front tire sidewall crack

[v*twin]

Noticed cracks on front tire sidewall today.Have had Shinko Tourmaster for about 1500 miles installed almost a year ago.Has anyone had similar issue with tire or does this appear serious enough to replace tire
Tire hasn't been in sun and tire pressure maintained at optimum pressure since installation
Thanks

 

[Ygransom]

Noticed cracks on front tire sidewall today.Have had Shinko Tourmaster for about 1500 miles installed almost a year ago.Has anyone had similar issue with tire or does this appear serious enough to replace tire
Tire hasn't been in sun and tire pressure maintained at optimum pressure since installation
Thanks

I would change out tire. Two year old tires on my truck looked like that and Goodyear dealer gave me 4 free ones. Not worth taking a chance

 

[BigAl1952]

Looks to me like someone sold you a tire that has been on a shelf for quite some time and even though its not been on the road its age has caught up with it. I wonder when the tire was actually made? Also if its a Chinese made tire I would dump it for sure. Al

 

[scot in exile]

Going to say the same thing, maybe bought the tyre a year ago buy how long was it sitting on the shelve? as you probably know each tyre sold has made date, size etc etc stamped on it, a pal of mine bought two tyres online when they arrived they were already three years old.

 

[mexican]

Change that tire!!

 

[mr hunt]

...straight back to whomever you bought it from...

 

[bruce aussie]

I wouldn't be riding with that tyre. Straight back to who ever sold it to you and put the pressure on.

 

[cr0ft]

Look at the date code on the tire. All tires have them. Maximum shelf life for tires is about 2 years, after which they should go back to the manufacturer as unsold. Maximum life span on the road is no more than 10 years - most manufacturers recommend 5.

Random googled up link on it: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11

Rubber ages, dries and hardens.

And let's face it, Shinko is a cheapo brand. Get some nice Avon Cobras.

In fact, everyone should know the age of their tire. If it's over 5 years even though it looks ok, consider a fresh one.

 

[cardinal93]

Find the DOT stamp on your tire, behind it are 4 numbers. The first 2 are the week and the second 2 the year. For instance 4110; tire was produced during the 41st week of 2010. That stamp will be on all tires throughout the world, not just U.S. manufacturers (provided the company imports at all to the U.S.)

 

[Adam79]

Easy decision this one, $15,000 motorbike vs $200 front tyre, or your self if it goes boom, would hate to see the result of a front tyre blow out at 100+ klm per hour( or 60+ Mph for the Yanks)