Can anyone help me with this date code?

pbagley

Joined
Jun 4, 2014
Messages
25
Location
Ham Lake, MN
Bike
2001 ST1100
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PS: The dealer installed "new" rear tire, a Dunlop ArrowMax D103, had an easier date code to interpret:


I think someone made a mistake.
 
pbagley said:
This is the date code I found on my "new" Avon ST22 front tire just installed by the dealer : E422 <triangle>



Based on a few web sites I think this was made the 42nd week of '92. Could this new tire actually be that old?

Links:
http://www.puretyre.co.uk/tyre-information/tyre-definitions/tyre-date-code/
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11

Thanks,

- Paul
Click to expand...
Yes, prior to year 2000 3 digit codes were used with the last digit being in the decade of the 90s. Time to discard that tire!
 
@Kevin_56: Thank you for the suggestion. I just forwarded that to David, a tire tech at Avon.

@duelin: The dealer just installed the tire on my new-to-me ST1100. Obviously old stock, and a mistake. We'll see how they handle it when I ask for a new "new" tire.
 
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I was given a set of tires in better condition than I have on my car. Took them to a local large chain store. They read the tire code and would not mount them. They will not touch tires more than 5 years old. These were 9. I was impressed that they had that type of integrity.

Good luck on getting these replaced.

Kevin
 
From what I have read and heard tires have about a 4 year life. They may look perfect but beware of failure. This is a real issue when buying tires on the internet. I now have been buying my tires locally and have found that the good dealers will match internet pricing. Keep in mind that tires that have really low pricing may in fact be out of date. This is especially an issue for bikes that do not use modern day tires. Buying tires for my 70's vintage bikes is a problem. One is finding tires and two making sure they have good date codes.

I find it interesting that there is no legislation to prevent the sale of out of date tires. If there is it being adhered too?

Tires are meant to be ridden and wore out. If you wear out two or three sets of tires a year then there is no need to worry about date codes and they are always fresh. :)
 
To my knowledge the ST22 was an early Avon Radial front.... form the early/mid 1990's... so, knowing that in 1990 the tyre industry reached agreement to put a triangle in the matricule to indicate 1990's this tyre would indeed appear to be a week 42 of 1992 manufacture...... unless Avon have done something odd, but I doubt it.....

For reference http://users.metro2000.net/~cdc/magna/tech section and issues/the tire page/the tire page.htm

This is a user page that show his fitment in 1994 of the ST22/ST23 pairing.....

HTH

Edit: I should have said to the OP, take it back..... immediately.... 22 year old tyres do not perform like 22 year old ST1100's..... well they might... briefly.... I would even consider reporting that dealer to whatever tyre/tire industry regulating body you have in the US.... or what we call trading standards in the UK... selling tyres this old must be deemed dangerous. This dealer has risked more than his reputation by fitting that tyre.
 
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Thanks to everyone for their insights. I appreciate all of it.

@Firstpeke: I'll be discussing the manufacture date of my "new" tires with the dealer tonight. I think a mistake was made, and I hope they will do right by me. If not I'll be ordering a pair of new (recent manufacture) tires.

In either case I'll share the story both here and on another motorcycle forum I've been posting to for the past six years.
 
I stopped in at the dealer tonight and explained the situation. They were nice. I was nice. They said they wanted to make it right and ordered me a set of new Bridgestone tires - which should be in next week.

So far, so good. If they keep this up I'll be recommending this dealership to all my friends.
 
I received a call today from David Alari from Avon Tires this afternoon. He said he had discussed my front tire with a 30 year Avon engineer (missed the name, referred to as MadDog) and the E is significant in the date code. Best estimate is that the tire was made the 9th week of 1992.

David was really good, I really appreciated that he followed up even after I had told him that the dealership was replacing the tire due to age. We discussed my next set of tires - Avon's new Storm 3D X-M of course and he suggested I check out The Journey of Andrew Byrd page on FB. It sounds like the new crop of touring tires are pretty good.
 
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I have also requested feedback from Avon Tyres UK and am awaiting a reply!

Will let you know when it arrives!
 
Firstpeke said:
I have also requested feedback from Avon Tyres UK and am awaiting a reply!

Will let you know when it arrives!
Click to expand...

Here's David's contact info:
David Alari
Account Manager

Avon Motorcycle Tyres North America
18540 Pasadena St.
Lake Elsinore, CA 92530
760-628-8134 Cell
800-624-7470 x 3753
951-245-3413 Fax
www.avonmoto.com
dalari@avonmoto.com


Note that he is in California, USA. I don't know what the international calling rate is from Scotland.
David said that others had posted his contact info onto forums, and that he is always happy to talk to other riders - especially about Avon tyres.
 
Just to put a lid on this for you... received my reply from Avon today... as I thought the details were as I mentioned for the tyre...

Starts/

Vowles, Ashley. <AVowles@coopertire.com>
11:51 (19 minutes ago)

Hi Les,

Yes, the date code interpretation is correct at week 42 of 1992.

The letter "E" represents the manufacturer's pattern code (part of the US Department of Transport identification code necessary for product recalls) and can be one or two or three characters as decreed by the US DOT Regulations, (FMVSS 574.5 - Tire Identification Requirements). In this case E was assigned to the Avon AM22 (bias belted) tyre range and was also used for the Avon ST22 radial range (same tread pattern).

I cannot be precise over dates of manufacture without searching the archives, but from memory AM22 and ST22 ran during the 1980's and early 1990's before being superseded by later designs.

This tyre is too old to be offered for sale and we would definitely not recommend this tyre is used. The British Rubber Manufacturers Association advise tyres should be used within 6 years of manufacture. The tyre should then be removed after a total of 10 years.
Avon recommend tyres should be used within 5 years of manufacture. The tyre should then be removed after a total of 7 years.

I hope this helps

Regards

Ash Vowles
Motorcycle Design Engineer
AVowles@coopertire.com
www.avon-tyres.co.uk/motorcycle

/ends

Hope this clears this up for you completely.....
 
@Firstpeke : Thank you! Yes, this does completely clears things up. Odd thing: "In this case E was assigned to the Avon AM22 (bias belted) tyre range and was also used for the Avon ST22 radial range (same tread pattern)." Meanwhile, the tire says it is a radial on the sidewall.

No matter since it is being replased.

In other news the dealer called today to let me know that the replacement tires are here. I have an appointment on Monday to have new Bridgestone T30's installed. When the T30's wear out I'll be considering the Avon 3D X-M. This is entirely based on the responsiveness of Avon to my question concerning this old tire. I'm hoping by that time there are more reviews to compare and contrast with my experience using the T30's.
 
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Resolution - the Avon tire, and the Dunlop rear, were replaced tonight with new Bridgestone T30 radials.

Thanks again to everyone. I am happy to report that the dealer did the right thing.
 
pbagley said:
Resolution - the Avon tire, and the Dunlop rear, were replaced tonight with new Bridgestone T30 radials.

Thanks again to everyone. I am happy to report that the dealer did the right thing.
Click to expand...

You will like the T30 tires I just mounted three for a friend today for his ST and mounted a set on a friends Goldwing and he loves them.
 
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