Topic: wheels tires rims spokes

[Darren Jakal]

Hi and thanks for any insights.

I have a 78 cb550K that I picked up for cheap and I've been taking it apart and trying to understand its history.

The rear wheel (whole thing) appears to be from an earlier cb and now that I have the bike lifted and have the front wheel off I'm trying to determine if this is the original front tire.

It's a Yokohama SpeedLine II and with a DOT stamp of FEM5 AL3344. I've looked up Yokohama codes but the date code makes little sense to me.

I'm not planning on using this tire (but dam it looks brand new), but I am curious to see if this is the original factory tire as it could help me understand how much use this bike has on it.

Also interested in knowing when one retires a rim or spokes? There is some pretty good surface rust and what looks like a few dings, but what is standard procedure for knowing when it's too far gone and it's time to replace.

Cheers, Darren

[jonda500]

That rim looks fine to me? My current daily ride has much worse looking rims/spokes than that - just check for loose spokes and check it's not much more than 1mm away from true.
John

[Stev-o]

I highly doubt that is the original tire.  I believe these bikes had Bridgestone and Dunlops.

In the US, there is a manufacture date code on the sidewall, it is after the DOT letters. 
It's a 3 or 4 number code, week and year of manufacture. 

[Darren Jakal]

Great, I'm hoping to reuse as many parts as possible.

Stev-o, what date would be DOT FEM5 AL3344? (see pic above of date stamp)

Cheers, Darren

[Stev-o]

Great, I'm hoping to reuse as many parts as possible.

Stev-o, what date would be DOT FEM5 AL3344? (see pic above of date stamp)

Cheers, Darren

Thats a good question!  I see you are in Canada, it may be different? Look here:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11

[madmtnmotors]

What date would be DOT FEM5 AL3344? (see pic above of date stamp)

My guess would be that it was manufactured prior to 2000, using the last three digits would be the 34th week of the 4th year of the decade, which would likely be either 1984, or 1994 (most likely). I would replace the tires, tubes, and rim strips. I usually go around the inside of the rim with a wire wheel and then treat it to a coat of rust preventative prior to assembly:

https://www.amazon.com/Permatex-81849-Treatment-10-25-Aerosol/dp/B000BKC25K?th=1

[Darren Jakal]

Hey thanks for the insights and information everyone.

I was never going to use this tire just wondering about the history of the bike.

The rear tire is different and dated as 1990. I know the bike has been sitting since the early 90's (before 1994) so the front tire must be from from at least 1984 (when I google Yokohama SpeedLine II the only hit I get is an ad in a motorcycle magazine from 1978).

Anyway the age of this tire may remain a mystery.

Cheers, Darren