I'm so confused from all the reading and opinions on the age of tires.

I bought my 17' RGS late last year with the Certified Harley Warranty. The bike and paint were in great shape with only 4200 miles on it. The tires looked new and the tread depth looked unused, so I never looked at the date codes. I did that nasty thing and assumed that they had replaced the tires.

Well with some people in other forums bitching about me trying to sell the original tires from my 18' Fatboy with only 4000 miles, I started reading about if and when motorcycle tires go bad.

The other night I finally checked the codes on my 17 RGS and the tire codes are 22/16 and 14/16. So I made an appointment with a local Harley dealer and will have all 4 tires replaced during their sale for only $608 this coming Saturday. I asked the dealer about the tire age and the Harley Certified Warranty and he said that as long as the tires looked good and the tread depth was good, that was all that they cared about.

Now I'm not so sure that I need or should replace my tires. I now have 10,300 miles on them and the still look good. No cuts, bulges or scrapes. Sidewalls look really good with no sign of dry rot on either tire.

I was talking with my cousin who's been riding since we were kids and has owned a variety of bikes over the years. He glanced at my tires and said that they look good to him and said that he couldn't remember the last time that he put new tires on his Victory. In his opinion, as long as the tread and rubber look good, with no sign of dry rot, the tires are still good.

So, a 17' RGS with original OEM tires dated 22/16 and 14/16 with 10,300 miles. I'm heading on a 2000+ mile trip the end of July.

What say you? Buy new tires now because of the date code, or run them as long as the tread is good?

 

I asked this question of Dunlop regarding motorcycle tires. Below is their response. I personally change them after five years regardless of the condition or miles. I'd rather hurt my wallet than my head on the pavement.

 

Long ride like that you don't want to be thinking about your tires.

 

Tires will rot from the inside out, tires also start to get hard and lose traction over time, how long, who knows, it depends on the environment but they will naturally start to break down. My fatboy has 6 yr old tires, I can tell they are starting harden and i am pushing it with them, they will be changed out soon. I usually do it at 5yrs old for piece of mind. Any dealer that told me what they told you would not be touching my bike.

 

I think it depends, climate control is my determination factor. If you’ve left a tire outside for 5 years and it looks like **** with cracks in it… it gets replaced before any longrid3 or when I get the money to replace. Inside a garage and no cracks, 8 use the 5 to 10 years rule.

 

The military dumps brand new tires at the 5 year shelf life, it’s way to soon on a inside stowed tire.
@Notgrownup is the guide I would use

 

That's what I did 3 years ago when I still owned my 18' Fatboy. At the time, I wasn't worried about age but wear. The tires were still looking good, but I was taking the same trip that I have planned this time. At least then I was still working and didn't have to worry about money. Now being retired and having to watch what I spend, is the reason that I asked.

And nobody caught my little joke about having all four tires replaced.

Thanks to all who replied. I'll be keeping my appointment this Saturday. I have the tools to replace the tires myself, they they would have cost $500 for the two, $608 installed and isn't too bad. I also ordered Pro-Action shocks Monday morning.

 

hummmmm
military dumps their tire at 5 years???
apparently you have not been on a military storage yard in az.
military tire is a diff animal. seen tires decades old and still functional. they use a UV paint on the tire.
you can also use nitrogen to cut down on interior degradation.
but looking good IS NOT THE FULL PICTURE!!!!
sure she is built like a brick outhouse, but that does not make for a good marriage!!!
the 5 year is a recommendation, sorta like a disclaimer, shifts blame. BUT always err to the safe side!!!!

 

Umm, it’s actually what I did for 21 years is run the DRMO on Fort Drum, I didn’t say the tires were bad, just over shelf life as far as the Army in my case was concerned

 

I bought a low-mileage 2009 Sportster in 2018. It had the original tires with plenty of tread. There were no signs of cracking or dry-rot.

One day, riding in the rain, a light changed ahead of me. I *slid* through the intersection. I had almost no traction in the wet. I got new tires within a few days.