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Difference between revisions of "Used Motorcycle Evaluation"
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* How do you know how old the tires are? All tires have an industry-standard dating code stamped on them. Look for digits stamped into the mold on the rubber sidewall of the tire. The date code for tires made prior to 2000 is: "WWY", where WW is two digits denoting the week of the year, and Y is the last digit of the year. A tire produced on May 30th (the 22nd week) of 1996 would be stamped 226. (A tire produced on May 30th of 1986 would also have a code of 226, but will probably have a ton of dry rot.) | * How do you know how old the tires are? All tires have an industry-standard dating code stamped on them. Look for digits stamped into the mold on the rubber sidewall of the tire. The date code for tires made prior to 2000 is: "WWY", where WW is two digits denoting the week of the year, and Y is the last digit of the year. A tire produced on May 30th (the 22nd week) of 1996 would be stamped 226. (A tire produced on May 30th of 1986 would also have a code of 226, but will probably have a ton of dry rot.) | ||
* As of 2000, the date coding system has changed a bit. All tires are still required to be stamped with a DOT number on at least one sidewall, but now there's more data. Look for a code that starts with "DOT" and has up to 12 letters and numbers. The last four numbers are the date code in the format: "WWYY", where the WW two digits denote the week of manufacture, and the YY denotes the last two digits of the year. So a date code of "DOT913ACX3C2200" would have been manufactured in the 22nd week of '00. If the three/four digit stamp you found doesn't make sense with this scheme, you're not looking at the date code stamp. Keep in mind that both tires will have this date marking (possibly/probably different), and that tires should be replaced at least every third year, or whenever they have damage that threatens their integrity. (Punctures, cuts on the sidewall, excessive wear, dry rot, etc.) Frequent tire inspection could very well save your life. | * As of 2000, the date coding system has changed a bit. All tires are still required to be stamped with a DOT number on at least one sidewall, but now there's more data. Look for a code that starts with "DOT" and has up to 12 letters and numbers. The last four numbers are the date code in the format: "WWYY", where the WW two digits denote the week of manufacture, and the YY denotes the last two digits of the year. So a date code of "DOT913ACX3C2200" would have been manufactured in the 22nd week of '00. If the three/four digit stamp you found doesn't make sense with this scheme, you're not looking at the date code stamp. Keep in mind that both tires will have this date marking (possibly/probably different), and that tires should be replaced at least every third year, or whenever they have damage that threatens their integrity. (Punctures, cuts on the sidewall, excessive wear, dry rot, etc.) Frequent tire inspection could very well save your life. | ||
* Dirt bike knobbies will tend to get worn on the forward edges of the knobs. Sharp knobs = good traction. (Nifty trick: If the leading edges of the knobs are worn (rounded off), but otherwise there's nothing wrong with the tires, you can unmount the tires and mount them backwards. Braking traction will suffer, but not too much. Note that this trick is only something that works on non-DOT off-road knobby tires; street tires should never be mounted backwards.) | * Dirt bike [[knobbies]] will tend to get worn on the forward edges of the knobs. Sharp knobs = good traction. (Nifty trick: If the leading edges of the knobs are worn (rounded off), but otherwise there's nothing wrong with the tires, you can unmount the tires and mount them backwards. Braking traction will suffer, but not too much. Note that this trick is only something that works on non-DOT off-road knobby tires; street tires should never be mounted backwards.) | ||
* For information on a method of changing motorcycle tires at home, using a stand made with only $50 or so of parts, see: | * For information on a method of changing motorcycle tires at home, using a stand made with only $50 or so of parts, see: | ||
** http://www.clarity.net/~adam/tire-changing.html | ** http://www.clarity.net/~adam/tire-changing.html | ||