I ordered new tires for the Honda last week.  They are Dunlop Road Smart II's, and supposed to be a good sport touring tire for the Honda.

The rear tire looks great and has a production date of the 41st week of 2014 - so it is about 4 months old....Cool!  It is fresh and really pretty, and already mounted on the rim.

The front tire was delivered yesterday, and has a production date of the 11th week of 2012....it is already 3 years old!  It has a dull, hazy film on the tire.....that suggests it has been sitting around in a warehouse for a long time slowly aging.

I did an internet search for information - and although there are some opinions given, it seems there is no "standard" to be used and no manufacturer or industry guidelines.  Most "folks" who make a comment claim a tire older than 5 years should not be mounted....and that anything older than 2 years from the production date should not be accepted as a new tire....and those are their opinions and may be good advice - but I could not find any "expiration dates" that are mandated.  There are also claims that the original tires are treated to delay the tire from aging when not yet mounted and used - but that the aging process does occur even when the tire is sitting on the shelf.

In looking at the other tires I ordered recently - it is common for every tire to be more than a year from the production date when delivered.  I suppose that the process of making the tire, putting it in a container ship and floating it over from Japan or France, unloading the shipping container and putting it on a truck and sending it to a distribution warehouse does take a while - I guess I got really lucky on the rear tire to get one that is only 4 months old.

Accepting and mounting a 3 year old tire on the front of a motorcycle just seems wrong.  The front tire will most likely outlast 2 back tires, and on the ST the front tire should last 4 years....which would make the tire 7 years old when I wear it out.

So.....anybody else ever check the date code on their tires to see how old they are when delivered as "NEW"?  I bought these tires from Bike Bandit, and I have filed a "defect" claim with them last night.  There web page discussion about tires states:  "  Unlike a fine wine, age does matter with your tires. Most tires have a life span of five years and should be changed at that time."  So following their recommendation my tires would only be good for 2 years of use.  I will let you know what there response is - at this point Bike Bandit had a tire supplier in Indiana ship me a tire I ordered - and they have no idea how "new or old" it is.  I have always had good luck with Bike Bandit, and I hope that they will stand behind their products.

In the end the choice is yours, but I will tell you what I believe. I sold car tires for around 14 years. I also mounted and balanced them for about a year and occasionally after that. And I watched thousands of "Bad" tires being dismounted in order to give my customers an educated guess as to why they went bad. When Goodyear came out with their first radials they were awful--and nearly twice the price of belteds.

Tires have come a very long way since then. Almost everyone builds a smooth, reliable tire. But they do vary in ride quality, wet traction, and mileage. The technology is old and proven.

MY BELIEF is a tire that is flexed and used will last longer and work better than one that just sits. I do pay extra for Metzelers, though. They are probably 3 years old and have over 60%  tread left. I check them regularly and air them up when needed. If it was warmer than 30 degrees I would go outside and get my notebook out of my roll bag to give you mileage. imo keeping a visual watch and running your hand over them while checking the air is your best bet.

Also, some big Hondas have an abysmal record for wearing out front or rear tires (no matter the brand) in less than 5000 miles.

I know some tv network did a piece about old tires, but most people I talk to want fresh tires and forget about writing down mileage, run them over or under inflated, and basically ignore them. I wouldn't by a bike that's been sitting for years and ride it home wide open, but to me a hands on approach to tire management is the way to go regardless of tire dates. hth

Just last week,... my buddy bought a Kenda rear tire for his Shadow 750 from Bike Bandit with a 5 year old date code...
While installing at our shop, it tore at the bead and blew off the rim, banging off the 20ft high ceiling (sounded like a bomb went off)... the installer was so shook, he had to sit down for a half hour...
I don't know if it was a manufacture flaw or badly stored,.. After several e-mails back and forth between our shop and BB,.. they are accepting a return and giving the cash back...

I'm going to buy all my tires local from now on, and check the date code before purchase...

When it comes to, sitting on something with ONLY two tires.
I want, 'fresh' tires, (less than a year old)
AND, even though they are the same brand/model,
MADE in the Same Country.

Two different country manufacture,
  (even though they are the same make/model,
    even though the, Company,
    specifies a certain, 'mix' of components.)
ARE, two different tires.

Something on 4 wheels, Yea cheep (old, 'new', rubber),
when it sits more than driven.  Especially trailers.
However one time, (just once), got extremely lucky on a set of, 'new', 'old' tires. Put them on a dog trailer, and they lasted 40,000 miles. then when the side walls started showing cracks, put heavy tubes in them, and they went another 20,000.

Hard tires: About 5 years ago, bought a older Jeep Wrangler. It had, what looked like, bran new tires. Great tread, and several mold vent strings.  
After a week, found out ya couldn't pull your hat off on a windy day, downhill, on a dry tar road. Then one day it rained, the roads were just, 'moist', And I SLID ALL OVER.  
(Found out, NEW tires were put on, 9 years ago, than it sat in the garage, not driven)

When I put new ones on. The local tire guys, (two brothers doing that for only 50+ years),  kept them, and said:
 "A-Yep, dem vill make good farm trailer tires, cas da ain't no good fer da road".

So, to make a long entry, short.
(I know, already to late)

My opinion. Two tires, (on something I am sitting on),
Fresh, (less than a year old), and Same Country.

Oh, and good luck with bike bandit.  

So OEM's on a 2002 should be replaced???

Trippah wrote on 02/26/15 at 12:54:50:


It depends; how much do you like falling off?

I thought only ostriches stuck their head in the sand!  

I see those deer and I instantly start lining up a shot placement for a "two-fer".   Ignore the first one and look at the legs on the second and aim accordingly.