Monte, I know you will know the answer.. I have seen several ebay auctions for tires for my RS125, the latest temptation is a new set of Michelin Rains (still have all of the nipples on them). The question is.. I know tires have a shelf life, what is considered safe for rains, or slicks for that matter? How do I go about determining the age of a tire? I would have to assume that there is some sort of date code that will tell me. Any sage advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!!! Steve Maas
Tires have a date code, cast into the side of the tire. The last four numbers give the week and the year that the tire was made. This tire was made in the 39th week of 2002. It's only good for the current decade, but that's better then nothing. I love Google. 8)
Thanks for the info Jason.. that is a good start. The only question now is how old is too old. I am sure that storage conditions play a part in determining that & I certainly don't want to save $25 on tires only to have a problem with them, but if they really are a good deal why pass them up..
I may be wrong but, only DOT tires have to have the date codes on them? Some slicks do not have date codes.
assuming the tires were kept inside ....out of direct sunlight.... i wouldn't worry about tires 2005 or newer. if brand new....and for sure stored....even 2003 or 2004. just my opinion. stored on the roof of a shack in guadalajara.....wouldn't want them older than a couple months.
Most manufacturers state a shelf life of 5 years if the tires are kept in a controlled environment. I have personally noticed a lot of degradation in the performance of tires that are older than 2 years for both street & DOT Race types. Racers looking to win & not just be a backmarker usually seek tires less than 6 months old. & as already noted many slicks don't have a date code at least not one that is perceptible in the standard julian type date code that we know to look for.
Thank you all for the valuable info. I am looking @ rains right now & will ask the seller ( a motorcycle closeout specialist) what the date code is on them.
I forgot that rains were the original tire in question :roll: In my experience the shelf life on rain tires is significantly shorter than other tires.
First...... STT/STS is the second largest Michelin Race Tire Distributer in the USA. Michelin ensures I know more than most although I don't always feel the need to make a public display of this knowledge, trust me when I tell you it is there. MUCH more important than age is the conditions in which the tires were stored. Cold/Frozen... Blazing hot ... direct sunlight... We store our tires in a dark/dim and moderate temperature environment and they are NEVER allowed to freeze. Robert Jenson in the past two seasons has set two track records on tires WELL over 15 months old.... Hmmmmmm. Top of the line slicks, which we guard very closely and no one here gets, are "best" when used within a 12 mont period. They are also 420mm diameter or 16.5 for you non-metric guys. Current generation close out tires are absolutely fine, especially for track days AM racers. FAST Experts may need the latest whatever... Be warry of "mistery slicks". We are in the 18XX series for rears and the 12XX for fronts.. if it's not these then they are 6+ years old and I'd say "no thanks". We (Michelin) consider 4-years to be an acceptable shelf life and a year or two longer if the tires are stored properly. BTW - ALL tires have date codes if you know how to decipher them
Thanks Monte. I was told that they were current generation & you have seen me ride my 125, I am in no danger of being called "fast" so I don't mind that they may not be Krispy Kreme fresh. I guess I am just another guy in that great deal versus get what you pay for deilemma. Steve