funny thing , tire

[Thom]

drove in to Corpis yesterday to get my new e 3 put on , took the wheel and new tire to the

Yamaha dealer was told they will not work on my bike ' to old i said i have the wheel off , than was told they don't install tires they don't sell . i tried a few other shops , same thing !

stopped a HD rider and was told to have it done at a local custom shop , only cost 30 bucks , i got to the custom shop , had to listen to the bad mouthing about jap bikes , how much

money the tire machine cost , also was told if i bought food at the store would i take it to a cafe to get it cooked but sence i was from out of town he would put it on for me but no warranty for 45 bucks and than was told to leave it and he would call me when he got around to it , i told him it was not worth me driving 80 miles round trip plus 45.00 to have

it done i'd stick around [ i wanted to watch him to make sure he did it rite ] finlley after a hour making friends with him he installed my new tire and and did it rite i paid him 45.00 .

he found the receit in the tire , 116.00 what i paid retail 179.00 , i ask him what he would

charge for the the tire and do's he buy tires off the internet WOW did that start a fire !

he told me he only buys tires from Drag Spec. and never from the internet ! ok , i pic up my wheel , said thanks and left the building .

in my bus. i install parts custermers bring in all the time , i like the money and when i sell parts i tack on 17 to 35 % on the whole sale price , i have a 7000.00 power bill a month and i can buy a whole lot cheaper and not have to pay shipping because i buy in large amounts , when i owned a small one man

shop i loved cust. bringing in there own parts , no stocking , no shipping , no taxs , i did not have to be out of any money only labor .

i forgot one thing , i asked every m/c shop i went to , do a lot of riders buy tires off the net and was told yes , than i asked do a lot of riders install there own ? again yes , not one shop got what i was saying !

O'well i think it is time to buy a tire machine !

Thom

[wild hair 39]

drove in to Corpis yesterday to get my new e 3 put on , took the wheel and new tire to the

Yamaha dealer was told they will not work on my bike ' to old i said i have the wheel off , than was told they don't install tires they don't sell . i tried a few other shops , same thing !

stopped a HD rider and was told to have it done at a local custom shop , only cost 30 bucks , i got to the custom shop , had to listen to the bad mouthing about jap bikes , how much

money the tire machine cost , also was told if i bought food at the store would i take it to a cafe to get it cooked but sence i was from out of town he would put it on for me but no warranty for 45 bucks and than was told to leave it and he would call me when he got around to it , i told him it was not worth me driving 80 miles round trip plus 45.00 to have

it done i'd stick around [ i wanted to watch him to make sure he did it rite ] finlley after a hour making friends with him he installed my new tire and and did it rite i paid him 45.00 .

he found the receit in the tire , 116.00 what i paid retail 179.00 , i ask him what he would

charge for the the tire and do's he buy tires off the internet WOW did that start a fire !

he told me he only buys tires from Drag Spec. and never from the internet ! ok , i pic up my wheel , said thanks and left the building .

in my bus. i install parts custermers bring in all the time , i like the money and when i sell parts i tack on 17 to 35 % on the whole sale price , i have a 7000.00 power bill a month and i can buy a whole lot cheaper and not have to pay shipping because i buy in large amounts , when i owned a small one man

shop i loved cust. bringing in there own parts , no stocking , no shipping , no taxs , i did not have to be out of any money only labor .

i forgot one thing , i asked every m/c shop i went to , do a lot of riders buy tires off the net and was told yes , than i asked do a lot of riders install there own ? again yes , not one shop got what i was saying !

O'well i think it is time to buy a tire machine !

Thom

 

get sume waites also,vary good time to check wheel bearing

[Rocket]

i forgot one thing , i asked every m/c shop i went to , do a lot of riders buy tires off the net and was told yes , than i asked do a lot of riders install there own ? again yes , not one shop got what i was saying !

O'well i think it is time to buy a tire machine !

Thom

 

Get a tire balancer for mc rims too, if you do this.

[MiCarl]

when i owned a small one man shop i loved cust. bringing in there own parts , no stocking , no shipping , no taxs , i did not have to be out of any money only labor .

 

Me too. I don't have to invest the time looking it up, ordering it, keeping track of it and tying up my money until the job is done.

 

If you're doing low volume the Harbor Freight tire changer is adequate. I prefer using irons though to the lever and post that comes with it.

 

I've found that if wheel bearings are good the tire can be balanced by putting the wheel on the axle and suspending it between two supports (saw horses, chairs, 2 work benches etc.). The smallest tire weights are 7g and I can easily tell using that method if the tire is balanced withing that amount. It takes a lot longer than a spin balancer, but again if you're only doing it occasionally it's not worth the $$ to own a balancer.

[Marcarl]

Our dealer doesn't care where you got the tire, what shape it's in or what color it is. Just bring them the tire and rim and they'll install and balance it for you. $40.00 I believe,, somtimes they only eat pepperettes and forget about a bill, but then I have an advantage. Usually, if it's after school you wait while they do it.

If it's parts you bring in, should be a piece of cake in my opinon, Just charge for the labour, no guarentee, no warranty, wow how easy can things get.

We do custom work in our meat shop lots of times, hey, piece of cake, it's in and out, money in the till,, you've made some good relations,,, people talk good about your business,, and if something is tough or tastes wrong, well it's not my worry, but they come back to get better stuff next time.

[wes0778]

I'm shopping for a front tire. The preferred installer could get the 404 WWW I wanted for $140.00 and $30.00 mounting. I asked him if I brought the tire would he mount it. He said SURE, but installation is $45.00. Me being from a parts ans service background, I under stand that. His profit selling the tire was probably in the $15.00 range. Looks like with our discount at M/C Superstore I can get the tire for abut $100.00 with free shipping, so I save and the independent shop gets his $15.00 with no out of pocket expense.

We are all happy!!!

[GeorgeS]

Few bucks for a Bead breaker tool, a vise, on the work bench and a few hand tools I have been changing my tires for the last 30 years. No big deal.

 

Also, I clean the rim, so I know thats been done correctly, and I make darn sure the tire is seated properly.

 

Now with Ride - On, simple remove the old weights, install the ride on and tire is balanced.

 

The Ride On stuff cost about same per wheel as what a dealer add's on for balancing.

 

Another trick, is order you tools, ride on, and tires ahead of time to reduce down time.

 

Its really not that hard to do

[Venturous Randy]

I guess I am pretty lucky. I have a local independent shop that works on anything. They do good work, but sometimes it may take a while. It is routine to have as many as 50 to 70 bikes in line to be repaired. A year or so ago I stopped by and he had 5 1st gen Ventures in line. He also has a salvage yard in the back and did have a 1st gen until I ended up with it.

If you buy the tires from him, mounting is included if you have the wheel off. There is a charge of about $8.00 for balancing. I put on both of the Elite 3's myself and did the axle and jackstands trick for balancing the front. It feels perfect at speed. I bought the rear from him and the front from superstore for $102. I am a happy camper even though the front tire was the hardest I have ever put on a rim. The Avon I took off was not hard, but the Elite 3 going on was.

He was also the guy that told me about undercutting the gears for the 2nd gear problem. He was doing that on some racing motorcross bikes.

It is also pretty common to see Harleys in line.

RandyA

[murph35640]

I just had new Avons put on my bike, the tire dealer I always use for vehicles also has one guy who does motorcycles. I took him my internet purchased tires and the bike and two hours later it was ready for pickup, total cost 90.00 bucks!

[Skid]

My local dealer knows he can't compete with the internet. He appreciates me bringing my wheel to him to change out. Last one was either $20 or $25 bucks and balanced too...

[mraf]

If your doing your own tire changes try using Vaseline for a lubricant on the new tire before installing. Works better than dish soap. You don't have to use much to get the desired outcome a little bit goes a long way.

[MiCarl]

If your doing your own tire changes try using Vaseline for a lubricant on the new tire before installing. Works better than dish soap. You don't have to use much to get the desired outcome a little bit goes a long way.

 

NEVER, NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT. Do not use a petroleum based anything on a tire, it can damage the rubber.

[KiteSquid]

I have a Local CAR tire shop mounts motorcycle tires for $15 each. Balances for $8 more.

[GuthDaddy17]

We have a local shop that does all bikes (mostly H.D.'s) but have never given me any grief over my "Jap" stable... Kay's Motorcycle Mania charges $50 if the tire was purchased elsewhere but thats everything including taking off the bike and balancing. Then again, you can give good ol' Goose a call and it will only cost you a couple of beers!

[brewser23]

I stopped trying to get someone to change a tire for me , do it myself and keep my money in my pocket. I also use dyna beads to balance the tire. Here's a link to the website http://www.innovativebalancing.com/index.html. Product seems to do what it says it will and I like not having to spend the time trying to balance out the wheel.