -- maybe I've cheated the grim reaper . . .

I bought a 2003 Yamaha R1 with a bad engine 3 years ago. When I got it back on the road I was amazed how easily it would spin the rear tire. Then I realized I should look at the dates on the tires. the front was 2004, the rear 2006 so at the time, 13-14 years old. I mounted new tires and it was a whole new motorcycle. It will not spin the rear tire unless it is beow roughly 70 degrees, cold streets and it will spin. Get some heat in the rear tire and the front wheel refuses to stay on the ground!