[WhiteBlu]

Hello, and hope you are having a great day!

I have been wanting to upgrade my tyres for a while now. I currently have the pilot street radals on my bike and I have had a few hairy incidents when I was pushing it hard. The tyres do not have great edge grip, and they grately reduce my confidence while leaning. This led me to purchase a pair of Road 5s from Pathpavers a week ago. They arrived today and to my dismay, the front tyre read 3020.

Yes, the front tyre I received from them is more than 3.5 years old. So I called their manager promptly and asked for a newer tyre to be delivered to me. He had to check with the storage, and when he called back, he told me that the newest one they could arrange was one manufactured in 2021. Now I need advice from more experienced riders... What do I do?

I need tyres that are great with grip in all conditions, money is absolutely no matter; Do I return these tyres and accept the 21 manufacture ones? Do I return these for store credit and get a tyre that you could recommend? (I really have nothing else I want from them, and the manager is refusing a refund that isn't store credit.)

Some other details:

1. I live in Bangalore, and if my past suggests anything, it is that Bangalore will decide to pour down every time I take my bike out during the monsoon months. This is why I wanted tyres that perform great in good and bad conditions and hence went with the road 5s.
2. Called multiple physical stores in Bangalore and no one seemed to have road 5s.
3. The rear tyres are 18 months old.
4. The tyres have no sign of damage, drying, but they have also not been under load yet.
5. The motorcycle is a BMW G 310 R
6. This is my very first post, do correct me in case of any errors with the post.

While the manager from Pathpavers is responsive and trying to help, I am strongly disappointed with my purchase.

[FURY_44]

Originally Posted by WhiteBlu

This led me to purchase a pair of Road 5s from Pathpavers a week ago. They arrived today and to my dismay, the front tyre read 3020.

Some other details:

1. I live in Bangalore, and if my past suggests anything, it is that Bangalore will decide to pour down every time I take my bike out during the monsoon months. This is why I wanted tyres that perform great in good and bad conditions and hence went with the road 5s.
2. Called multiple physical stores in Bangalore and no one seemed to have road 5s.
3. The rear tyres are 18 months old.
4. The tyres have no sign of damage, drying, but they have also not been under load yet.
5. The motorcycle is a BMW G 310 R
6. This is my very first post, do correct me in case of any errors with the post.

Hey WhiteBlu, Road 5s are in strong demand due to supply issues, I have been checking with Madhus, Cherrys and other reputed dealers in Bangalore for the last 3 months and none had a pair in stock, either they used to have the Rear or the Front. What you have received from Pathpavers is obviously old stock, you could have enquired about the manufacturing date before you went ahead with the purchase. You can get the '21 stock, I bet that's the freshest you can get right now.

I gave up on the Road 5s, not worth the hassle, and bought myself a freshly manufactured '23 TVS Eurogrip for my RR310.

[WhiteBlu]

Originally Posted by FURY_44

You can get the '21 stock, I bet that's the freshest you can get right now.

Unfortunately, this seems to be my best option, Do you have any opinion on the age? Are they too old?

[FURY_44]

Originally Posted by WhiteBlu

Unfortunately, this seems to be my best option, Do you have any opinion on the age? Are they too old?

Depends on your usage, if you think you can use them up with regular running for the next 2 years, I think they should be fine. Also if the tyres were manufactured in the first half of '21, it's a full 3 years completed. But frankly, with a pair costing close to 18k, I wouldn't settle for an old stock, if I were you.

[WhiteBlu]

Originally Posted by FURY_44

Depends on your usage, if you think you can use them up with regular running for the next 2 years, I think they should be fine.

But frankly, with a pair costing close to 18k, I wouldn't settle for an old stock, if I were you.

Thanks, I think they should cover the full usage within one year.

And yes, I am not happy about the age, but is there a better tyre option for wet and dry grip at 110 and 150 size? .

[gautam109]

I once spoke a senior figure in the European tire sector (commercial tires segment, not car or bike tires) some years back on this. Their view was that a well-stored tire stays fresh and "good as new" for 3-5 years, though convention is that once it crosses 3 years, they discount and try to sell it off just to free-up the shelf space.

Emphasis is on "well stored" - dry, clean area, away from sunlight, corrosives/oils/abrasives and excessive heat.

He said discounts for tires less than 3 yrs old are rare and that commercial users they sell to are not too fussed with tire age provided it is a reputed brand backed by credible manufacturer warranty.

Check for any sidewall cracks or bulges periodically, to be safe. If the tire was badly stored, it will show up. Else don't let it spoil your mood. If they work well and assuming you will use them up in 2 or 3 years (i.e. 6 to 7 year total age at end of life), the performance / experience will not be materially different from a new tire.

[ebonho]

In my experience once you use a tyre, and take it off, then reuse it months or a year or two later, it hardens up (glazed) and becomes considerable less grippy. Not so in an unused or barely used tyre thats stored or even just fitted and the bike garaged.

Anthony Hopkins famously raced across the salt flats of Utah to set a speed record or a set of decades old tyres with grooves hand cut out of them. As the legend goes.

Cheers, Doc

[Ratan Prabhu]

Originally Posted by WhiteBlu

I think they should cover the full usage within one year

Considering your statement above, you should be ok with it if the tyres have zero signs of any minor cracks anywhere. For peace of mind, since the shop is ok to replace the tyre with 2021 model, get it done (also ask which month of 2021)

And for next time, if you ordering tyres online, make sure you confirm the month and year of tyre (on mail or text as proof) before making payment.

[100Kmphormore]

Press for a refund as much as possible and get a fresh tyre at extra cost offline.

[wooka]

My wife runs a tyre business.

My 2c.

Cent 1 - 3 year old tyres are fine outside UV exposure. Premium ones, even regular bike tyres, are generally wrapped in foil so, no stress.

Cent 2 - yes, technically 3Yo tyres were not only procured cheaper (but inflation and time adjusted, are roughly the same rate) but gives the buyer leverage to say 'purana Maal hai' (old stuff, has to go.)

Under the guise of 'stock clearance' I have seen scam operarions by established shops selling tyres as far as 10,years old, since the average non-English speaking gent knows no English /DOT code. They tried flipping me 10 year old MAXXIS as 'new'. Caveat emptor.

[sasta_rider]

Originally Posted by WhiteBlu

Hello, and hope you are having a great day!

I have been wanting to upgrade my tyres for a while now. I currently have the pilot street radals on my bike and I have had a few hairy incidents when I was pushing it hard. The tyres do not have great edge grip, and they grately reduce my confidence while leaning. This led me to purchase a pair of Road 5s from Pathpavers a week ago. They arrived today and to my dismay, the front tyre read 3020.

Yes, the front tyre I received from them is more than 3.5 years old. So I called their manager promptly and asked for a newer tyre to be delivered to me. He had to check with the storage, and when he called back, he told me that the newest one they could arrange was one manufactured in 2021. Now I need advice from more experienced riders... What do I do?

@WhiteBlu Sad that you had to experience this!

But hey! I recently (Nov-2023) transitioned from stock MRFs to upsized Road 5 tires for my R15 v4. I did buy the new set of tires (Road 5) from someone whom my Dad and myself have been visiting for all tire related issues for our car and bikes.

I got the 110/70 (front) and 150/60 (rear) Road 5 tires for ₹18000/-. I was a little surprised that I got a discount of ₹2500/- for these tires which are combinedly priced between ₹20500 - ₹21000/- in online market. Upon checking the manufacturing year, I found out that the tires I was given were manufactured in the year 2022 (do not recall the week exactly). But, the seller assured me that that should not be an issue at all since they had stored the tire safely.

I frequently hit long distance rides and since last 5.5 months, I did not face any issue with both the tires whatsoever. To be honest, my R15's stock rear tire (MRF) had taken 5 punctures during the first 1.5 years of ownership. But, with the Road 5, I did not get any puncture or damages so far and the performance with the new rubber is also not compromised till today.

I believe, depending on your usage and the Bangalore rain you mentioned, these set of rubbers should not be compromising in any manner unless you are confident about your riding limits, road condition and skills.

To conclude, you (and us) learnt a lesson: never buy tires online, even if you get a good discount.

I can pen down another incident that ended on a good note though. One of my friend had brought set of tires for his RS200 back in Hyderabad from Amazon. He received old stock (2 years old tires). He raised this issue with Amazon, got complete refund and Amazon asked him to keep those tires with him. Since his usage was only within the city, he let it go after the refund!

Ride safe!
Sud.

[GeeTee TSI]

Slightly OT, when I see deep discounted products online, I brace for an older manufactured/packed product. In other words the only way I will take an older product if it has been suitably discounted. Did the OP also pay prevailing market prices for the 3.5 year old tyre? In which case the OP deserves a sweetener voucher.

In general I have found even physical tyre stores sneakily silent on the age, acting innocent or impatient when confronted