My 899 is on 2016 rosso corsas. Ultra sparingly used on road only and at less than 7/10. Now these tires are not really worn but of certain again. Should I be changing them urgently? Do they pose a burst threat just due to their age?
IMHO, they wouldn’t pose a burst threat even if they were 20 years old, unless the sidewalls were heavily cracked. They are more likely to have deteriorated in how much grip they might offer at 7/10s, depending on how they/the bike have been stored during the interval from manufacture to the present day.
Yes the bike has been stored indoors in the dry climate of crete. Tires don't look too bad visually w/o cracks. My concern was triggered as currently the island experiences 35+ C temps and was wondering whether I'm taking too much risk taking it gingerly out for a modest run. I do plan to change them next time I visit which is going to be 2024 unfortunately, but for the next week or so was planning to use it as is.
I think I would be ok with it, assuming you really are just at 7/10s. At least you know where it's been used/stored. If it was bought second hand I would definitely change them
If they pass a visual inspection then they will be absolutely fine, go out and enjoy riding it. Change them for new ones next year.
I just did a trackday on some 2018 rosso corsa’s that I took off my 899… I wouldn’t normally tbf but I’ve been so anal about tyres that I thought I would to see how they felt, they were okay. Would I go on 2016’s I’m not sure, probably on the road not track
The tyres on my Nsr250 are dated 2013 and are like new in every way except the date of production. On the road they have all the grip I need even cranked over going for it and under heavy braking. There’s a youtube video by Revzilla I think that do a tyre test on new verses 7 year old tyres on track. A mate of mine used to buy all the old tyres from a Japanese importer (tyres that had sat on a bike on the docks for maybe 10 years +) They were like plastic to touch but he still always got his knee down on them no problem ! (He’s a nut case though). Edit: found it.
i have binned the rosso corsas for Michelin road 6, so much more grip, night and day the pirellis aren't an all year round road tyre in my opinion i dont do track days tho
I have Diablos on my bike and ride year round. I’m just a little more cautious in the cooler months as I know they won’t get up to a decent operating temp. The bike had 10 YO tyres on it when I bought it and I used it from Nov to the following Oct with no issues. Road riding only.
IMO they won't burst. The rubber may have gone harder so maybe run 1 or 2 psi less. Unless going full beans, I wouldn't worry. But I do crash quite a lot.
I’ve never seen or even heard of a tyre burst from age, perhaps from something slicing the sidewalk but that could happen on a brand new one
Certainly in the UK, you can buy a low stock turnover tyre new, that could be up to 7 years old. An old fashioned test used to be to press your thumb nail into the (synthetic) rubber and count the number of seconds the resulting indent takes to rebound. Anything less than 10 seconds, go and ride but if longer (or not at all) look to change them in the near future. Any sidewall cracking change it NOW ! Andy
