Tire replacement based on miles or age?

[efragertours]

My Gold Wing's 1500 Tires,
The bike always has been garaged and Both tires, Front and Rear are 7 years old with only 1000 Miles on them.
they look new from the outside, Should I replace them for their age or wait for a few more miles?

Thank you, Gold Wing community.

Frank L.

[Rambozo]

If they have been kept out of the sun, and you really ride that little, they, can probably go a few more years. If you are about to go on a cross country trip I would probably change them.

[Sadanorakman]

If they have been kept out of the sun, and you really ride that little, they, can probably go a few more years. If you are about to go on a cross country trip I would probably change them.

This. I read that auto tire manufacturers advise 6 years regardless of mileage, as the compounds harden and lose elasticity and therefore grip.

You could argue that tyres like yours, dry-stored, away from damaging UV rays and heat of the sun, would fair better.

I would happily ride on those tyres for a couple of seasons, if they appear to be undamaged.

[Charlie1Horse]

Never had that thought. My 92 Interstate never sits more than a few days (all year round). I just replace them when they wear out. Always going on Pattriot Guard missions for fallen veterans funerals. Thank You for your service and Welcome Home to all veterans. patriotguard.org.
Russell

[Swagonmaster]

A number of years ago I worked at a Firestone tire store and their policy was not to sell any tire that was 4 years old or more. That was to the extent of destroying the tire so it couldn't be used. Their reasoning was that since the tire would be used for several years after sale they didnt want to be liable for an old tire failing when someone drove at 70-80 mph for a long time on a hot day. Any engineer worth the name will give a comfortable cushion on their specs because they have to GUARANTEE that they are right even when some fool owner totally overworks their product. Having said that realize that there are real limits on how far you can take a tire and it's impossible to really tell when it's going to come unwound so I'd think about these things:
Is the tire sidewall or tread showing noticeable cracks
Does the rubber seem to be getting overly hard (this may show up as being inclined to loose traction early in the rain)
Are you driving at high speeds for a long time and/or carrying a lot of weight
Is your life insurance paid up or not
By the time 10 years comes around don't even think about it, trash that rubber! It's not worth the risk.

[efragertours]

Swagonmaster, After hearing that, I got no other choice than replace the tires, my safety is more important than a few hundred dollars. I have the paperwork that shows when tires were replaced by the previous owner and that's how I know its age, based on a visual inspection you see a good set of tires.
Thank you very much for the comment, it may save my life.

[blupupher]

Swagonmaster, After hearing that, I got no other choice than replace the tires, my safety is more important than a few hundred dollars. I have the paperwork that shows when tires were replaced by the previous owner and that's how I know its age, based on a visual inspection you see a good set of tires.
Thank you very much for the comment, it may save my life.

7 years since install or 7 years since manufacture?
Look on the sidewall for date of manufacture. There will be a 4 digit code (usually in an oval) that will be the week of manufacture (first 2 numbers) and year of manufacture (last 2 numbers).

As others have said, tires degrade with age, even if not used.
If stored inside, they do last a little longer since UV light and heat degrade tires faster, but there is still a limit.
Once you start getting sidewall cracking though, they need to be replaced, since you have no idea how bad the rest of the rubber is.

I have ridden on 7 year old tires, and had no catastrophic issues, but it was on a lighter bike only used for local transport.
I noticed an immediate improvement in grip when I replaced the tires. Was it due to the age of the old tires or just better new tires, no idea.

[Swagonmaster]

Here is a bit of trivia that I just remembered about tires. Around 30 years ago I read an article in a Mercedes Benz Club magazine about wether older tires are still safe to use. The author asked several members that had tires that had never been out of the trunk to donate them to be tested at an official tire test center. Even though they were high end tires and had never been used not one could pass the minimum test for the cheapest new tire with the lowest speed rating! If I remember correctly the tires were between 10 and 15 years old.

[efragertours]

I agreed a 100% it makes a lot of sense.

Thank you again.

[01196505gw]

Dumb question…I’ve never experienced a motorcycle tire failure. For those of you who have, what was the failure? Just go flat? Separate? Blow out?

[Rambozo]

I've had both flats and blow outs, front and rear on a CB750F.
While never a good thing, that bike was pretty stable and I was always able to get it to the side of the road without much drama. The front blow out was pretty scary, but it was a sidewall failure and the tire stayed pretty intact. The rear going flat was something I didn't even notice until I was slowing down and getting ready to exit the freeway. I suspect centrifugal force kept the tire stable as once I slowed down, it got all squirrely and that was it on going any farther.

[WingAdmin]

I have had both go (not at the same time!), relatively slowly (over a minute or two) in both cases.

For the rear, I noticed the back end getting squirrely and suspected that was the issue. I pulled over without issue.

For the front, I didn't notice much until I slowed down and tried to turn, and it was very difficult. I stopped and realized the front tire was more or less flat.

[Wingsconsin]

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[dwlarson]

Due to several factors over recent years, the tires on my 1996 Wing are about 10 years old. There is no sign of cracks or flex stresses anywhere. The bike has always been stored inside, and most weight off the tires during winter storage. I know they should be replaced (and tried to last year, but "supply issues"), but now I'm considering selling the bike and don't want to add extra expense. I still feel safe riding it - tires look good. Too risky?

[Wingsconsin]

Due to several factors over recent years, the tires on my 1996 Wing are about 10 years old. There is no sign of cracks or flex stresses anywhere. The bike has always been stored inside, and most weight off the tires during winter storage. I know they should be replaced (and tried to last year, but "supply issues"), but now I'm considering selling the bike and don't want to add extra expense. I still feel safe riding it - tires look good. Too risky?

Absolute personal choice - Even a cheap set of NEW tires might be better than old seemingly good tires -
But only YOU can make that decision - Sell it knowing the new owner needs rubber or replace them and get a bit more for a bike with NEW shoes.. ?

[Bikedays]

It is an analysis that you must also do considering the use you make of the motorcycle.

If in 7 years you have only covered 1000 miles, and you think you will continue with limited use, with short trips at low speed, you can also wait.

If you want to use the bike for traveling, my opinion is not to use tires with more than 4 years of life.
Over time, the characteristics of the rubber the tire is made of change, it becomes harder and less elastic.
On my bike, I change the tires either when they are worn, or when they exceed three years from their production.

In forty years that I have been riding a motorcycle, the only time I changed them because they were too old was last year, 2021, since it caused lockdowns for Covid I could not use the bike.
Even though they were at 50% wear, I preferred to change them because the production date was 2017.

[RIPUneleven]

Definitely not worth the risk. Old tyres = might be good...new tyres = definitely good
Happy winging

[RIPUneleven]

Due to several factors over recent years, the tires on my 1996 Wing are about 10 years old. There is no sign of cracks or flex stresses anywhere. The bike has always been stored inside, and most weight off the tires during winter storage. I know they should be replaced (and tried to last year, but "supply issues"), but now I'm considering selling the bike and don't want to add extra expense. I still feel safe riding it - tires look good. Too risky?

Might wanna tell the guy you sell it to that the tyres are that old. I completely respect your confidence in a good product, but 'feeling safe' isn't the same as being safe

[tuabrrs]

Just remember you only have two how comfortable do you feel if one fails … yes it’s a theoretical question but it’s also a personal one.

[toanogreen]

Due to several factors over recent years, the tires on my 1996 Wing are about 10 years old. There is no sign of cracks or flex stresses anywhere. The bike has always been stored inside, and most weight off the tires during winter storage. I know they should be replaced (and tried to last year, but "supply issues"), but now I'm considering selling the bike and don't want to add extra expense. I still feel safe riding it - tires look good. Too risky?

Out of respect, if you are selling the bike, I would let the buyer know and reduce the price accordingly. If you are keeping the bike, I'd still replace the tires. I remember when I bought my first Wing, the seller hadn't ridden it for 2-3 years and the first thing he recommended was to change the tires. He had it in a temperature controlled garage, and they weren't that old (5-6 years), and they looked great. He was a safety minded rider and took care of his bike, so I appreciated and followed his advice. I've come to learn that age does make a difference, and I always check the date on my car and bike tires when I purchase them.

You only have two tires on the ground and have many things to consider; weight( you/rider and the bike), road conditions, one or two up, trailering, distance, weather, etc. Remember, everyone says "Ride Safe"

[The Drake]

I am a little embarrassed to tell this story, but here goes. Feel free to call me stupid...because I was.
I bought a 2002 Gl1800 from a friend of mine. I know he hadn't ridden it much in the last 6 months. I drove off from his house to travel about 60 miles home. Some frwy, mostly hwy. Still ran about 70mph all the way home. I noticed as soon as I left, the bike felt sluggish. I got on the frwy and went through a sweeper, I had to counter steer pretty hard for it to lean into the corner. Continuing on home, I felt every bump, crack, seam in the road. I thought to myself, I don't remember a Goldwing handling this crappy. I thought I really made a mistake buying it. Note: It had been more than a few years since I have owned a street bike. I had and still do race motocross, but different platform for riding. I had ridden this bike a few years ago for a couple of miles and it had ridden very smooth.
So continuing on. I make it home, park the bike, and go to bed. The next morning I start YouTubing and Googling handling issues with Goldwings. One of the forums was discussing tire pressures. Well, hell! The light went on above my head and I went outside to check the tire pressures. Front...0, rear...5. Boy did I feel like a complete idiot! Not only did I made the mistake of not checking the bike out better, thinking my friend did, but I could have really got messed up. So I filled the tires to recommended pressures, rode as smooth as I remember.
Next thing was checking the tire age. Yes, 11 years old. Double whammy. I did ride it a few miles on those tires, but got new ones installed asap.
So you can travel on old tires with no air pressure, but...Is your life worth it? Don't be stupid like me, check that pressure and replace those tires when they get old.
Prologue: I don't plan an this new set of tires getting older than 2 years before I replace them from being worn out. I didn't think I would ever buy a Goldwing, but I really like this machine. My bike for as long as I am able to ride it. They say you get smarter with age...Maybe. But you can still learn from your mistakes. Sorry for the long post. Enjoy the ride everyone!

[Hondadoc]

I replace at 7 years regardless of tread but if you're going to push it look for cracks in the tread not just on the sidewalls.

[GWJoe]

I just bought a 2010 GL1800 with only 9K miles on it last month. Tires are 4 years old with less than 600 miles on them. I was told I should change them but I just couldn't see why. They seemed perfectly fine. So i took off on a 2000 mile road trip just last week with my partner on the back. We arrived home with no incident but I did notice the rear tire lost about 10 pounds of pressure each day. I carry a pump so had to pump it daily. Other than that, i felt safe and ride was fine. Maybe that is my limit... 4 years..I think if they were 7 I would definely put new ones one too. Ride safe, ride often!

Joe

[Swagonmaster]

Spray a mix of dish washing soap and water on the tire and valve to find that leak, it sounds pretty bad. Unless the tires show cracks or something there is no need to replace 4 year old tires.

[toanogreen]

I just bought a 2010 GL1800 with only 9K miles on it last month. Tires are 4 years old with less than 600 miles on them. I was told I should change them but I just couldn't see why. They seemed perfectly fine. So i took off on a 2000 mile road trip just last week with my partner on the back. We arrived home with no incident but I did notice the rear tire lost about 10 pounds of pressure each day. I carry a pump so had to pump it daily. Other than that, i felt safe and ride was fine. Maybe that is my limit... 4 years..I think if they were 7 I would definely put new ones one too. Ride safe, ride often!

Joe

Losing 10 lbs. a day seems a lot, and potentially dangerous. Like Swangonmaster says, check for leaks. My opinion is just to change the tires and any other maintenance (fluids, tune-up, etc.) since it is a new-to-you bike that has had little use over 12+ years. Machines wear if not used also so it's better to be safe.