Age of tires? Reading code

[Rocket]

On my 'new' '82 R100/RS the tire tread is adequate but the grip seams dry and a bit old. Anyone know how to read the code on a tire to get it's age to look into replacement. And what are good reccomendations for replacements for riding that is not hard agressive cornering?

[boofer]

The DOT code is stamped on each tire, and consists of 4 numbers: first 2 is the week manufactured (01 to 52), and the last 2 is the year (0x-04).

Tim

[howvood]

Just to add:

Starting with the year 2000, the date codes have two digits for the year, prior to that, only one. A date code of 079 would indicate the seventh week of 1999, or the third week of February 1999.

[Rocket]

Here is what the codes are: the front tire is (BPM 476), so was the tire made in the 47th week of 1996? Also the back tire states (BKP 458), so that was made in the 45th week of 1998? That is alot older than I was told!

The tread is good but seams hard; they are Metzelers, ME 33 LAZER 3.25V19; back is ME 88 MARATHON 120/90B18.71H.

How long is generally reccomended to keep tires before they get old, hard and not safe to corner and hold a good grip? How many miles would you expect to get from those tires if riden daily under normal riding?

[howvood]

I have been told that 5 years is the limit. That goes for auto tires also but many don't follow it. I would on a bike because one failure is too many.

[The_Veg]

Rocket, how old were you told the tires are? It is possible that they were in the supply chain for a while before being purchased and mounted.

[dlearl476]

That is alot older than I was told! .....

The tread is good but seams hard


As pointed out, the tires could have sat on a dealers shelf for years before someone either naive enough or hard up enough to buy tires from a dealer happened along. Is any cracking evident on the sidewalls? I would venture a guess that there is.
Regardless of the age of your particular tires, the technology in that particular set of tires is ancient. Get a pair of Michelins (Macadam 50/50E or Pilot Road, depending on your bent) and you'll be amazed how well your bike handles.

Personally, I would recomend Southwest MotoTires (http://www.swmototires.com/) great prices, great service, free shipping on pairs of tires, and you'll probably get tires that were made in the last few months. And if you don't, they'll take them back and send you fresh ones if you want.

[Rocket]

I was told that the tires were put on 2 years ago, they certainly might have been put on the but since they do have small cracks along the sidewall I'll definiatly replace both ASAP!

Yesterdays ride resulted in a couple of slips on some easy corners, so that was the final test.

Thaks again.

[Braddog]

You will be surprised at the difference when you put on new, good tires, even though the old ones don't look that bad, especially the tread. Putting on the new rubber is a great idea and a very wise investment.

I rode for a year on old tires, then upgraded the suspension and put on new rubber. It was like an entirely different and better motorcycle.

FYI, "Ruby" had new rubber last August, I checked the tires, and the date codes are "1604", so those particular tires only sat on the shelves for a few months.