Hey guys

I have a 01 f4i with 5000 miles. I received it at 4000 miles.

While inspecting my tires today. I noticed little cracks in the tread on the front tire. My front tire tread is really good..and so is my back.

the dates on the tires is front is 2000 and rear is 2002. I am guessing these are the tires that came with the bike when it was purchased in 2001.

Should I replace my tires? and did old age just crack these tires or did it form due to some action on my part? I am pretty good with keep my pressures within spec.

Here are some pics...as you can see I got lots and lots of tread left on these babies. pic quality is not that great..I took them with my phone. and notice in the second pic u can see a red spider thing that u see everywhere..I always thought they were ants.
this is the front



This is the rear

 

Some references say if it's older than 3 it's too old, others say more. Dunlop, for instance, warranties their motorcycle tires up to 6 years.

If you see cracking, it's probably due to age, and I would replace them. I ride a lot, so I never get 'em to a year.

 

Yikes, some of those cracks look pretty hairy to me. I'd replace those suckers, the risks of a blowout seems much higher on that rubber. Scary stuff, the thought of a front going out at speed..

 

yea...I'm gonna go to the shop and pick up some pilot powers. I'll prob sell that rear tire to a local stunter or something..its just too good to throw out

 

put it this way, theres alot riding on ur tires man, if in doubt, change em out. what if u said screw it and ran them then they burst open while going down the hiway

 

REPLACE IT!!!

I had the exact same problem. The tire was from 02, but it sat in storage for 3 years unused. When I got it out, the rubber was all hard and cracked just like that. Ended up dumping the bike while truning up a steep hill from a dead stop. Front tire slid right out cuz the rubber was all hard.