Just got a call back from the rebate company and they will be making an exception in my case and issue my rebate.
$40 doesn't grow on trees so I'm Happy.
$40 doesn't grow on trees so I'm Happy.
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Advice on purchasing new tires?
- Thread starter wikipedea
- Start date
Dirty Frank
Well-known member
Read Motorcycle Tire Date Codes — A Simple 5 Second Guide
How to read tire date codes on motorcycles to see how old the tires are — in just 5 seconds with this simple guide, with pictures to illustrate.
motofomo.com
boyoboy
Well-known member
rosey toes or mikeymoto ? I believe thats as good it gets dollar wise. won't likely find better unless you buy tire irons..
15 or 20 gal steel drum, carpet, or a milk crate makes a good place to change tires as long as the brake rotors fit inside the opening.
15 or 20 gal steel drum, carpet, or a milk crate makes a good place to change tires as long as the brake rotors fit inside the opening.
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I would say that $150 is next to nothing if you look at it from the shops perspective. I think even the very best bike mechanic would take a good hour to an hour and a half to take the wheels off a bike , switch tires , balance them and reinstall them. He’s probably making $50-$75 an hour plus WSIB. Then there’s the $4000 cost of the tire machine as well as tools, consumables,liability insurance, rent , hydro, heat etc.I don’t think a shop would stay in business very long if all they did was swap tires for $150 that their customers bought online.
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Ted does it in 30 mins lol.
That’s very impressive but can he do that 16 times in an 8 hour day ( wheels on the bike) ? He’s probably a little more motivated too since he owns the business. Actually that’s not just impressive ,it‘s superhuman. I’ve never met Ted but the guy is a legend.
I do my own. Good set of irons and a static balancer. Maybe it takes me longer, but my spare time is worth the $ saved.
This guy would give Ted a run for his money
I am what you might call Wrench-Impaired, AKA Wrench-Incompetent.
With my limited skills, I can take my wheels off and change both tires with tire irons in about 45 minutes. And this is with a lot of bruised and bleeding knuckles, a ship-load of swearing and maybe a tiny, little bit of crying.
My buddy who does trail-side repairs in his sleep, did a rear-tire removal and replaced the inner tube and mounted the rear back on in 7 minutes flat. This is with the bike jacked up on a rock. With 8.5" tire irons...
One of the largest bike shops in GTA, GP Bikes, charges $100/hour for labour.
If you think charging an hour and a half worth of labour to change two tires with a machine is "next-to-nothing", then you and I have very different ideas of what "next-to-nothing" means.
I've been called a baller before, but perhaps you are the new baller in town...
The place I go to now charges $120 an hour.
I've had a guy swap a tire really fast, he'd put it on back to front the first time. (Directional tread).
Funny part was that it was the same make/model tire that was on originally, so he could have marked it.
That's an issue with having the tires off of the rims. You have to check them afterwards.
I've had a guy swap a tire really fast, he'd put it on back to front the first time. (Directional tread).
Funny part was that it was the same make/model tire that was on originally, so he could have marked it.
That's an issue with having the tires off of the rims. You have to check them afterwards.
LOL. One time I mounted a tire the wrong way.
Lost so much blood with the tire irons, and when I realized it, I was all: "F-it till tomorrow. Cuz that's FutureGene's problem now."
I did get it all the way home and started to align it with the bike before I realized.
The problem was that the ABS hub would have been on the opposite side from the sensor.
I’ll take that as a compliment but your missing my point.If your buddy had to rent a rock in the GTA instead of using one for free in the forest and had to buy a tire machine because most customers don’t want the their $20,000 bike worked on with tire irons on top of a rock,that would not a good business model. As I said before, even if your buddy is self employed he still has pay to WSIB, liability insurance, gas, hydro, water, printer paper, an accountant, toilet paper , soap ,hand sanitizer not to mention tools and equipment.He would also have to pay his employees for two 15 minute breaks a day as well as all statutory holidays. Comparing your buddies rock and $30 tire irons to a legitimate business is a a real stretch in my opinion.I am what you might call Wrench-Impaired, AKA Wrench-Incompetent.
With my limited skills, I can take my wheels off and change both tires with tire irons in about 45 minutes. And this is with a lot of bruised and bleeding knuckles, a ship-load of swearing and maybe a tiny, little bit of crying.
My buddy who does trail-side repairs in his sleep, did a rear-tire removal and replaced the inner tube and mounted the rear back on in 7 minutes flat. This is with the bike jacked up on a rock. With 8.5" tire irons...
One of the largest bike shops in GTA, GP Bikes, charges $100/hour for labour.
If you think charging an hour and a half worth of labour to change two tires with a machine is "next-to-nothing", then you and I have very different ideas of what "next-to-nothing" means.
I've been called a baller before, but perhaps you are the new baller in town...
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That wasn't my point.
You are being charged a full hour and half of labour for at most a 20 minute job. The shop has paid for all the tools multiple times over by the time you bring your bike into the shop. Your 1.5 hours of labour doesn't cover a $4000 machine. That cost has been divided by all the customers that have visited the shop for the lifetime of the machine's service.
IMO, that is not "nearly nothing". The shop has padded it's fair labour rate by over 2X. In fact, it's quite the opposite of "nearly nothing".
I think tire changes probably yields the largest profit margin service that a shop can provide. Maybe next to oil changes.
There is absolutely no way that a shop can write up a work order , roll your bike into the shop, swap and balance your tires , reinstall them in twenty minutes and dispose of your old tires on top of that..That’s one guy doing 24 tire changes a day, not a chance. That’s an hour at the very least.Now if they had sold you the tires and got the occasional brake job that would allow the shop to make a few bucks, that would be different but just swapping tires for $100 is a break even at best.I’m an electrical contractor and if someone called me up and said that they had a budget of $150 and asked what I could do for that amount of money I would sadly have to thank them and say that I couldn’t do anything for that much, I would be loosing money.Nothing to do with greed or overcharging , it’s just the reality of the cost of operating a business in Toronto.
Okay, I'll grant you the non-tire changing tasks may push it to an hour. But to charge you an hour and half of labour is not "nearly nothing". At the very least, it is charging you the listed price of labour (which in and of itself covers the cost of wages + equipment *AND* still brings in a profit) multiplied by 1.5.
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I have to give some disclosure regarding this video. First, the guy in it designed and builds that machine. I met him at Mid Ohio a few years back. Second, that tire is as soft as a baby’s bottom, it’s probably been off and on that wheel afew hundred times doing demonstrations. He doesn’t even use the bead breaker on the machine but just uses the tire iron instead.Still a great piece of equipment.Nearly impossible to scratch or damage your wheels with it.
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I'm not sure why I keep hand bombing tires when this is only a click away....(a nomar needs/takes up garage space that I can't spare)
us.rabaconda.com
Rabaconda Street Bike Tire Changer
Regularly switching between street tires and slicks? Fed up with regular trips to the dealership? Rabaconda Street Bike Tire Changer (Patent Pending) is the answer to your prayers: with this nifty tool, you’ll be able to throw on a fresh set of tires faster than it takes to get to the nearest...
us.rabaconda.com
Just picked up a set of Roadsmart 3 for my Tracer 9 GT. Looking forward to trying them out.
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Malks
Well-known member
I just ordered a pair of Bridgestone Battlax T32s for my ST1100, (110/80 and 160/70). I've found these tires to be a great choice for my heavy Honda and this will be my fourth set. I also recommend Pete's! His prices were very competitive and the service was fast. I placed the order last Monday and they were on my porch the next day. Total price was $464.19 including tax and shipping.
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