Ducati Monster Forum

Whats the going rate for having new tires installed?  I found an awesome deal for a pair of Pilot Road 2 tires online and will need to get them installed. 

Shop near me wanted 120.00 for both installed. So I did them for free at my buddies with his tire machine. [beer]

I just got both tires done for $50. If you're in the L.A. area I could point you to this place.

Remember you get what you pay for. Scratched rims and not balancing tire could come from looking for cheapest shop.

it can come at full price, too... ask me how i know.

on the bright side, i did get two brand new wheels out of the deal.

Cycle Gear has locations everywhere and I've had good luck with them in the past.

Second that.  I paid $50 bucks to have an old tire taken off my chrome rim and the shop butchered the rim.  I paid top dollar for them the ruin the rim and they claimed it was collateral damage. :(

^ someone would get hurt if they told me it was collateral damage.


that is why i do tire changes my self with a tire iron. though with teh way my wheel looks as of now ( scratched up from the 3 crashed) i could care less. :P i actually wouldnt pay someone to  change my wheel just cause i feel like they are doing me a favor by scratching it up for free. :

I'm in Germany, but a local auto shop charged me 11.00 Euro per tire, balanced too.  Thought it was a pretty sweet deal.

The local Ducati dealer here charges $41/tire. A performance shop in town charges $55/tire. I went with the performance shop because I really liked the tech. He knew his stuff and didn't treat me like an idiot. He treated my bike like a queen, scrubbed the tires, washed the wheels, and cleaned/lubed/adjusted the chain. The additional cost was well worth it to me. You don't always get what you pay for but in this case I did.

That's roughly what they charge around me. It's about $20 more if the wheels are on the bike than if you just bring in the rims. I've always just bought tires at the shop and dropped off the bike, but as I've gotten more skilled working on the thing and less afraid to do basic mechanics, I'll be dropping off rims (at least until I meet someone with a tire mounting setup).

IIRC my local dealership charges 25/wheel to mount and balance.

Should probably note if these prices folks are tossing out are for just mount and balance (wheel off the bike) or with pulling the wheel off and tire work...

about the same price i Cro  [thumbsup]


although some people had similar problems with some shops  :-\
when you find a good one stick with it  ;D

I've never seen it less than $30/tire and that was a small shop out of a guy's garage.

The dealers tend to charge around $50-60 per tire around here.

It blows my mind because I got my tires mounted at NTW for $15 each with tires that I bought online (Tirerack.com)

Granted, they do more tire installs on cars than bike places do on bikes, but come on...

That's about what I see, although vendors at a track day will usually do it for $10/wheel.  [thumbsup]

For the shops it was explained to me as a risk issue. If someone brings in tires from the internet the shop didn't make any money on the sale, but if the rider wads it on cold/new tires leaving the parking lot they may bring it back on the shop somehow. To offset that they charge a very high fee because they really don't want to do the work. It is worth noting that the shop that told me this would mount/balance your tires for free (off the bike) if you bought the tires from them.

I don't understand shops that charge $30+/wheel to mount when you bought the tires from them. It should be free, or at least very cheap. Hell, I can change a set of tires in about 1/2 hour in my garage...a tech that does it all the time can do it faster than that I would suspect.

That's an absolute bullshit legal argument.  It's not like you made the tires at home, you buy new DOT approved tires of the correct size and put them on your bike.  Period.  Unless the shop mis-mounts them or allows you to put incorrectly-sized tires on your wheels without getting you to indemnify them, they would NEVER incur liability. 

The real reason is that the cost to mount them is loaded into their tire prices.  WHen I can buy the same tire online for $50-60 cheaper than the retails shop has them for, you see why they get irritated when someone brings tires in.

I priced a set of tires for my 600ss and found the Pilot Powers to be nearly 110 cheaper for the pair than the dealer. 

I would think so as well. Just reporting what i was told. In then end, the real reason is they don't want to mount them since you didn't buy them there, so they charge an outrageous fee.

Which is why I now own a tire changer.  [thumbsup]

well you're in seattle, you smarmy bastard, so it doesn't help me at all!   [wine]

Come by my house and bring a 6 pack and we'll get it knocked out in no time  [drink]

One could argue that SSS should get a discount.

I thought you were gonna snag one of those harbor freight changers a while back ???  I was getting ready to invite myself over to put some new shoes on the daytona.

I remove the wheels and take them to the dealer, buy their tires and they mount them for $20 ea.  I balance them at home because I want them balanced correctly.  The shop uses a machine that never leaves even a hint of a scratch and takes about 2 min. per wheel to remove and install the new tire.

I like to support a local shop and they give me good deals compared to what I can get online.  Until a couple years ago I used 4 or 5 rears and two fronts a year at least.

LA

I was!! And then I went to the store with my big ole 20% off coupon and ..well. something about it just skeeved me.  It really seemed flimsy.   I can't explain better than that. I have held off, I might save up for one of the better ones.

And now it's no longer in their catalogue.. ???  Part # 42927 doesn't exist...

Here's the deal.  Everyone around me charges roughly $150 to mount and ballance.  Thats with the shop taking the wheels off the bike.  I think I might just take the wheels to them and put the wheels back on myself.  Its funny how some shops will give attitude if you dont buy the tires from them.  I did give the shops a try with pricing the job if I bought the tires from them and it was astronomically high.  Even with paying full boat, dealer prices, they still wanted to charge the $150 install.

I am lucky that a friend of mine does it for free for me.  He usually charges $20 to take it off and mount it.  We bought the tools together but I have no clue how to use.

There is another guy that has small business replacing tires for bikers.  He comes to you with his tools and mounts and balances it.  Cost about $50 last time I checked.

$20 a wheel if you bring them in, $65 if you ride in at my local shop

Does anyone have an alternative to the No-Mar changer?

it's freakin' expensive.  I mean over the top. 

I can pick up a used air powered Coates shop changer for half what the No Mar sells for.

Same company, less expensive version
http://www.nomartirechanger.com/products/4 (http://www.nomartirechanger.com/products/4)

I know a guy at the Bakersfield store. ;-)

howie, thanks.  i saw comments about cycle hill's but couldn't find it online anymore, the link just said it was made by nomar now and i didn't see it on their site. 

i think i have a purchase in the future....

I bought a No-Mar a few years back.  We were doing 6 to 10 tires a year at $40 off the bike.  And it's a PITA to drive to the shop, wait around and drive back.  The guys I trust are a 45 minute drive, the wrong way from anywhere.

In hind sight, you young guys save your money and buy one.  The saving in PITA beyond the $$$ saved was well worth it.  I used to change my own in the bias ply days, tried a few radials but always ended up scratching something.  The first time my kid and I broke a bead with that No-Mar, we just stood and looked at each other with a stoopid grin.  I should have bought one years ago.

Jug of whiskey will get it done for ya in Andover MN.  GOOD whiskey

I just paid 40 for the mount and balance and 120 for a n pilot power. Fair I think as they had the parts in stock, did all the work and lubes and adjusted my chain.

Thanks Moto Forza [thumbsup]

The Cycle Hill is what I have. It's nice.

A buddy of mine has the HF one...it sucks, and wasn't even useable without modifications. Plus, he still bought the No-Mar bar, yellow thing, and such.