Well I called my local suzuki dealership and they want 46 bucks to mount and balance the tire I purchased, what bullshit. Thats half what I paid for the damn thing, and they couldn't even touch it til saturday. Sooo... any suggestions?
Need tire mounted and balanced...
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140 Posts
Yeah, what he said.
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1,587 Posts
sometimes shops will do it for cheaper if you can take off the wheel and just bring that instead of the whole bike.
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1,615 Posts
Yea, I just bring my wheels to the BMW dealership's service department. They don't care what bike the wheels come from. I'm not bringing the entire bike though ....... I had no idea you were taking the whole bike to the dealership. If they have to put your bike on stands and take the wheel on and off it may cost you more.
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917 Posts
I just put new tires on mine & ran into the same prob. Dealerships wanted around $60 each, one was $30 each off the bike. Fortunately my buddy knew of a shop outside DC that only charged $15 each off the bike! Unless you find a place like that, expect close to $50 + each tire, regardless of whether you buy it from them or not.
Call around to the independent shops in your area that sell/mount tires. You're going to pay more since you didn't buy the tire from them, but less than a bike dealer. The shop behind the local Cycle Gear near me charges $12.50 to mount and balance a tire bought at Cycle Gear if you bring the wheel in loose. No appointment needed. They charge more if you bought the tire elsewhere and more if they have to take the wheels off the bike, but that shouldn't be surprising.
On a related note, I haven't found it any cheaper to buy tires online because of the added cost of mounting and balancing. The local independent shops around here have good prices on tires and occasionally smoking deals which when you consider all the costs will beat buying online. YMMV.
On a related note, I haven't found it any cheaper to buy tires online because of the added cost of mounting and balancing. The local independent shops around here have good prices on tires and occasionally smoking deals which when you consider all the costs will beat buying online. YMMV.
Well I did some calling around and went with the Yamaha shop. Suzuki wanted 46 bucks, Yamaha wants 32 bucks. Talk about Suzuki screwing their own customers. Ah well, I had really good service with Yamaha, he was trying to get me in earlier than I was told before but because of work I'd have to wait til saturday. He said if you buy the tire from them they charge 20 bucks.
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5,452 Posts
Just change it yourself. I recently put a new rear on mine after getting a flat and it was a piece of cake. Here's a web site that goes through how it's done.
Since you most likely don't have a press to brake the bead, you can just use a small bottle jack - place the base on the sidewall of the tire and put the whole thing under the frame of a truck. As you jack, it'll pop the bead before it lifts the truck much. I then used one tire iron and 2 large screwdrivers and the tire came off the rim with relative ease. I didn't bother too much with balancing, I just put the dot painted on the sidewall of the new tire (indicating the lightest part of the tire) over the valve stem (usually around the heaviest part of the rim) and it seems fine.
If you know someone who's done it before, get them to help. Once you've done it once, you'll never again pay a dealer to do it.
Since you most likely don't have a press to brake the bead, you can just use a small bottle jack - place the base on the sidewall of the tire and put the whole thing under the frame of a truck. As you jack, it'll pop the bead before it lifts the truck much. I then used one tire iron and 2 large screwdrivers and the tire came off the rim with relative ease. I didn't bother too much with balancing, I just put the dot painted on the sidewall of the new tire (indicating the lightest part of the tire) over the valve stem (usually around the heaviest part of the rim) and it seems fine.
If you know someone who's done it before, get them to help. Once you've done it once, you'll never again pay a dealer to do it.
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1,256 Posts
if you have them take the wheel off the bike then around $50-60 is the going rate in Houston. If I take the wheel off and then take the wheel and new tire into a local shop they charge $25. Shop around.
A couple of the guys on the board I think have bought a bead breaker and balancer from this place http://www.tireqwik.com/tireqwik/ I been thinking about buying a Standard Set since I'm going to have to be changing my tires pretty quick anyways.
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3,811 Posts
^
Their bead breaker looks pretty good, and it's cheap. I got the Aerostich one instead, because it folds up and is easier to store. But I don't think it's as effective (the blade on the Tireqwik one looks longer) and it costs $10 more. If you're low on cash I'd skip the balancer and balance on the axle between two jack stands (which you probably already have laying around). If you twirl the axle back and forth between your finger tips the heavy spot works its way down. Instead I would spend money on three of the good curved tire irons instead of the junk ones that come with the set. And six of those plastic snap on rim protectors if you like your wheels.
Their bead breaker looks pretty good, and it's cheap. I got the Aerostich one instead, because it folds up and is easier to store. But I don't think it's as effective (the blade on the Tireqwik one looks longer) and it costs $10 more. If you're low on cash I'd skip the balancer and balance on the axle between two jack stands (which you probably already have laying around). If you twirl the axle back and forth between your finger tips the heavy spot works its way down. Instead I would spend money on three of the good curved tire irons instead of the junk ones that come with the set. And six of those plastic snap on rim protectors if you like your wheels.
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20,852 Posts
I just had a set of Dunlops put on my bike and the total to mount and balance was $75. I called a Harley shop that sells Buells and they wanted $150 for the front!!! Was too scared to ask about the rear. Like most have said, bring the wheels to them and they charge cheaper rates.
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