Metz sidewall cracking

Energy One
Kdub

Kdub

Active Member
Got an 880 Metz with maybe 6 k miles on it. Noticed today the sidewalls are cracking. Is this normal for the Metz? Still plenty of tread on. Just put it on last year. Don't know how to upload pictures or I would. Should I be concerned to ride on? They don't look deep just hairline stuff.
 
Nukeranger

Nukeranger

Nukeranger
I don't believe this is normal for any tire unless it gets old (tires have a born on date) or they are outside in the sun a lot. So, I would look for the date on the tire which is given as the year and the week of the year it was made to see if it isn't just old first.
 
bearman

bearman

Active Member
the "born-on" date code should be a 4 digit number near the D.O.T. number. Like Nuke said first two digits are year and last two are week of that year. I don't advise riding on anything over 5 years old, personally I don't ride on anything older than 4 years.
All that being said, 6k miles is a lot of miles for a motorcycle tire. A bunch of people will disagree and tell how they got 15k or 20k miles out of a certain tire. I'm happy if I get 5k. But bottom line is how much do you value your life? Tires are $300 or less each. If they last 5k, then put a new set of tires in your budget for every 5k miles you plan to ride.
 
BWG56

BWG56

Guru
bearman said:
the "born-on" date code should be a 4 digit number near the D.O.T. number. Like Nuke said first two digits are year and last two are week of that year. I don't advise riding on anything over 5 years old, personally I don't ride on anything older than 4 years.
All that being said, 6k miles is a lot of miles for a motorcycle tire. A bunch of people will disagree and tell how they got 15k or 20k miles out of a certain tire. I'm happy if I get 5k. But bottom line is how much do you value your life? Tires are $300 or less each. If they last 5k, then put a new set of tires in your budget for every 5k miles you plan to ride.
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Your numbers are backward, first 2 are week and 2nd 2 are year. 2109 is 21st week of 09'
 
francoblay1

francoblay1

The Spaniard
Just a quick question...

What shelf age (or age in general considering it is not yet worn out) an Avon tire should have?

My rear (venom) tire says 0805 (2005) and my front (cobra) 1109. they look new though :confused:

:cheers:
 
Bowhunter

Bowhunter

Well-Known Member
Franco,

Time for a new rear tire for sure! 7 Years is considered to be a 'dry-rotted' tire and is not safe for cars, bikes, trailers, etc.
I have witnessed a lot of blow-outs in my time, and the constant factor is that the tires are over 7 years old.
 
Nukeranger

Nukeranger

Nukeranger
Franco,

I am thinking at 8 years old even though the tire looks good, the environment has worked its magical destructive capabilities on the rubber. I would watch it close and be ready to replace it. Since your bike has been inside, the sun has not been attacking the rubber, so at least you have that going for you. I believe it is the ozone in the atmosphere that attacks the rubber. But, I am going off of a believe from 30 years ago and there may be more info on the internet. I know you are awesome with Google searches, etc.

Huw
 
V

Viking

Biker
If it holds air and not showing too much cord, run it. I land 420.000 lbs airplanes on tires that has been rethreaded several times, and has layers of cord showing (not the norm but fully legal and safe). Works fine, last long time.... 10 landings in our case. :2thumbs:
 
BWG56

BWG56

Guru
Viking said:
If it holds air and not showing too much cord, run it. I land 420.000 lbs airplanes on tires that has been rethreaded several times, and has layers of cord showing (not the norm but fully legal and safe). Works fine, last long time.... 10 landings in our case. :2thumbs:
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Good Lord, that gives me a warm and comfortable feeling:confused:
 
V

Viking

Biker
No worries, keep running them. This craziness about tires only lasting 5 years is a myth that must have been started by someone selling tires. Your tires are good and there are no safety issues running them.
 
Mickeetwo

Mickeetwo

Guru
Viking said:
No worries, keep running them. This craziness about tires only lasting 5 years is a myth that must have been started by someone selling tires. Your tires are good and there are no safety issues running them.
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If you think tires last forever you are sadly mistaken. Tires are made up of natural rubber and synthetic rubber compounds and each one deteriorates over time. To pick a time frame for all tires is impossible. There is to many variables to lump them into one statistic. Car tires, motorcycle tires, airplane tires, and trailer tires are different. Then you take into effect heat, storage, and conditions of use. If you take 8 car tires and store 4 inside in a controlled environment and then put 4 outside in the weather common sense tells you that after 6 years the tires that were outside will not last as long as the tires stored inside. Trailer tires should be replaced every 4 to 5 years regardless of tread wear. They set long periods of time and usually are in the elements and tread wear is not a problem. Car tires usually have the tread wear out before the tire deteriorates. A good rule of thumb is to replace your tires if you see cracking in the rubber. This means the rubber has started to break down and its not going to last very much longer. Motorcycle tires have a life expectancy of 6 years. This is what tire manufactures have agreed is the average. For me I would replace any tire that was showing cracking in the rubber regardless of age, and replace any motorcycle tire after 5 years regardless of tread wear. :zz2cents::zz2cents:
 
Mickeetwo

Mickeetwo

Guru
Viking said:
If it holds air and not showing too much cord, run it. I land 420.000 lbs airplanes on tires that has been rethreaded several times, and has layers of cord showing (not the norm but fully legal and safe). Works fine, last long time.... 10 landings in our case. :2thumbs:
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Does that 420,000 lb airplane only have 2 tires?
 
Mickeetwo

Mickeetwo

Guru
Kdub said:
Got an 880 Metz with maybe 6 k miles on it. Noticed today the sidewalls are cracking. Is this normal for the Metz? Still plenty of tread on. Just put it on last year. Don't know how to upload pictures or I would. Should I be concerned to ride on? They don't look deep just hairline stuff.
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How are you guys getting 6k out of your 300's. My metzler was wore out after 5K.
 
V

Viking

Biker
Mickeetwo said:
Does that 420,000 lb airplane only have 2 tires?
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No. I was just making a point that tires does in fact last longer than you manufacturers are claiming they do. Stored outside in the sun and in the worst condition possible, I agree with you about the age, and realize that is what you must assume due to obvious reasons. However, stored out of the sun and inside, they do last longer and there is no need to scare someone with 8 year old tires that they will blow up and kill him and his whole family because of it, as long as the said tires appears like new. I appreciate all input you have, as it is obvious that you have a high level of knowledge of tires, I just have practical experience through 45 years of riding, including three championships in Road Racing. That's all, first round on me buddy...:cheers:
 
bearman

bearman

Active Member
Viking said:
If it holds air and not showing too much cord, run it. I land 420.000 lbs airplanes on tires that has been rethreaded several times, and has layers of cord showing (not the norm but fully legal and safe). Works fine, last long time.... 10 landings in our case. :2thumbs:
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The difference is that an airplane that heavy has tires that are made different for the high load capacity, AND it has more than two tires, AND it doesn't have to go around corners at speed and still grip the road.

Viking said:
........ This craziness about tires only lasting 5 years is a myth that must have been started by someone selling tires. Your tires are good and there are no safety issues running them.
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Absolutely false. Tell that to all the people that crashed Ford Explorers because of bad tires. Do the Google on it, most of those crashes were caused by old tires (on new vehicles) coming apart. Sure, the SUV's inherent top heavy, unstable design, was a major factor in why they crashed after the tire came apart, but it WAS the tire coming apart that started the whole crash event. Ford offered free tire replacements for anyone with an explorer with those old tires.
Rubber oxidizes and when it does, it gets harder and more brittle. So unless you keep your tires in an oxygen free enviroment, then your tires absolutely have a limited lifespan.
When the rubber gets hard, it might still hold air while sitting still. But when you hit a bump you stand a chance of the rubber breaking on the inside, like when the tread breaks away from the belts. It might still hold air, but then when you spin it at high speed this loose tread tries to fling itself off the tire. If it succedes, it will be very bad.
So in my opinion, that is very much a safety issue. And anyone is free to ride on their own tires till they fly apart, but I'm replacing mine after 4 years.

I got a new 250 rear in the dinning room waiting to be put on as I write this, I replaced the front about 16 months ago. So far this year I have bought 10 car tires, well 6 car tires and 4 truck tires anyway. One of the rear tires on my car came apart and the tread looked almost new, they were only 3 1/2 years old, but I was abusing them at the time. 3 of the 4 truck tires were separated, they were cheap tires, but only 5 years old. The other 4 were just low on tread.
 
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