How To Read Motorcycle Tire Date Codes | Find The DOT Digits

Motorcycle tires use the last four digits of the DOT code to show the week and year the tire was made.

A motorcycle tire can look fresh, hold air, and still be older than you’d guess. That’s why the sidewall date code matters when you’re buying a new set, checking shop stock, or sizing up a used bike. It tells you when the tire left the mold, not when it was mounted, sold, or first ridden.

The good part is this: reading the code is easy once you know where to crouch and which digits count. On most street and dual-sport motorcycle tires sold in the U.S., the date sits at the end of the DOT Tire Identification Number, often called the TIN. Read those last four digits correctly, and you’ll know the tire’s build week and build year in seconds.

How To Read Motorcycle Tire Date Codes On The Sidewall

Start with the letters DOT on the tire sidewall. That marks the full tire identification string used for plant tracing, size coding, and recall tracking. The part you care about most is the final block of numbers at the end.

Where To Find The Full Code

Scan the lower sidewall near the bead. On many motorcycle tires, one side shows the full DOT string and the other side shows only a partial code. If you can’t find the last four digits on the first side, roll the bike a little or check the other side. A shop flashlight makes this much easier, especially on black rubber with shallow stamping.

What The Last Four Digits Mean

The last four digits break into two parts:

• First two digits: the production week
• Last two digits: the production year

So if the code ends in 1024, the tire was made in the 10th week of 2024. If it ends in 3722, it came out in the 37th week of 2022. That’s the whole trick.

Sidewall Reading Steps

1. Find the DOT letters on the sidewall.
2. Read the full string to the end.
3. Take the last four digits only.
4. Split them into week and year.
5. Match that date against the tire’s condition, storage history, and your bike maker’s advice.

If the digits are faint, wipe the sidewall first. Dirt, chain lube, and road film can hide the last block. NHTSA’s tire buyer FAQ also notes that the full TIN may appear on only one side, which clears up a mistake many riders make when they stop searching too soon.

One more thing: older tires made before 2000 may show a three-digit date code instead of four digits. That old style used two digits for the week and one digit for the year within a decade. If you spot a three-digit code on a motorcycle tire today, you’re dealing with an old tire by any normal buying standard.

Date Code	Read It As	Plain Meaning
0119	Week 01, 2019	Made in the first week of 2019
0524	Week 05, 2024	Made in early February 2024
1023	Week 10, 2023	Made in early March 2023
2618	Week 26, 2018	Made around late June 2018
3722	Week 37, 2022	Made in mid-September 2022
4821	Week 48, 2021	Made near late November 2021
5220	Week 52, 2020	Made at the end of 2020
5316	Week 53, 2016	Made in a year that carried a week 53

What The Rest Of The DOT String Means

The date code gets the attention, but the earlier characters in the DOT string have their own job. They can identify the plant, tire size code, and the maker’s internal construction or batch details. Riders don’t need to decode every character for daily use, but those extra marks matter during recalls and factory tracing.

That’s why you shouldn’t cut the string short when you’re checking a tire in a store aisle. A full photo of the entire DOT line gives you the date plus the trace data. If the tire brand, model, or plant code ever turns up in a defect notice, that extra photo saves time. You can run the details through the NHTSA recall search and see whether your tire or tire line is part of an active campaign.

Why Tire Age Matters Before You Ride

A date code doesn’t tell you whether a tire is good or bad on its own. It tells you how old the tire is, and age changes the questions you should ask next. Rubber hardens with time. Storage heat, sunlight, ozone, long idle periods, low pressure, and heavy loading can all make that harder rubber a bigger issue on the road.

That shows up in ways riders can feel:

• slower warm-up on cool days
• less grip on painted lines and wet patches
• a stiffer ride than the tread depth suggests
• fine cracking near grooves or the sidewall
• a bike that feels vague mid-corner

This is why a used bike with “plenty of tread left” can still need tires right away. Tread depth tells one story. Tire age tells another.

Common Mistakes Riders Make With Tire Date Codes

Most mix-ups come from reading the sidewall too fast. A few show up again and again:

• Reading the whole DOT string as one date: only the last four digits are the date on modern tires.
• Checking one side only: the full TIN may be stamped on the opposite side.
• Mixing week and year order: it’s week first, year last, not the other way around.
• Treating sale date as build date: a tire can sit in stock before it reaches a shelf.
• Judging by tread alone: old rubber can look decent and still ride poorly.
• Ignoring matching dates across a set: front and rear may come from different production runs.

That last point catches plenty of riders. A rear tire from late 2024 and a front from early 2021 may both be unused, yet they won’t age the same on the bike. That doesn’t make the pair wrong by itself, but it should push you to check condition with a sharper eye.

What To Do After You Decode The Tire Age

Once you know the build date, you can make a better call before money changes hands or before a long ride. Use the code with a plain visual and touch check.

What You See	What To Do	Why It Matters
Fresh date and clean rubber	Check pressure, then ride or buy	Age is low and condition matches it
Older date but no cracks	Check maker guidance and storage history	Age alone doesn’t tell the full story
Fine sidewall cracking	Pass on it or replace it	Rubber age or poor storage may be showing
Hard, shiny tread face	Ride with caution and plan a swap	The compound may have gone off
Three-digit date code	Replace the tire	That marks an old pre-2000 code style
Unreadable or missing final digits	Check the other side or skip the tire	You need the build date to judge age

When A Tire Date Should Make You Walk Away

If you’re shopping for a new motorcycle tire, shelf age matters. A tire that’s already been sitting for years before it ever hits your rim gives you less useful life from day one. That’s not what you want after paying full retail.

Walk away, ask for another tire, or negotiate hard if you spot any of these:

• an old date code on “new old stock” sold at normal new-tire pricing
• visible cracking near tread grooves or lettering
• flat spots from long storage under load
• dry, chalky, or slick-looking rubber
• a three-digit pre-2000 date stamp

Reading Motorcycle Tire Date Codes During A Used Bike Check

Used-bike ads love the phrase “tires have lots of tread.” Fine. Tread is only part of the story. During a walk-around, crouch down and read both tires before you start the engine. That small habit can save you the price of a tire set sneaking into the deal after the sale.

Check the front and rear dates side by side. Then match them against what your eyes and hands tell you. If the rear is fresh but the front is old and hard, the bike may have had a recent rear swap after a puncture or burnout life. If both tires are old, budget for replacement right away and ride home with care.

Also check whether the tire model fits the bike’s job. A date code won’t fix a poor tire choice, bad storage, or a wrong size. It’s one piece of a better buying check, not the whole call.

Final Check Before You Ride

Once you know where the DOT string sits and how the last four digits read, the mystery is gone. You can judge tire age in seconds at home, in a shop, or in a seller’s driveway. That tiny stamp turns sidewall noise into plain facts.

Read the code, check both sides, compare front and rear, and match the date against the tire’s feel and condition. That’s a small habit, but it’s one of the cleanest ways to avoid old stock, catch worn-out rubber, and know what’s touching the road under your bike.