New tyres but storing bike over winter?

[Jason5885]

Searched about on the site and couldn't find anything on this..

Going to put my ninja into storage over the winter. New pirelli Rosso 2's arrived today, should i wait till after winter to fit them? Or will the sitting still for months affect them negatively ?

Thanks guys

[csmith12]

I would wait to mount them, but sitting around will not hurt them.

[Jason5885]

Originally Posted by csmith12

I would wait to mount them, but sitting around will not hurt them.

This was my thought too. I've seen bikes that have been sitting for close to a year with small cracks appearing on the rubber. Guess it all depends on the bike weight/tyre quality.

But il take you're advice and play it safe. It kills me having them but not being able to see them on my baby lol

Thanks buddy

[Ninja Rob]

How cold does it have to be for a bike to be stored? Down here our winters are 55 degress fahrenheit.

[Alex]

The temp shouldn't matter terribly (certainly 55 degrees isn't going to harm anything at all on its own). It's the sitting and non-running the bike for an extended time period that causes issues, and may require some prep/winterizing to lower the risk of problems when it starts back up again in the spring.

[NevadaWolf]

Originally Posted by Jason5885

This was my thought too. I've seen bikes that have been sitting for close to a year with small cracks appearing on the rubber. Guess it all depends on the bike weight/tyre quality.

This is a guess, but tires that have been sitting for a year not only went through having the bike not moving but also through the heat cycles over the summer. That might have contributed to the rubber drying out and cracking more than just sitting.

Originally Posted by Ninja Rob

How cold does it have to be for a bike to be stored? Down here our winters are 55 degress fahrenheit.

It's more about how cold does it have to be for you to stop riding. The bike can manage through the entire winter without storage as long as its being ridden. For you however, the low temps, ice or snow on the road, or just shorter days may all lead to you deciding not to ride for awhile.

Folks who live in areas that have real winters tend to store the bike for several months until the snow goes away. Folks where winter is just a word vs a season ride year round and never have to go through winterizing.

[kxpower?]

You know I remember being told by a sales guy years ago that one of the hidden pieces of information on a car tire is the manufacture date, and that some retailers assign a 'sell by' date so far past that manufacturing date. So at least in certain cases they have a defined shelf life. I'm fairly certain it's on the order of years but that may be different for bike tires. If you have connections with someone in the tire retailing business maybe bounce it off of him?

I can tell you that my parents who ride 20k+ miles annually touring on old air cooled beemers almost always have a set or two of new tires laying around the shop where Dad would buy some on sale and wait for the old ones to wear out. Months at a time wouldn't be unusual.

I don't know a thing about the climate in Scotland, as NevadaWolf said winter is just a word in a lot of the US. I would suggest that if you're certain the bike won't be ridden till spring (if winters are bad there), I'd wait to mount them. If you want to be extra cautious you can stash the tires in your closet or somewhere climate controlled a whole lot easier than keeping the whole bike inside.

Do make sure and get the rest of the bike winterized especially if it's going to be exposed to a lot of cold. There's a ton of information around here on how to do it right so when April and May get here you're riding instead of sitting on the ninjette trying to figure out why it won't run

[alex.s]

just put the psi to max while it sits so you dont get a flat spot and rotate the tires a couple inches maybe once a month. or maybe just keep it on stands

[Roark]

Check out revzilla's winterizing guide video.. it's entertaining and informative

Link to original page on YouTube.

I would just keep your current tires mounted and keep the new tires sitting inside the consistently warm house

[Rifleman]

Originally Posted by Ninja Rob

How cold does it have to be for a bike to be stored? Down here our winters are 55 degress fahrenheit.

official rules are you ride your age.

if you are 18, you ride down to 18'F

if you are 80... you better live in Arizona

I suppose it's not a hard and fast rule, if you are 45 and want to ride on a 42'F day, we'll just attribute that to a few brain cells killed by

[NevadaWolf]

ROFL

weirdly that's actually my personal rule. I'll ride down to my age comfortably. Lower than that is when I dig out the heavy duty gear and go in search of soup.

[garth285]

I would wait to mount them unless you have front and rear stands to keep the tires off the ground otherwise even with Max PSI you could still form a flat spot.

[Ninjinsky]

Originally Posted by Ninja Rob

How cold does it have to be for a bike to be stored? Down here our winters are 55 degress fahrenheit.

Learn some diplomatic skills when posting to us from the frozen north eh!

[Ninja Rob]

It`s hotter down here than Arizona. I live in the closest city to the equator in the United States. Brownsville, Texas. Google it.

[Whiskey]

And Scotland starts at 55deg north, same as alaska does...

[zhuuka]

I'd say wait to put them on until next season. If they are kept in your home at room temperature it will be fine. If you decide to put them on the bike? Place something between them and the cement (if being stored in a garage). Here is what I did.

[Whiskey]

If you picked up a set from the local tyre place they could have been sitting on a shelf just as long, keep them somewhere reasonably warm & dry, and put them on the bike when you're bringing it back into action.

[Ninja Rob]

We actually hit 44 degrees fahrenheit today, and tonight is forecasted to be between 25-30 degreees fahrenheit.

[dcj13]

Originally Posted by Ninja Rob

It`s hotter down here than Arizona. I live in the closest city to the equator in the United States. Brownsville, Texas. Google it.

What about Hilo, Hawaii? It's actually south of the Tropic of Cancer.

[Ninja Rob]

I was debating that in my mind before I posted the post. It is closer, but still. It gets Hot down here. Hot and Humid. There are people that come from the northern states for the winter and they are known as "Winter Texans".

[LNasty]

I'm in the Houston area and ride year round, only days I don't ride is if there is ice on the roads which doesn't happen that often. Getting down to 30 degrees here tonight and I will be riding to work in the morning. It is this time of the year that I am glad I don't live in Colorado anymore. Was -16 last night at my parents in Colorado Springs. Just layer up and get a balaclava, you will be fine. No need to winterize down here

As far as Scotland goes that seems like a place with some pretty heavy winters. I would wait to get this on till spring