when did you last check your tyres?

hello now both my have new sets of tyers  and I fitted Two new Avons Mk2s and my model88 as dunlop k70 on the rear and avon mk2 ribbed on the fornt  the dunlop were 110 quid the anon ribbed was 78 quid yours  anna j   

A couple of years ago I finally got the Velo gearbox problems sorted so took it out for a 2 day 560 mile trip. The tyres didn't grip particularly well but it was frosty and below zero up in the Highlands so I wasn't particularly bothered.

Speaking to the previous owner but one, the bike had been laid up since the 1960s and still had the same tyres on... I fitted a new pair.  

Motorcycle and car tyres have a date code moulded in the sidewall. Used to be a three digit code until 1999. The 059 code on the French  4.10-19 TT100 rear fitted to my bike when I bought it in 2001 tells you it was made in the fifth week of 1999. See image below. No idea of sixties codes if any

This was changed in 2000 to a four digit code so a tyre made today would have the code 4320 or the 43rd week of 2020. My current Conti radials are 2418. You can download calendars with the week numbers included to make it easy to check

Biggest age problem is cracking or hardening although not necessarily both together (Bert Munro excepted) The French TT100 mentioned above has no visible cracks but definitely fails on hardness. You could break rocks on it, no fingernail test needed

After 10 years or riding my old Avons have just been replaced. The rear was an AM21 Roadrunner and the front an AM 26 Roadrider. This turned out to be a very good pairing giving safe, steady handling in all road conditions. Originally I ran them both at 26 psi but soon upped this to 28 psi. The AM 26 had to be replaced in the first year of use due to its sidewalls cracking. The result being what started as a 90/90 x 19 somehow evolved into a 3.25 x 19.  The 100/90 x18 rear was fine.

The new tyres are an equally interesting mix. I ordered another AM26 Roadrider because I liked its grip in the wet but ended up with an AM 20 Roadrunner. Which 20 years ago was the recommended partner for an AM 21.

The rear tyre is a Bridgestone Battlewing 4.10 x 18 which has heaps of tread (see pic) in the style of the old Dunlop Arrowmax. These two were far cheaper than any of the TT100s on sale at the time and proved themselves worthy successors on wet roads already. I run the front at 28 psi and the rear at 26 psi. More than this tends to let the bumps be felt.