I just bought a 2005 HD Road King with hard bags that had been sitting in a fellow's garage for several years. The Harley spec'd Dunlop tubeless tires were installed in 5/10 and were ridden probably less than 1k miles. The manufacturing dates are 6-08 for the front and 9-09 for the rear. The bike was stored inside a closed garage here in the North Florida and there are no signs of any kind of cracking/dry rot/weathering/discoloration whatsoever. I have heard advice in the past that you should not ride on tires that are older than 5 years old. I am not sure what the basis for this number is but I am wondering if it will be safe to ride on these "like-new" dated tires?

 

Experts now say 10 years, but that is NOW. Maybe that applies to yours, does humidity help or hurt? But they are 7 and 8 years old respectively, and possibly flat spotted? Does that happen to MC tires?

You're at the edge, I'd just replace them with modern, safe rubber.

 

May be hard, like a pencils eraser that is old.
Hard with no adhesion.


Your life is riding on two tires.
I'd replace them.

 

You are probably correct and I just remembered that I have a product called Formula V Tire & Rubber Treatment that I used on racing slicks for autocross to make them stick better. On the bottle of Fomula V, it states "Regular application restores pliability, increases service life and traction for tires and rubber products while protecting from the damaging effects of Ultraviolet light." A gallon of this stuff costs about $50 and it worked very well in racing applications and is also designed for non-racing applications. I think this may insure that my tires are not like "pencil erasers"?

 

I won't ride tires older than four years old. That said, I've never had motorcycle tires last longer than a season or two, depending on when I installed them.

Putting some kind of product on an old tire to make it grip again? I'm saying it won't work, I'm saying I wouldn't do it.

 

Nomadmax, I can assure you that thousands of weekend autocross and track racers would disagree with you about the use of Formula V. They can actually measure the difference to fractions of a second how effective the tire prep is in enhancing their racing slicks. That is really not even a close call and there is a ton of empirical data to support the use of Formula V. Here is a link to their website for those that are interested in a time-tested proven product: http://www.formulavtraction.com/ The Formula V restores durometer (new word I learned which describes hardness as well as a measurement tool) which is the reduction in hardness without it being a tire softner. It reportedly brings the original rubber in the tire back closer to factory spec. In the Formula V literature, it talks about the legality of retail tire dealers being able to sell unused 4+ year old tires as new and apparently this is more common than people realize. The manufacturers of Formula V make the argument that there is no real expiration date on tires. Of course, we have to deal with common sense but I am thinking that there may not be a lot of hard data that tells us when a consumer tire has really expired?


However, I am not as fully convinced that it will rejuvenate my almost new but older tires to the level of suppleness and traction that would be sufficient for safe motoring but I have now applied the suggested 4 coats and one extra for good measure to my like-new older tires and will see how they perform when I get the bike on the road?

 

A reread my post an found an important word missing .

 

Hehehehe, That word was crucial to the meaning of that sentence. No harm, no foul. I do hear your concerns and share some of those concerns and is why I started the thread. One thing that came to light as this thread unfolded was that retail car tire outfits can legally sell tires that are in excess of 4 years old and still considered new. Apparently, the government does not see these NOS tires as hazardous. Not being an engineer or a chemist that understands rubber compounds, I have limited background in what things I should be looking for other than the obvious dry rot (sidewall cracking)/discoloration issues ? If anyone knows of some other definitive signs/symptoms, I would greatly appreciate hearing about them.

 

If you are only riding around town and keeping speeds say no faster than 50, you can probably get a few miles out of them until funds allow new rubber. You need to check them religiously after each ride for signs of cracking, missing chunks of tread, and signs of splitting or tread separation. If highway use is planned you're taking your own life into your hands and should probably be avoided at all cost.

 

It's funny how human minds work Nomadmax...

My eyes apparently saw "I'm saying it won't work,...",
but my mind interpreted it as "I'm NOT saying it won't work,..." anyways (subconsciously)