Tyre Shelf Life

So my new (2006) purchase has arrived after a week long trip freighting from Tasmania and not without a few disappointments against what I thought I was getting. The risk of buying sight unseen I guess. Oh well, In time she will be all sorted.

One of these is that as a result of the revelations found in the service book (or not as is the case) I determined that the bike sat idle for what I appears to be the most recent 4 years, and only recently given a routine service which included replacing a perished fuel hose in the tank (the reason for it apparently not starting when delivered to the service agent as noted on their invoice.). The other is that the “tyres are great with plenty of tread” claim made when I asked long distance before committing to the sale, neglected to also state that they had been on the bike since mid 2013, with the front a week 19 2012 and the rear a week 18 2013 production date. So the rear (Pirelli Diablo) is 6 years old and the front (Pirelli Angel GT) 7. They are about a quarter worn and the tread on both feels hard. There is no sign of cracking and I haven’t ridden it yet to see if there are any flat spots.

I’ve never balked at forking out for good quality rubber and I’m not shy in riding on wet Melbourne winter roads, so my question to the audience is, which I believe I have already answered myself, am I being pedantic in thinking I should fit new?

BTW, this isn’t a which tyre should I buy question so please no recommendations on make, the Michelin PR’s are awesome and I have run them across many bikes and many years through their evolution. This is a question of am I over reacting, or is this a sensible contingency based on others experience. Manufacturers claim that 5 years onwards is the point to consider replacing regardless of wear due to the degradation of the compound through exposure to the elements.

Cheers,

Trev

I agree and would fit new tyres.

I would go for new rubber.

I've been using Metzler Roadtec01's, great wet and dry, on my 3rd pair now averaging about 6,500 miles between changes.

Change them - else you'll be riding with 'nagging doubt' as an invisible pillion on your shoulder

paulbrice wrote:

Change them - else you'll be riding with 'nagging doubt' as an invisible pillion on your shoulder

Exactly this. While they might be perfectly OK you'll worry about them. If cost is not an issue? Turf them and buy something new! And remember there is nothing quite like a matched pair of new hoops!

Thanks all. Seemed obvious to me, I just wanted a sounding board to ensure I wasn’t doing my usual overthinking of a situation. Agreed, nothing worse than nagging doubt as your pillion. Have been going over the bike these last couple of evenings. Funny what some owners put up with and overlook that just takes a few minutes to adjust or repair (or clean).