Stealership ripoff on tires

[2hip]

Called the stealership today and asked them how much for the 190X50 R17 BT016 front and rear...I live North of San Francisco. They quoted me almost 100 dollars more than Cycle Gear...and they wanted 50 dollars a pop for each wheel mounting fees. So I figured it would cost me 160 dollars more than Cycle Gear. I have a good rear bike stand, Pit Bull, or something like that I use to adjust and clean chain. My question guys is this...is it just better for me to buy a front stand and learn how to take wheels off and deal with brakes and such or just take it into San Francisco to a motorcycle tire shop and be done with it? I have a decent aptitude with mechanical things...
What do you guys do with tire changes...got about 6K out of the rear tire on the orginal oem Bridgestone???? 2hip

[Bird Hunter]

They been hittin the crack pipe ... I got my BT-016's for about 280.00 a pair delivered to my house.. I purchased a no mar tire machine that is awesome, but it does run you some coin.. It's not hard to do any of it if you just take your time.. There is a post here in the new owners forum titled "Front tire removal", check it out !!

Here ya go !! http://www.nomartirechanger.com/

The other link was not quite what I was trying to post

[Bird Hunter]

A lot of guy's here just buy the tire irons and balancer and get the tire changer from Harbor Freight

[head east busa]

wheels are pretty easy just Like BH said take your time I may actually have an extra front stand laying around but it needs a new pin. I'll have to check my storage unit if you need one. your at least somewhat close to me.

[dadofthree]

I've been changing mine for years. Started out with spoons and liquid soap. I have the HF tire changer now and life is much easier for me. Take care with the rotors. They bend easy, stay away from them.

[Copperone]

You might look at www.kneedraggers.com for tires. They have the best tires pirces I've found anywhere...

[Schism]

2hip, i would recommend the 55 instead of the 50. i personally feel a difference but others may argue that. try ordering from these guys for a good price and then pay a local shop to mount it. also, it would be wise to purchase a "fork lift" type stand for the front so you can do your own maintenance. the information you can find on this site + the knowledgeable people here ,should walk you through an easy change both front and rear. Bridgestone Battlax BT-016 Rear Tire - Street Bike - Motorcycle Superstore good luck!

[smac]

A local bike shop gave me a great price on BT016s I think it was $214.00 for both. 251-625-3811. give them a call.

[busa dave]

screw that. get yourself a good set of spoons. take your time and it's simple. the hardest part for me is breaking the bead. I'm investing in one of those nifty bead breakers as soon as i find one that fits a 190 rear.

[POWERHOUSE]

Sometimes you have to shop around. One of the big problems in this industry are the tire manufacturers who sell to discount warehouses at heavily discounted prices - because of the quantity that they buy. As a result, many "stealerships" and especially the smaller shops - cannot compete. I have seen customers purchase tires for LESS than what I pay . . . that is why POWERHOUSE is one place that will mount tires not purchased in our store. The tire manufacturers - ALL OF THEM - are guilty of this. They should give the same discount price to all the dealers, and make tires more affordable for everybody.

In spite of that, the dealers (at least in our area) still suck!uke:

[BusaWhipped]

I have my tire done at the shop. $85 front and rear. I ride the bike in and ride it back out again. I don't buy my tires at the shop though. They don't do the volume to get the discounts like some of the online stores get.

[chrisjp]

iron pony shinko tires pay less than 100 for rear and get over 6 k miles on rear consistantly. tire changeing i let the shop do it for about 50.

[chrisjp]

You might look at KneeDraggers.com for tires. They have the best tires pirces I've found anywhere...

price on shinkos.... kneedraggers was 20 bucks more for same size in shinkos....compared to iron pony

[rc51ny]

Same thing happened to me--I had to buy the tires from the dealer or he'd charge almost double for mounting--and I took the wheels off the bike! Sooo, I just got the HF tired changer and a no-mar bar--now I can shop online and mount my own. In just a few changes I'll pay for the equipment! PLUS-I like doing things myself!

[djsin]

We have an actual tire changing machine and a spin balancer in the pole barn
now getting a hold of my friend with the keys is a diff story???

[racerV]

Pashnit should be able to hook you up with a reliable place in your area. You should talk to him....

[amean94ta]

wow u should move to pa. our delership matches internet prices and mount and balence for $20 a tire as long as you bring the rim to them and its easy to take them off

[GoldenChild]

Sometimes you have to shop around. One of the big problems in this industry are the tire manufacturers who sell to discount warehouses at heavily discounted prices - because of the quantity that they buy. As a result, many "stealerships" and especially the smaller shops - cannot compete. I have seen customers purchase tires for LESS than what I pay . . . that is why POWERHOUSE is one place that will mount tires not purchased in our store. The tire manufacturers - ALL OF THEM - are guilty of this. They should give the same discount price to all the dealers, and make tires more affordable for everybody.

In spite of that, the dealers (at least in our area) still suck!uke:

EXACTLY...Buying for 100 stores nationwide,you won't get the same discount for 1 store,so they not ripping you off they charging you what they have to to make a profit and keep the doors open...The net is why mom and pop shops/small dealerships are closing,remember if they close that is less places to get the work done once you buy the parts,lol...it all works hand in hand...

[2hip]

Thanks guys for the information...good stuff...2hip

[jpsmith1]

EXACTLY...Buying for 100 stores nationwide,you won't get the same discount for 1 store,so they not ripping you off they charging you what they have to to make a profit and keep the doors open...The net is why mom and pop shops/small dealerships are closing,remember if they close that is less places to get the work done once you buy the parts,lol...it all works hand in hand...

I have been through this before. The dealerships are ripping you off on the tires. They are holding you hostage because it is a pain in the ass to change and balance yourself. I buy my tires online now and go to a local guy with the equipment to install. The dealerships could buy the tires at the online places and sell them to you at cost. When I bring the wheel in to the dealership, they still charge $35 to mount and balance. That is for about 10 minutes of work. I can't imagine the overhead they must be trying to cover by charging the customer $210 per hour. I can get a good lawyer for that much. If shops sold me the tire for cost and then charged $35 to mount and balance, I would definitely do it. Why should they make $40 on the tire on top of the unreasonable mount and balance charge? Their greed is what drives the customers away. I am a small business owner, and this is not the root cause of a business closing. This is why people call them stealerships. Inaccurate business plans and the failure to reduce controllable costs are much more likely root causes.