Tire seller to avoid "Tires Unlimited"

[nortonrt]

Within "real world parameters" is there a measurable difference in the quality of the two?
Is a tire freshy out of the mold superior to a two week old tire?
A two week old tire superior to a two month old tire?
Or perhaps is there an "aging curve" that the tire is subject to whereby it improves in quality over a period of time(a ripening effect) and then begins to deteriorate? If so, what is the optimum tire age?
Does it depend on the tire compound? I would think a softer compound would "age" faster than a harder compound, but I admit I do not know.
Does anyone out there have the answer to these questions?

I would take the discount and ignore the difference in tire age.
BTW, I always buy my tires from the vendor that was maligned here, and I am a very satisfied customer of theirs.
I also note from his profile, that the original poster of this thread is riding a 32 year old bike and worried about 2 year old tires!

Not fair, Tom. The actual question was: Given the choice, would you buy a tire made a few months ago, or one made two years ago? Now, it's evident from your questions that you don't know if time and environment affect tire shelf life. So, if there were two of the same brand and model of tire side by side, and the only apparent difference was that one was made two years earlier, which would you buy? The original poster's point was, the older dated tire might be worth less that the current dated tire. I think he has a point. Googling "Tire shelf-life" will give you some interesting, albeit inconsistent, information.

 

[BigAdv]

Amiles said:



I suspect your comment was made "ironically" so I won't get all fired up about it; just to let you know that IMO your 32-year-old ride puts you in a definite superior class of BMW motorcyclist. Some may disparage the fact that it shifts like an old Allis Chalmer, runs skinny tires, and the speedo is overly optimistic, but never fear, it's a prized classic. And in keeping it your intelligence, wisdom and sophistication is clearly proven.

Nobody in my community doesn't like my 34-year-old BMW.

Wait a minute, my brand new BMW shifts like an old Allis Chalmer, has a fuel gauge that has a mind of its own, leaves you guessing on if it will start, and the speedo is overly optimistic. So I guess not much has changed.

Earl

 

[gstom]

Not fair, Tom. The actual question was: Given the choice, would you buy a tire made a few months ago, or one made two years ago? Now, it's evident from your questions that you don't know if time and environment affect tire shelf life. So, if there were two of the same brand and model of tire side by side, and the only apparent difference was that one was made two years earlier, which would you buy?

Sorry about any confusion in my response. I would choose the tire with the discount, since I have no information regarding the superiority or inferiority of either tire, other than the fact that one is older than the other. At that point, my decision would be based on price.

Also, to Amiles:Your reply... "Apparently having a 32 year old airhead puts me in a lower class of BMW owners in the eyes of some , so be it, I like the machine and intend to keep it."

I meant nothing derogatory about riding a 32 year old bike. I apologize if you were offended by my remark. I have a bike older than that. Again, sorry if you took offense, none was intended.
Tom

 

[Rod Sheridan]

Amiles said:



I suspect your comment was made "ironically" so I won't get all fired up about it; just to let you know that IMO your 32-year-old ride puts you in a definite superior class of BMW motorcyclist. Some may disparage the fact that it shifts like an old Allis Chalmer, runs skinny tires, and the speedo is overly optimistic, but never fear, it's a prized classic. And in keeping it your intelligence, wisdom and sophistication is clearly proven.

Nobody in my community doesn't like my 34-year-old BMW.

So that's what my R90/6 shifts like, an Allis Chalmers! Gee I learned something today.

On the wall in my office is a cartoon from a Cycle Canada magazine. It shows two burglars and an old tractor outside an industrial building with the name Troika on it. The caption reads;

"In the fiteis, agents for BMW and Guzzi broke into a top level Soviet tractor factory, and stole the stole tranny blueprints"

So it ties together, Allis Chalmers, Soviet tractor trannies.......The world is as it is supposed to be.

As to why would you worry about tires on an old bike, why not? There aren't many final drive failures so you have to worry about something, and tires are one of the most important safety items on a bike...........Rod.

Regards, Rod.

 

[RJM2096]

I have a 2000 R1100RT that I thinks shifts like an old milk truck. My Son-in-Law has a 2000 R1200C and it shift like a dream, but has to rock it sometimes to get it in gear.

 

[kantuckid]

It is interesting how thin skinned some people can be-the guy was talking about a machine, not placing you socially via some caste system!
Back to tires and rubber,FWIW, when I worked for Goodyear(1960's&70's) in a tire plant, there was certain amount of natural rubber entered into every compound of synthetic rubber, when it was being made in the Banbury mills(where all the ingredients of synthetic rubber as we know it are mixed). These huge bales of natural rubber came from storage caves and it was common knowledge that they were still left over from the WWII era! The natural rubber looks like what is called a crepe sole on the "desert boots" that were popular some years back. Now once you move towards the synthetic version I have no idea if it will last as long as the natural, but the natural was tough and crack free , unlike a "dry rotted" tire.

 

[john1691]

Heck, my tires hardly last for one year on the bike, so chances are they wont have outlived their shelf life. I have been trying newer models (multi compound) in an effort to get more miles, so I know they are fresh at this point.

I'd love to own a bike over 30 years old, in fact, at some point I'll be looking for a '66, my birth year, but in a week I take my oldest to college, so I am stuck with what I have for a few years.

 

[PGlaves]

Over the past several years, in inquiring conversation, representatives of three motorcycle tire companies have told me that five years is an acceptable shelf life for a properly stored tire. That primarily means in a moderate temperature out of direct sunlight and UV rays.

I personally want tires that are no more than three years old at time of my purchase. I am willing to buy them where I can read the date and choose not to buy one if it is older than I want. That costs me a few bucks a tire.

I also seldom have a tire on a bike as long as a year even though I have and ride 4 motorcycles. Sometimes though a bike doesn't get ridden much so its tires may be older than a year on the bike. Not often, but sometimes.

Tire material (call it rubber if you wish) does change with age. Despite the addition of carbon black, UV rays do cause deterioration. And oils added to the compound do evaporate allowing the material to harden. Some people call it "weather checking." Some people call it "dry rot" which really more applied to old cotton belting in the plies, prior to nylon, prior to polyester, and prior to aramid fiber and steel belting. Nonetheless - old terminology hangs on.

You can visually detect the hardening when it evidences itself as cracking and checking on the sidewalls and where tread blocks meet the main carcass. Once you see this the tire is essentially unsafe because the cracking can worsen very quickly under the stresses of carrying, powering, or steering the motorcycle.

If you buy a used bike and don't know how long the tires have been on the bike, check the date code. Look for cracking. Depress your fingernail into the thread and see if an indentation is made which disappears as pliable rubber springs back. You can feel hard vs soft rubber. I have removed and discarded more than a few tires in these circumstances because I didn't consider them reliable to travel on.

But a tire with a date code 2 years prior is fairly common at dealerships and in warehouses. Contrary to some comments, I expect very high volume discounters to have fresher tires than many dealers because of the velocity of inventory moving through their systems. But you can't be sure, so .... I usually buy where I can see and feel the tire before I pay for it. My choice. My $$$.

 

[kantuckid]

I have also read that tires shouldn't be stored around electric motors, as the ozone produced ages rubber. I just got done restoring a 1975 Honda CB 400f that had the original tires -from original owner- he rode it around the school parking lot across the street from his home. I didn't bother to check the date code, but the front had no cracks. I bought a 1984 BMW with the original Contis on it that was stored in a garage and I can vouch for the fact that if you went by eyeball data, they were the same as new! Absolutely no cracks, rubber was "lively" like new stuff!Not to say that I used them...

 

[TerryR90S]

Weather Checking

I bought two new Metzler Lazertec tires in 2006 for my R90S. This year I noticed both tires had weather checked sidewalls. Both tires were made in 2005 in Brazil. I called Metzler who questioned if I was using an ozone generator in my garage.

I have other Metzler tires (none manufactured in Brazil) on other motorcycles in the same garage which are older, and there are no signs of weather checking. I have been pursuing a warranty claim thru a local Metzler dealer (per Metzler instructions) since April and still have no resolution.

Since discovering this problem I have met two other BMW riders who have the same problem with Lazertecs and both have tires made in Brazil in 2005.

Based on my experience I will steer clear of Metzler tires made in Brazil in the future.

Terry

R90S
R`1200RT

 

[ArthurKnowles]

Just my two centes worth ...

I recall reading about tires at one time when this same topic came up. The bottom line was a newly minted tire was really not as safe to use as a tire that aged a while. Somewhere from a few months to a few years. The concensus was not to buy a tire older than 5 years.

The main focus on the newly minted tires was that they were too soft. The various rubber compounds needed time to age to reach the proper hardness for maximum performance and longevity.

My view is simple. I don't care how old they are. Son't even check my date codes. Instead I buy my tires form my dealer. I let him mount them. And if there is a problem, I get my dealer to work with the manufacturer's representative to replace the tire. I just had this happen on my K1200LT. Took it in for a Smartire install and they found a bubble in the sidewall of the front tire. They repalced it under warrenty. It had so few miles, it wasn't even prorated.

So, if you want to make sure you get the same type of service, then you need to do two things:

1) Use your dealer for tires. It helps to build a good relationship with your dealer or at least find one that is customer focused.

2) Pick a good tire that has a good warrenty. Usually this often means going with the dealer recommendation, which I usually think is a good idea as they do have more experiance with specific brands they have installed in the past and how well they have worked out.

 

[Motowalt]

I once purchased a set of race rubber from an online store and was not happy to discover the tires were more than 2 years old when I received them. There was no time to return or exchange them so I mounted them on the bike. They may have been fine, but psychologically they impacted my track day for the first few laps until I gained confidence in them. I wore them out quickly and took them off the bike. After that I only purchased track day tires I was sure were fresh.

Yesterday I received a new pair of Metzler Tourance purchased online from Motorcyclesuperstore. They were made in Germany 3 months ago.
Shipping was free and the enclosed invoice included a $5 coupon off my next purchase.

I will definitely buy from them again.