Knowing the manufacture date of the tires on your MC is very important. Some manufacturers are beginning to lengthen their tire warranty in terms of years, but any MC tire over 5 years old needs to be closely inspected for "checking," sidewall cracks, or other evidence of aging. Any MC tire over 7 years old likely should be replaced, regardless of how much tread it has left. An old tire can fail from the inside out, and any blowout on an MC can at the very least cause considerable damage to the MC. It may also cause loss of control and a serious accident.
The picture shows the code numbers you need to be aware of on your tire sidewall. This code is required to be on every tire sold in the United States, and will normally be found on only one of the two sidewalls near the edge by the wheel rim. The number will begin with the letters "DOT," and end with a 4-digit code indicating the week and year of manufacture. The example in the picture indicates the tire photographed was manufactured in the third week of 2004. Note that if the tire was manufactured prior to the year 2000, the date code will be only 3 digits. The first two indicate the week, and the third digit is the year. For example, 039 would indicate a manufacture date in the third week of 1999.
