Hey guys
I was wondering where I should go to change out my rear tire on my bike. Should I take the whole bike in or remove the wheel first and bring it in.
Do I just take it to a honda dealer or a suzuki dealer, or any place like Discount Tire Co.?
How much would I spend, like $100 or $300? Labor and cost of the actual tire?
Sorry I'm new to motorcycle's and have never replaced a tire before.
Any tyre place should be able to do it for you if you have the tyre. If you go to a motorcycle dealer they should be able to supply and fit for the price of the tyre I would think.
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I always order my new tire(s) mail order, then remove the wheel(s) myself and take it/them to the closest motorcycle dealer ... which in my case is a Honda place.
For the rear wheel, it's a good idea to remove the sprocket and ALL of the spacers (there's one that's in there kinda deep), thread them back on the axle in the correct order and orientation, and leave it at home for safekeeping - until you're ready to remount the wheel. It's also good to print out the parts fiche diagram of the rear wheel assembly as a handy reference.
Select what tire u want & phone different local motorcycle dealers to get their best price + fitting.
If u can ride the bike there & arrange to wait all the better.Do your homework first cos tires are rather important.
+1 to the advice above (good write up Kerry!).
Some car tire shops might not mount cycle tires, and some cycle shops won't mount tires that you buy from somewhere else. So definitely call around and ask some questions. And when you pick up the wheel after the tire has been mounted, check it to make sure the directional arrow is facing the correct way (sucks, bit it happens.....).
And FWIW, my local shop charges about $30 to pull the old tire off, mount & balance the new one, and dispose of the old tire. There can be a huge variation in costs though.
In my area, there a quite a few "motorcycle mechanics who work out of their home garages"....
Most of these guys are former dealer mechanics, who went out on their own...working part time at home on motorcycles..........
They have the mounting machine designed for motorcycles, not cars....
They will do any job on the bike, but at much less $$$$ than the dealer......
Typical tire mount and balance is $25, if you bring just the wheel.......a cuple buck more if you bring the whole bike......
Dealers tend to be rip off IMHO...
You can buy some simple hand tools, and learn to change tires yourself.......it is not really a fun job...and probably you would rather pay somebody $25 bucks than to get all hot and sweaty and dirty doing it yourself..........but lots of videos on the Net showing how "easy" it is....
Cookie
Quote from: broken26 on July 29, 2013, 09:27:18 PM
Hey guys
I was wondering where I should go to change out my rear tire on my bike. Should I take the whole bike in or remove the wheel first and bring it in.
Do I just take it to a honda dealer or a suzuki dealer, or any place like Discount Tire Co.?
How much would I spend, like $100 or $300? Labor and cost of the actual tire?
Sorry I'm new to motorcycle's and have never replaced a tire before.
I have never saved money by taking the wheel off myself and bringing it in as opposed to the whole bike. Just bring in the bike and avoid the hassle.
Quote from: Twism86 on July 30, 2013, 08:15:00 AMI have never saved money by taking the wheel off myself and bringing it in as opposed to the whole bike. Just bring in the bike and avoid the hassle.
Is that because there is no difference in the quoted price (hard to believe) ... or are you factoring in the cost of your time to remove and remount the wheels?
For me (in addition to the extra monetary cost) the tipping factor is the
risk of having someone else do
anything to my bike that I can do myself. :nono:
Many shops I called wanted $50+ dollars and at least a day turn around to change tire on the bike. But for a wheel already off the bike it was around 20 dollars and same day turn around.
And I agree its better to buy online, I saved 30 percent off the cost by getting it on amazon. It was free shipping too.
I'm just reminded of a story a friend told me about getting tires installed without taking the wheel off himself:
He was working on the bike all winter customizing it and one of the last things it needed was new tires. The old ones were old, but usable enough to ride to the cycle shop. He admitted he didn't feel like fussing with taking the wheels off / trucking them to the shop / back and forth / etc. so he just dropped the bike off and caught a ride home from his wife. Next day he gets dropped off at the shop and rides his bike home (new tires mounted, all ready to go). He sent me a text saying "My chain is making a weird noise now, what do you think?". After getting some details and checking out some stuff, we found out that his rear sprocket wasn't lined up any more because the cycle shop lost an axle spacer when installing the rear wheel! He called the shop asking if they could find the spacer laying around somewhere (they couldn't). When he mentioned they buy him a new spacer, they denied losing the original and that it came in that way.
Basically, he had restored / customized the bike all winter, and had to wait for his proper spacer to come in from eBay (faster than getting an OEM spacer). Mistakes happen.....but everybody gets more upset about other people's mistakes. Do what you can, when you can when it comes to your bike.
Thanks for all the feedback, before I go ahead and buy a tire is this a good one?
http://www.amazon.com/Kenda-Cruiser-Motorcycle-70-17-046711719C1/dp/B000WJJJX8/ref=au_as_r?ie=UTF8&Make=Suzuki%7C1&Model=GS500F%7C17991&Year=2007%7C2007&carId=001&n=15684181&newCar=1&s=automotive&vehicleType=motorcycle
Thanks.
if it fits your $$ and is new .. of course its fine!!
.. of course ... if you wander over to the group (motions to the crowd with glazed smiles ;) )... eat the pie .. and buy a pirelli sport demon .. or even better .. 2 pirelli sport demon!! .. you will love them long time ;) ;)
but seriously ... any new rubber will feel so much better than the old worn stuff... then its up to you to carefully test your riding versus the tyres capabilities! .. i am NOT saying go out and thrash it!!!! :nono: ... go out and get used to it, do some corners and straights and braking .. see how it performs for you ... get to know where its good .. and more importantly any shortfalls it 'might' have .. and rejoice in the silky smooth feel of new tyres!! :thumb:
I had the dealer change the tire on my last bike. I used to have a 1982 Suzuki GS650GL with a shaft-drive system.
I was uncomfortable with partially dismantling the shaft drive myself, and didn't have the work-space (and I found out later some of the necessary tools and man-power), so I just said screw it and took it in.
The dealer mechanic with an assistant, some leverage, and a few cuss words was able to complete the job in less than an hour while I watched from the waiting area.
Total cost for the tire, mount, balance, installation, and old rubber disposal was $240. Ended up being about $80 in labor.
$80 for satisfactory service that took less than an hour and was done right by a professional for a job that would have taken me half a day and resulted in something broken, I'm sure, was well worth it to me.
Is it worth it to you?
The most important question is, are you comfortable with, mechanically adept enough, and properly equipped with a work-space and tools to do it yourself?
If yes, and you want to learn or just save a few bucks, by all means do it yourself.
But ultimately for me the cost of a tank of gas for my Jeep was a small price to pay to have my bike nearly instantly 100%.