Tres are stamped with the date of manufacture. It's either a two or three digit code, you can look up how to read them on the web.
http://www.amadirectlink.com/roadride/Riderresc/tires.asphttp://www.ehow.com/how_4621263_read-tire-date-codes.html(Older tires may use a single digit week, newer tires always have a leading 0')
Generally, I never buy a tire that's more than three years old. The rubber starts to get hard and degrades quickly. This means less mileage but more importantly, less traction. Granted, I've owned mostly sport bikes that have more power in both the engine and the brakes than an Enfield but I think the same applies.
For instance: When I bought my Monster 800 it was used. '03 leftover bought in '04 that I bought used in '07. It had only 1800 miles on it and the original tires. The rear had a small flat spot in the middle, the front 'looked' new. The first ride I took was to get it home, about 1500 miles up the west coast on Route 1 & 101 from San Diego to Portland. So it wasn't entirely straight and I wasn't screaming either, just a relaxed ride. The tires were so hard and crumbly that by the time I got home I had a flat spot over 1" wide on the front tire. The rear flat spot had also grown considerably. Shortly after getting home I was working on the brakes and found I was easily able to lock the front brake and skid the front tire. A Ducati Monster with a locked front brake should stand on its nose! I knew I needed new tires but after that incident I bought them immediately.
This bike was treated well, only had one owner, and she kept it in the garage. The best way to preserve a tire is to store it in a cool dry environment, like her garage. Since then I check the dates on all my tires before I buy them, never buy anything over three years old, and replace them every three years regardless of mileage. The rubber really does degrade and you lose traction when it does. Your bike is stuck to the road by two patches or rubber the size of credit cards. This is not the place to be cheap.
If you want to mount real vintage tires for a show bike or something like that, I understand. If you want to ride, spend some money on good rubber and do it often. As to preserving a tire, is it really worth the savings?
Scott
Topic: Avon tire wear reversed (Read 2339 times)