Tire age ?

[RonL]

Hello to the Group,

I'm looking at buying a couple of new tires off eBay. Is there a way of checking the age or Mfg. date of tires?

I don't want new tires that have been in a stock pile for years:confused24:

[BigBoyinMS]

The last 4 digits of the DOT number on the sidewall are the month and year of manufacture. Example: 3407 would be the 34th week of 2007.

 

There ya go!

[01 Rider]

Here is a picture of what to look for. This one is the 32nd week of 2003.

[Skid]

I really need to change my tires this winter. I just noticed my 880 Met's are both early 2004's...

[RonL]

Thanks for the info:big-grin-emoticon:

[hig4s]

Generally speaking, any tire manufactured more than 6 years ago, regardless of the amount of tread or even if it has never been used, is not safe.

[dynodon]

I put about 10,000 miles on the tires that came with my '86 VR that I bought about 2.5 years ago. When I finally looked those tires were from 98! Finally got rid of them when the rear started developing a small crack between the treads. They still had some depth to them.

 

I have had cars that had tires that were over 20 years old. They didn't have cracks and were perfectly good. Been hauling trailers around (not huge ones, small ones) that had tires that were 40 years old! Never had a failure.

 

I am not advocating that anyone ride a motorcycle or vehicle with old tires, but just because a tire is old doesn't necessarily mean it is dangerous or bad. They are a lot more durable that that if they have been treated right and stored right.

 

If buying new tires though, do check the date, the fresher the tire, the better chance you will get full use out of them safely.