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Pkforbes87
| | Posted on Sunday, March 14, 2010 - 05:20 pm: | 
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At the end of February, I ordered a set of Pirelli Angels from Competition Accessories. The front is stamped 4209, the rear 4609. I'm okay with a set of 120 day old tires for $220 shipped. 
Just so everyone is on the same page.. the first two digits represent the week the tires were manufactured, the second two digits are the year. (5201 = last week of 2001) |
Teeps
| | Posted on Sunday, March 14, 2010 - 05:50 pm: |
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Hangetsu Posted on Sunday, March 14, 2010 -
Shops may not even be aware of this, but there was an expose on one of the network news channels a while back on the shelf life of rubber and how many tire shops out there are selling tires as new, which are, in fact, up to several years old.
Funny the timing of this. Was watching Extreme 4x4 yesterday, Ian was talking about buying 50" military tires and wheels that were past their shelf life. |
Hangetsu
| | Posted on Sunday, March 14, 2010 - 06:05 pm: |
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Pfk -
Obviously you're going to be safe with a relatively new model of tire, but how many are they selling that should be scrapped?
I was only relating what I saw on the news.I do believe it's something that shouldn't be ignored, especially with motorcycles. |
Pkforbes87
| | Posted on Sunday, March 14, 2010 - 06:20 pm: |
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Not trying to prove anyone right or wrong. Just answering your question:
"How fresh is the rubber we are buying from internet vendors?"
Personally, I don't ride at a level where I believe tire age is a factor in my safety. I'll keep buying what I believe to be good durable tires at discount prices. I'll also keep their quality (or lack thereof) in mind when testing their limits and mine.
After thinking about it, I checked the date on another of my internet tires as well. I ordered a new Pirelli Strada front from Dennis Kirk last April. The date stamp is 0109 so again, approximately 120 days old. |
Hangetsu
| | Posted on Sunday, March 14, 2010 - 06:31 pm: |
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That's a good thing, because this news report was showing car dealers and tire retailers stocking tires that were over 5 years old and accidents that seemed to have been caused by old tires. It's good to see that the the online vendors have enough sellthrough to keep everything fresh. |
Froggy
| | Posted on Sunday, March 14, 2010 - 06:41 pm: |
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My 2003 Blast had the original tires on it till a few weeks ago, no issues. |
Crackhead
| | Posted on Monday, March 15, 2010 - 08:38 am: |
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The cycle hill tire changer has a trailer hitch mount option. |
Froggy
| | Posted on Monday, March 15, 2010 - 09:13 am: |
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That still requires a car. |
Someday
| | Posted on Monday, March 15, 2010 - 09:48 am: |
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This is right out of the "Pirelli Consumer Tire Guide" that I picked up at the NY IMS:
"The mere passage of time (age) does not cause tires to deteriorate. Exposure to outside forces causes tires to deteriorate. Such outside forces can include, but not limited to, road hazards, punctures, improper repairs, misalignment, under-inflated operation, over-deflected operation; excessive heat caused by over-deflected operation, excessive exposure to ozone and improper storage conditions, etc."
I'm guessing improper storage would include: too hot, too cold, crushed, flat spotted, exposed to direct sun, exposed to chemicals, and I'm sure there are a few more.
So, I wouldn't worry about running a tire that's new yet a year old. If it's starting to crack that's another story! |
Od_cleaver
| | Posted on Monday, March 15, 2010 - 09:48 am: |
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The last two tires I ordered(rec'd the end of this Feb.) from Motorcycle-superstore.com were date stamped 0809 and 4308. The 4308 tire seems a little old for a new tire. I will probably buy from a different internet source the next time.
However, if my plans hold out, these tires will be worn out by the end of July, well before the 5 year self destruct date. |
Union_man
| | Posted on Monday, March 15, 2010 - 01:52 pm: |
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How do you interpret the codes? Age of tire? |
Od_cleaver
| | Posted on Monday, March 15, 2010 - 07:07 pm: |
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Union man,
The first two digits should be the week of the year and the last two digits should be the year the tire was manufactured.
The last time I checked, the RV industry was recommending that tires be replaced after 5 years regardless of the amount of thread left or how the tire looked.
In Minnesota each spring it seems that there are a good number of boat trailers on the side of the road with one shredded tire. Of course that tire could have been 20 years old. |
Pkforbes87
| | Posted on Monday, March 15, 2010 - 07:18 pm: |
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"the first two digits represent the week the tires were manufactured, the second two digits are the year. (5201 = last week of 2001)"
That's what I get for not refreshing before I post 
(Message edited by pkforbes87 on March 15, 2010) |
Teeps
| | Posted on Monday, March 15, 2010 - 08:41 pm: |
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Speaking of Internet tires; just bought a BT-014 for the front of my Uly. $100 to my door. |
Crusty
| | Posted on Monday, March 15, 2010 - 08:47 pm: |
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Froggy; Borrow a car; Pull all the wheels off all your bikes, throw them in the car along with the replacement tires, and drive out to Leominster. My NoMar is bolted to my garage floor, and you can have all the fun you want. Hell, if you can't borrow a car, then rent a wreck. It'll be cheaper than buying a Cycle Hill changer, and it'll get your tires changed and balanced. Hell; you'll probably get a free meal thrown in, as well. |
Ulynut
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 - 06:17 am: |
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Did he just say free meal?!
Hey Froggy, I have a pickup that will hold all those wheels and tires. |
Froggy
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 - 11:17 am: |
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quote:In Minnesota each spring it seems that there are a good number of boat trailers on the side of the road with one shredded tire. Of course that tire could have been 20 years old.
Good chance they had only 15PSI in them too.
quote:Froggy; Borrow a car
My sister is out of town, I ended up stealing her car yesterday. I need to get my ass in gear and start yanking rims. |
Oldwesterncowboy
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 - 03:48 pm: |
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last summer my uly had a rear flat, dealer said 2-3 weeks to get one in.
I had one drop shipped in 2 days from here http://goo.gl/AIzo to the dealer for install.
 |
Froggy
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 - 04:01 pm: |
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Just curious, whats up with the goo.gl links in all your posts? |
Oldwesterncowboy
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 - 04:13 pm: |
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Froggy,
I use twitter a lot so its habit to shorten the url for posts,and its cleaner looking.
there are lots of ways to shorten a url,
I use google chrome for my bowser and the google url shortener is an extension,
so its just one click. |
Wolfridgerider
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 - 08:11 pm: |
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Woooo HOOOOO!!
Just mounted up a set of Conti's |
Od_cleaver
| | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2010 - 08:31 pm: |
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After receiving a 70 week old tire from Motorcycle-superstore.com I asked them: "What is your policy regarding the age of tires you sell?"
Their response was: "With tires as long as they are not more than 2-2 1/2 years old they are going to be fine."
So, I guess that settles that question. |
Snakebreak
| | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2010 - 09:52 pm: |
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I just got two angels from my mechanic, back one is 8 weeks old, and the front is 20 weeks old. I like my tires young. |
Etennuly
| | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2010 - 10:43 pm: |
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Sometimes it is more important how much air they will hold verses how long they have been on the shelf.
I just mounted my new internet PR2, it is so much nicer than this one had become. The old tire was bought at a 'zuki dealership for $50 more. They all wear out, usually in the same kind of ways involving a lack of tread. Some find other creative ways to find their end. The tires don't even know where they came from. Mount 'em, use 'em up!
If you are afraid it is old when you get it, ride harder, use it up quicker! |
Froggy
| | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2010 - 10:48 pm: |
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quote:I like my tires young.
Pedotires? |
Nadz
| | Posted on Sunday, March 21, 2010 - 05:45 pm: |
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Think of it this way- all MC tires have to be super sticky rubber compared to car tires. The least I ever got from a Firehawk SZ-50 (a pretty high-zoot car tire) was fifteen thousand, and the most I've ever gotten from Scorpion Sync's was five. We're beting our lives on a couple of square inches of grip, and yes there are commonly-occuring environmental conditions that can reduce this. Like ozone and UV.
Probably doesn't matter for hard tires like Stradas, but if I'm draggin' I want all the grip I can get. If it's three or four years old, where has it been all that time?
BTW, they teach this at the Lee Parks course. Perhaps they know something about grip? |
Mikef5000
| | Posted on Sunday, March 21, 2010 - 07:15 pm: |
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If you get a fairly common tire from a fairly big retailer, I do not think you'll have any issues at all buying tires online.
Actually, I bet the big tire retailers online cycle through way more inventory than you average bike shop. |
Glenn
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 23, 2010 - 11:11 am: |
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HI,
I use the Harbor Freight changer but modified it to keep from scratching my rims up. I followed this link to do it:
http://www.pbase.com/fredharmon/tirechange
I also ended up buying a Mojo Lever and can do my tires easily now. |
Towpro
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 23, 2010 - 12:24 pm: |
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Thanks Glenn. I got that complete setup also, but only ever used it on dirt bikes. I need to get some mojo blocks (unless someone can think up another way to do it.) |
Glenn
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 23, 2010 - 12:39 pm: |
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The Mojo blocks are pretty reasonable but I made my own following this method:
http://www.motorcyclistcafe.com/forums/showthread. php?3737-HF-Tire-Machine-Modifications |
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