Who changes tires fastest...or my experience with MR MOTORCYCLE NC

[Guest Swifty]

So…after the Vogel meet I spent a day cruising around with Todd (86er) which culminated in a luxurious shower and good night’s rest at his motorcycle restoration emporium near Atlanta. (WOW! Thanks 86er.) I was thinking about taking the Blue Ridge home but got worried about how quickly my rear tire was being used up…that usually happens when Todd and I get together. I decided to call MR MOTORCYCLE in Asheville NC to see if they had my size, my brand and the time to put one on if I needed it when I got there. They had all of the above. I got there a few hours later, I checked out the rapidly disappearing wear bars on my tire and decided to pursue a tire purchase and installation. First off, they couldn’t find the tire, any tire, spent 30 minutes looking, didn’t have any other brand my size in stock. In conversation with the guy behind the counter I referred him to their big showroom sign which read #1 motorcycle tire dealer in the Carolinas. I laughed and jokingly wondered about the truth of the sign’s contents. He couldn’t suggest any other place to look for tires, he couldn’t give me the name of the next biggest city going north, and he kept saying “I don’t know” to those kinds of questions. He did give me options for ordering a tire…it’d be in house the next day and I’d be on the road the day after if I wanted them to install it. While considering this I asked for a quote on installation. He said 1.5 hours! I was shocked. I discussed this quote with him explaining that I couldn’t see it taking any Yamaha dealer that long if I could take the tire off and on in 30 minutes myself if I had access to a lift. He referred me to the service dept. where I continued to exclaim how outrageous this time was for changing a back tire. Some of the conversation with the service manager centered around how much of a pain it is to change a tire on my bike, and I responded with it only being one muffler which I’d take off for him! He held his ground, said he'd be happy to help me on my way if indeed I did need a tire. (huff)Finally, I came to the conclusion that my trip up the Blue Ridge wasn’t meant to be. I decided to hobble home slowly on the I75 checking my tire at every gas stop. On my way back I picked up some rear tires I had dropped shipped earlier in Michigan…that was after spending 6 hours trying to get around the Ohio flood disaster in Findley (but that is another story). I arrived home with some glum resignation that my summer sojourns were at an end. I put on a new rear tire the next day…yup, my Yamaha dealer charged 30 minutes labour!! After sitting around the place for a day (cleaning up the bike, doing an oil change) and connecting with some other Kitchener ventureriders who complained it was too cold to ride any more this season(!!), I decided to do the Blue Ridge!…I reasoned that I still had vacation time and the weather was nice so why not? Or was it really the ill reasoning that results from camping a week with LaPryor? So back down to North Carolina I cruised. Got to Cherokee in one day; started out on the parkway the next day. Half way through the day I jumped off the parkway to get gas, eat and mail a post card. Walking out of the post office I looked up the street and there was MR MOTORCYCLE! I really had no idea I was in the very same town and street that I was in several days earlier because I had approached it from a different route. Well, I decided right then to have a chat with the dealer’s manager. I introduced myself as an avid motorcyclist and a Venture rider who blogs about their travel experiences; I told him that I was also a business teacher and always like to give feedback to proprietors when the usual happens; and I asked him if he’d be interested in hearing my story. He was and I explained the whole thing. He was first amazed that I’d travel back and forth to Canada within a week, then he was concerned about what I’d blog about MR MOTORCYCLE on the venturerider’s website and hoped I "wouldn't say anything bad about them", and finally, he said he could do nothing but apologize to me for my experience and then added the proviso that he had little to do with what happens in the service dept. I thanked him for his time and went on my way enjoying a great ride up to the top of the Shenandoah NP. So my question remains…CAN CANADIANS CHANGE A REAR TIRE THREE TIMES FASTER THAN AMERICANS CAN?!

[GeorgeS]

This all backs up my theory that we should buy and install rear tires that last longer then 8k.

 

Half as many hours of dealer labor charges, if you hire the job done.

 

Half as much sales tax

 

Or half as much time if you do the job yourself.

[Eck]

Not sure of an answer to your question Swifty, but I sure am glad you made it home safe.

Thought you would enjoy these pictures too....... (see attached)..

 

[RedRider]

Beautiful pics Eck. Thanks for sharing.

 

RR

[mother]

my Metzeler tire let me down with only 3,000 or so kilometers (2,000 miles) it was 40 minutes to change a rear from the time i entered the parking lot, to paying for the tire. thanks Acadiaman for directing me to Atlantic Motoplex in Moncton New Brunswick, and excellent dealer. the tires were also on sale 40 percent off, charged me for .5 hours and i was treated with royalty. the dealer almost sold Ohhh Sherry a 1100 V-Star. that would have been an expensive tire.

[BradT]

Hey Swifty me thinks these guys see you coming and I would almost bet that they get together and say here comes one, lets have some fun.

 

Thats why the cell did not work, you took off. Hope you enjoyed your trip as it is now "Back to reality" Teaching.

 

 

Brad

[Spud]

I usually take the wheel off the bike myself and take in to a guy in Napanee who has a little bike shop. His name is Doug... never did know his last name.... I bought a new front tire, walked in to his shop and said Hi Doug.. handed him the new tire and the wheel with the old tire on it and said I'm going to to john.... (I just had to tinkle).... when I came out he handed me the wheel with the new tire on it and said that's $20.

 

Now that's fast... (turns out he has a machine.. zip zip..)

[Redneck]

There are business's every where that don't have a clue what customer service is. I'm pretty sure there are some of those in Canada as well. Sadly there are way to many that will take advantage of people who are on the road and they think you have no choice. I'm glad your tire held up and got you home.

[SaltyDawg]

This all backs up my theory that we should buy and install rear tires that last longer then 8k.

 

Half as many hours of dealer labor charges, if you hire the job done.

 

Half as much sales tax

 

Or half as much time if you do the job yourself.

 

My rear tire has 11,000 miles on it and still looks great.

[Black Ice]

There are business's every where that don't have a clue what customer service is. I'm pretty sure there are some of those in Canada as well. Sadly there are way to many that will take advantage of people who are on the road and they think you have no choice. I'm glad your tire held up and got you home.

 

We sure do have our share. And both of us have some good ones too.

[Guest tessa c2]

We we at the V.I.P last weekend and my metzler was wearing down fast checked my book when i got home and it had 4000 miles on it and change, i had put it on on the 3rd week in july i had phomed the Medicine Hat yamaha and talked to them about it and joahn was going to get ahold of her rep. i'll try the avons next, shwe was trying to talk me into the dunlop elite series, has any one had any luck with these??

[Leadwolf56]

We we at the V.I.P last weekend and my metzler was wearing down fast checked my book when i got home and it had 4000 miles on it and change, i had put it on on the 3rd week in july i had phomed the Medicine Hat yamaha and talked to them about it and joahn was going to get ahold of her rep. i'll try the avons next, shwe was trying to talk me into the dunlop elite series, has any one had any luck with these??

 

I have 491 Elite II's on my 90. I have 10,000 miles on them and they look almost new. I run 38-40 psi and ride 2up most of the time. Looks like I should get around 20,000 out of the rear and maybe more from the front.

[1rooster]

So…after the Vogel meet I spent a day cruising around with Todd (86er) which culminated in a luxurious shower and good night’s rest at his motorcycle restoration emporium near Atlanta. (WOW! Thanks 86er.) I was thinking about taking the Blue Ridge home but got worried about how quickly my rear tire was being used up…that usually happens when Todd and I get together. I decided to call MR MOTORCYCLE in Asheville NC to see if they had my size, my brand and the time to put one on if I needed it when I got there. They had all of the above. I got there a few hours later, I checked out the rapidly disappearing wear bars on my tire and decided to pursue a tire purchase and installation. First off, they couldn’t find the tire, any tire, spent 30 minutes looking, didn’t have any other brand my size in stock. In conversation with the guy behind the counter I referred him to their big showroom sign which read #1 motorcycle tire dealer in the Carolinas. I laughed and jokingly wondered about the truth of the sign’s contents. He couldn’t suggest any other place to look for tires, he couldn’t give me the name of the next biggest city going north, and he kept saying “I don’t know” to those kinds of questions. He did give me options for ordering a tire…it’d be in house the next day and I’d be on the road the day after if I wanted them to install it. While considering this I asked for a quote on installation. He said 1.5 hours! I was shocked. I discussed this quote with him explaining that I couldn’t see it taking any Yamaha dealer that long if I could take the tire off and on in 30 minutes myself if I had access to a lift. He referred me to the service dept. where I continued to exclaim how outrageous this time was for changing a back tire. Some of the conversation with the service manager centered around how much of a pain it is to change a tire on my bike, and I responded with it only being one muffler which I’d take off for him! He held his ground, said he'd be happy to help me on my way if indeed I did need a tire. (huff)Finally, I came to the conclusion that my trip up the Blue Ridge wasn’t meant to be. I decided to hobble home slowly on the I75 checking my tire at every gas stop. On my way back I picked up some rear tires I had dropped shipped earlier in Michigan…that was after spending 6 hours trying to get around the Ohio flood disaster in Findley (but that is another story). I arrived home with some glum resignation that my summer sojourns were at an end. I put on a new rear tire the next day…yup, my Yamaha dealer charged 30 minutes labour!! After sitting around the place for a day (cleaning up the bike, doing an oil change) and connecting with some other Kitchener ventureriders who complained it was too cold to ride any more this season(!!), I decided to do the Blue Ridge!…I reasoned that I still had vacation time and the weather was nice so why not? Or was it really the ill reasoning that results from camping a week with LaPryor? So back down to North Carolina I cruised. Got to Cherokee in one day; started out on the parkway the next day. Half way through the day I jumped off the parkway to get gas, eat and mail a post card. Walking out of the post office I looked up the street and there was MR MOTORCYCLE! I really had no idea I was in the very same town and street that I was in several days earlier because I had approached it from a different route. Well, I decided right then to have a chat with the dealer’s manager. I introduced myself as an avid motorcyclist and a Venture rider who blogs about their travel experiences; I told him that I was also a business teacher and always like to give feedback to proprietors when the usual happens; and I asked him if he’d be interested in hearing my story. He was and I explained the whole thing. He was first amazed that I’d travel back and forth to Canada within a week, then he was concerned about what I’d blog about MR MOTORCYCLE on the venturerider’s website and hoped I "wouldn't say anything bad about them", and finally, he said he could do nothing but apologize to me for my experience and then added the proviso that he had little to do with what happens in the service dept. I thanked him for his time and went on my way enjoying a great ride up to the top of the Shenandoah NP. So my question remains…CAN CANADIANS CHANGE A REAR TIRE THREE TIMES FASTER THAN AMERICANS CAN?!

 

MR Motorcycles is where I bought my RSV but there is no way I would ever use their services.As soon as I drove out the door they had already forgot that I even existed .If you own a Honda or a KAWA they will bend over backwards for you.Sorry about your bad experience with those folks.If you had went 20 miles south on the same road to Harpers Yamaha in Hendersonville NC you would have been treated like family.My first experience with Harpers I picked up a nail in the rear tire on my V Star.They didn't have my size in stock so they sent a man over to the Kawa dealer and got one and installed it on my bike.I was there a total of 30 minutes.if you are ever in the area keep these good folks in mind.

[Guest Swifty]

If you had went 20 miles south on the same road to Harpers Yamaha in Hendersonville NC you would have been treated like family.

Actually, I WAS in their store and that is where I made the phone call to MR. Motorcycle, because Harpers didn't have the size I needed. Harpers folk were nice, looked around for a tire my size, helped me look up the phone numbers, let me use the phone. Cheers rooster.

[funrider]

We we at the V.I.P last weekend and my metzler was wearing down fast checked my book when i got home and it had 4000 miles on it and change, i had put it on on the 3rd week in july i had phomed the Medicine Hat yamaha and talked to them about it and joahn was going to get ahold of her rep. i'll try the avons next, shwe was trying to talk me into the dunlop elite series, has any one had any luck with these??

watched my new donlop elite II disapear to about half in 3100 miles on a trip, not happy with that

[Silver Bullet]

I have elite lll on mine. I have about 15000 on them.. I have ridden ln rain and snow and never had any problem .they hold good in tight turns[tail of the dragon]. up and back. also rode the blueridge skyway pulling a trailer, when I get new tires they will be the same ones.. just my two cents .....

[kj4v]

EliteIII's going on mine when it's time,10,000 now and maybe over half gone on the factory Dunlop tires. If I buy them from a guy here where I live and bring him the wheel he will install and ballance them at no extra charge. Good prices on the tires too....Ken:cool10:

[GigaWhiskey]

I have ordering thing online from them , I think, and do not recall any issues. But the problem you had here will make me think twice.