Tire Date Stamps..........

[Moto-Kafe]

Hi, new member "mark444" here, aka "Moto-Kafe" from Pelham (Birmingham), Bamaland..........25 minutes from Barber's. Newly acquired 2010 NT700, 6.5k miles, minty paint and cosmetics, Corbin, and Bar Risers. The PO was an AAA+++ young feller......gave me a handfull of internet printouts (sales blah-blah) concerning the Corbin, Tires, and Bar Risers. I "thought" he told me the rear tire was fairly new when we chatted on FB before closing the deal. Anyway, I wish every Seller was like this young man.
When I picked up the bike, he told me it was purchased by him from the original owner, and the original owner had a bike shop go "over" the whole bike prior to the old guy selling it. When I got her home, I examined the front tire and it appeared kinda hard, worn looking, and lacking of tread depth..........so I looked at the Battlax Tire Manufacture Date Number: VAB4808. Hmmmm........looked at the rear tire stamp; VAA3408......which tells me these tires were molded 2 years BEFORE this bike came out....!!! ha ha......now I can justifiably call my NT a UNICORN.
I believe the VAA3408 stands for the 38th week in 2008..........correct me if I am wrong?? Anywho, guess I will be in the market for a set of new tires.....I have no idea what to get, trying to digest some of the tire threads on here lately.....maybe the Bridgestone T30 EVO's.......??

NOTE: I did not see an area on the forum to introduce myself as a new member....did I miss it?? Also, maybe it has to do with a minimum number of thread posts or ???, but I don't see where I can PM anyone yet?? I wanted to say hello to "Mellow", as I have run across (not literally!!) his name/face on another forum probably 10 years ago.........maybe Motocampers.com???

Here's my new GF...........

 

[Phil Tarman]

Welcome, Moto-Kafe! I'm guessing that your first name is Mark (correct me if I guessed wrong). Mellow is the admin on this list and on the ST-Owners list. A guy named Motorcycle Larry had started the NT-Owners list back in '10 and manufactured a number of useful accessories for the NT, but then he died later in '10 and Mellow took over the admin job here. He's a neat guy and also organizes the "official" NT/ST-Owners Rally in Spearfish, SD, every year. There were 9 or 10 of us from this forum attending that rally this year, but only two of us were still NT riders -- others are still friends but have moved on to other bikes. This is a great Forum! IMNSHO, it's the best motorcycle forum anywhere. Of course, I've had limited experience and I am one of the moderators. One of the other moderators must have approved your for membership on the forum.

It is typical for a new member to post an introduction by telling us something about their motorcycling history. I'd recommend that you fill out your member profile. You do that by clicking on your username in the right side of the blue line that shows your options. You can also post your current annual mileage figure in that same area. To PM someone, click on the little envelope symbol next to your Username.

Your new bike sure looks clean and shiny. You might have some seals that have dried out, but if it's running well, the fuel injectors must not be clogged. I definitely would replace those 13-yr-old tires though! I've run Michelins more than anything else on my two NTs.

I bought my first one in March of '10 and rode it for 139,000 miles before trading it for my current '10. The "new" one is 16 serial numbers older than the "old" one but only had 22,000 miles when I bought it. It had been owned by a Forum member from Spokane who traded it for a Triumph 900 GT Pro Low.

 

[mikesim]

Welcome! You are correct in your decipherication of the date code, 08 it is.... or was. I suspect that they are OE. The OE BattleAx tires were not very long lived. I only got 8K from mine and then I switched to Dunlop Roadsmarts that I get about 15K from the rear and 20K from the front. I too have one of the faster (don't let anyone tell you any different) red ones. I am now at 126+K miles and couldn't be happier.

Mike

 

[Phil Tarman]

My OEM tires needed replacement before I left on a trip from Colorado to Wisconsin, Michigan, and around Lake Superior. I had about 6K on them and they would not have made it around the Lake. I'm using Michelin PR4s now after trying a set of Road 5s.

 

[Moto-Kafe]

Thanks for the "welcome" guys..........good to be here (finally.........been contemplating getting an NT for a year now). I own other bikes (as shown in my personal poop)....ZRX1100 (actually have owned 9 of them.........yes!!), 2008 Vstrom650 which is all "dolled-up" to go to Alaska last year, but then COVID hit........(2) 1995 GPz1100's.......a 2003 Kawi ZR7-S........and a ZUMA 125 scooter!!
As far as the 2008 tires, I'm puzzled............"could" a 2010 bike come from the factory with 2008 tires?? I'm guessing "maybe" the Original Owner changed them out at one time and found a cheap set of outdated tires to shod with?? No matter......they will History soon enough.
One of the pics of my bike shows the bar risers the PO installed. I'm betting I cannot lift the tank back to check the air cleaner with these installed, but not a big deal, I can just loosen the bar clamps enough to swing the tank up. I know about using the correct length Oil Filter....thankyou Youtube.......and the detailed process of removing the rear wheel (which will happen soon). I'm hoping to do a Bama-to-Colorado Ride this Fall on the NT.........stay tuned.
mark444

 

[Woodaddict]

welcome to the forum. Michelin PR5 for rear and Dunlop RS2 on front works good for best mileage

 

[Phil Tarman]

[QUOTE="Moto-Kafe, post: 182557, member: 3910
I'm hoping to do a Bama-to-Colorado Ride this Fall on the NT.........stay tuned.

mark444
[/QUOTE]

Mark, if you make it to Colorado, I live in Greeley and have good access to RMNP and one of the state's best rides, CO-14 from near Fort Collins to Walden. I'd love to meet you and ride with you.

 

[Phil Tarman]

I just read about your intention to ride to Alaska. A ride to Alaska was the first step of my "Epic Post-Retirement Ride to Alaska, the Four Corners of the US, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Labrador." That was the 80-day, 21,000 mile ride I mentioned in my previous post. Jim Rau (junglejim on the Forum) and I started from the NT/ST-Owners Rally in Spearfish, rode Beartooth and the Chief Joseph Highways, then to Salmon, ID; Missoula, Klamath Falls, Whitefish, and Eureka, MT. We went to Banff, Jasper (the Ice Fields Highway is one of the most beautiful rides I've ever had). We rode the Alaskan Highway on our way up and then took the Cassier down to Hyder on our way home. We went from Tok to Valdez to Anchorage. Jim had a slow leak in his rear tire, so he went straight from Anchorage to to Fairbanks after ordering a tire to be delivered there. I rode down to Seward, and then back up to Denali (didn't see the top) and Fairbanks. We stayed four nights with friends of Jim's out east of Fairbanks and got to go with the friend, who's a pilot, on trip from Fairbanks to Tanana (on the Yukon River) and Husila (on the Koyukuk River), two towns you can't get to without flying or being on a boat for a long time. Alaska was spectacular...and BIG!

I hope you get to make it next summer. I read that the Canadian border might open in September.

 

[DirtFlier]

Moto-kafe - welcome to the NT Forum! Gee, your NT looks almost new.

If I'm not mistaken each tire manufacturer does its date coding differently. You can find that info by punching "date codes for xxx-brand tires" into Google search to get that info. By the way, tire retailers never give you a tire's age before purchase and a shop could give a hoot about when they were made!

 

[Moto-Kafe]

Phil............my route was similar to yours going across the border at Eureka, past Banff (thru Icefields) on up to Whitehorse, then north/east to Dawson city for the D2D ADV Non-Rally during the summer solstice (everyone stays up all night.....bike games, poker runs, etc). After that, head west thru Chicken on my way to Fairbanks........then north to the Arctic Circle sign for photos.........turn around and head to Denali, Anchortown, Homer, and some of the coastal towns........coming back across the border in Wash State. From there my route is not fixed.

DirtFlinger........he he..........I believe you are spot-on: I bet a shop installed these old tires.........maybe some NOS they had, or they used a cheap supply house or ????

 

[DirtFlier]

In defense of a shop that sells/installs tires, they can't call their tire wholesaler and ask someone to go through that entire pile of tires of a certain size/brand/model and find one with the newest born-on dating. It's just reality.

 

[harryhendo]

Welcome to the NT forum! That Corbin saddle sure looks comfortable. Very pretty bike. You have some excellent roads in the southeast, and the NT will be pure joy on them.

My NT is a 2010, but with a build date in 2009. Figure that Honda gets tires from Bridgestone from their inventory, and I am not surprised that the tire had a manufacturing date in 2008.

Personally, I prefer Dunlops (RoadSmart) as I find they provide the good mileage, excellent handling, and a fair price. I have Michelins on one of my NTs and also find them excellent, but they came with the bike when I bought it, and when done, will probably be replaced with Dunlops, as I find the ride is smoother with the Dunlops.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Welcome to the NT forum! That Corbin saddle sure looks comfortable. Very pretty bike. You have some excellent roads in the southeast, and the NT will be pure joy on them.

My NT is a 2010, but with a build date in 2009. Figure that Honda gets tires from Bridgestone from their inventory, and I am not surprised that the tire had a manufacturing date in 2008.

Personally, I prefer Dunlops (RoadSmart) as I find they provide the good mileage, excellent handling, and a fair price. I have Michelins on one of my NTs and also find them excellent, but they came with the bike when I bought it, and when done, will probably be replaced with Dunlops, as I find the ride is smoother with the Dunlops.

Harry, my 2010 serial number 0079 and 0062 were both built in September of '09. I'd be surprised if any of the 2010s sold here were built later than early October of '09.

Which Roadsmarts are manufactured in NT sizes? When I looked at the new ones, the smallest size they had for a rear was a 160. Would it fit without any interference and would it keep the speedometer and odometer as accurate as they are with the Michelin 150s?

 

[harryhendo]

Phil, the Dunlop RoadSmart III comes in the 150/70R17 original equipment size for the NT. It has a dual compound design with grippy rubber on the sides and high mileage center.

 

[mikesim]

Y

Phil, the Dunlop RoadSmart III comes in the 150/70R17 original equipment size for the NT. It has a dual compound design with grippy rubber on the sides and high mileage center.

Yup, that's the one I use.

Mike

 

[Phil Tarman]

I meant to say the new Dunlop RoadSmart IV.

 

[ARKNT]

I had a Roadsmart 3, 160/70 mounted on the rear of my NT. It fit fine.

Brad

 

[Phil Tarman]

Brad, is your odometer reading and speedometer calibration as dead-nuts accurate as they are on my bike. Over 1000 miles my GPS and my odometer are within 1 1/2 miles of each other. I'd hate to give that up.

 

[mikesim]

I had a Roadsmart 3, 160/70 mounted on the rear of my NT. It fit fine.

Brad

I had one that size as well before they brought out the 150. Speedo/odo deviation was negligible. The Roadsmart IV is only available in the 160/60 which I "think" will fit, but I'm not sure.

Mike

 

[ARKNT]

I've never checked odometer accuracy. I don't even own a GPS.
I may be a little old school even though I am younger than many NT owners on here.

Brad