Non wrencher tire question!

I am curious for anyone that does not mount there own tires or even take them off the bike for tire replacement as to what you are paying for a dual tire replacement at your shop?

I will change my oil, fluids, body parts, but for some lack of confidence and (lack of tools, space etc.) I cannot or never had tried to take off and replace either my front or rear. I guess it is because sometimes I have extra parts after doing a job!;-) Not a good thing when only trusting two wheels to keep you from pain, death or both.

I have paid $80-$95 to have my tires changed and was even quoted $90 at my dealer. When I went in they stated that the new program states 2.4hrs @ $87 an hour ($209+tire disposal fee and tax) to change both tires. THAT is bullshit. If it takes a shop with decent techs 2.4 hrs. to pull, balance and mount 2 tires they need to be fired. Please pipe in other than I need to learn how to pull the wheels and re mount. Thanks

 

Back wheel is a 20 minute job - assuming centre stand or rear paddock stand.
Put bike on stand, undo 4 bolts, remove wheel, place in tyre machine, remove valve, break bead, remove tyre & balance weights..
Add new valve, put on new tyre, balance, put on bike & do up 4 bolts to correct torque settings...

Front wheel:
loosen the front axle! Put rear on stand then put front on stand.
Remove all 4 caliper mounting bolts, hang the calipers by the mount holes from the handle bars using some string..(so they don't hang to the hoses)
Remove axle & then front wheel...
place in tyre machine, remove valve, break bead, remove tyre & balance weights..
Add new valve, put on new tyre, balance, put on bike then install calipers and torque all to correct settings.

Will take 25-30 mins if doing just front.
Takes 25 mins total for someone who does this all the time with all the kit and air / battery tools. This is for both wheels...

 

You can at least save a few bucks taking the back wheel off and just taking it in. super easy job.
Fronts are a little harder, but not bad.
The tire changing part is harder, but not un doable with the right tools.
I think it's about $40 a wheel on the bike here too.

 

I have been doing my own tire changes for quite a few years now but when I was going to shops to get them done, here is what I have experienced.

On bike, $45 per wheel. At a local independent shop.
Off bike, $25 per wheel. At a local independent shop.
Off bike $35 per wheel if tires were bought at their shop (Cycle Gear)

As far as time, this can vary, particularly if doing static balancing. On the average for me, now that I have a tire changing machine (still somewhat a manual process), takes about 20 minutes to dismount the tire and mount a new one. This goes from breaking the bead on both sides of the rim, removing the old tire, mounting the new one. That being said, some tires are a bit more stubborn to remove/mount than others and if it's cold, it can be a down right PITA (Pain In The Ass). Warm rubber is much more pliable and easier to mount.

Balancing can take from 5-30 minutes depending on how balanced/un-balanced the wheel is. As far as wheel removal, for both wheels to be removed, it's somewhere around 15 minutes for both wheels to be removed. That is mostly dealing with the front as it requires more to unbolt/remove.

So to add up the time using my typical average:
15 minutes to remove wheels.
20 minutes front tire.
20 minutes rear tire.
10 minutes to balance front tire.
10 minutes to balance rear tire.
-------------------------------------
75 minutes (1 hour 15 minutes)

 

I take mine to OOTV's garage, bring a few beers and donate to the tire parts and accessories fund and I'm good to go.
Thanks again OOTV.
The quote you got seems very steep to me. Guys here have given you good advice.
I'll be in Utah November 20th-25th. If you're near St George and want me to help and show you how to take them off and put them back on let me know.

 

I always wondered why tyre prices are so much higher here.
Fitting here is free with wheels off bike.
But a set of Rosso III's cost me AU$500 (and I only get 6000kms out of them).

 

Just to add to the database, here's what my local multi-Japanese brand dealer charges for tire changes. Prices include balancing and you can bring your own tires without paying extra. If you bring them your wheel they will usually do it while you wait - in about 15 minutes.

• Street Bike front $64.00 / rear $80.00 (on the bike)
  - Front tires add $16.00 if add-ons must be removed
  - Rear tire touring bike add $80.00 to remove saddle bags, or trailer hitches - accent lights extra if rewiring is required
  - Off the bike - Wheel only - $32.00
  - Dirt Bike front $40.00 / rear $56.00 (on the bike)
  • (wheel only) - $32.00 per wheel
  - ATV/UTV - $30.00 (on the unit) / $28.00 (wheel only)
  • Wheel off - tube only - $24.00
  • Take tire off rim - $16.00
  - ADD $3 PER WHEEL FOR TIRE SLIME CLEAN UP

 

You pay about $aus35. (£20) more for your tyres but most here will pay that to get them fitted, so it works out even Stevens.

 

I take my wheels off and then take them to the dealer. They charge $ 40 per tire to R&R with new tire, and balance.

 

Wooh...
Thank goodness my old Boss doesn't read this!
I spent a few months of a sabbatical working in a local bike shop - based in the workshop and weekends it was all hands on deck in the tyre bay.
Fitting was free if you bought the tyres from the shop.

I won't vouch for the pride-of-work stuff, and nor will I disclose the specific shop - but I can say this, a reasonable technician with the right tools/equipment can change a complete set on most Japanese bikes in less than 30 minutes - including fitting and balancing.
But never... ever ever EVER use a rattle gun on the wheel studs!!

Doing a field change, without the pneumatic tools takes a lot longer, in my humble opinion - its always worth getting it done by those in the know.
It only takes not beading it out properly, insufficient bead lube and a slightly misplaced balance weight to wreck a good ride!

Its worth finding someone you trust to do the fitting... even if its different to the cheapest place to buy! (And remember, a lot of those cheap places, the tyres may have been in storage in adverse conditions well beyond their shelf life - you'll get reduced handling, increased wear or bubbling that again will completely screw your season - so learn what to check on the tyres - for dates and things.)

Said shop had a tendency to store excess stock in the attic cavity, and it didn't always get cycled properly - meaning that when the <censored>'tard of an owner had a sale, it was often old and "end-of-shelf-life" stock... and in all my time I never had a customer ever look at the specific rubber that was being put on their bike. Needless to say I didn't stay there working for very long at all, I loved the workshop - where we were pretty much left to complete work to our own standard, unlike the pressure of a high-turnover-tyre-bay which frequently had bikes queued up out the door and down the street on a saturday morning, especially when a sale was on!

So, "how do you check?" I hear you asking - simple... stamped into the wall of the tyre, above the bead line and usually close to the direction indicator is a 4 digit number (in the attached example its 3816) The first two digits refer to the week number and the last two is the year (ie: Week 38 of 2016) - this would equate to around the 9th month of 2016.

A good analogy to tyre life is the life of beer - it completely depends on the storage environment... in hot dry storage a beer may last only weeks, a tyre may be lucky to get to 1-2 years max before deteriorating. In a cool climate controlled environment - the expected life is significantly longer. Different manufacturers publish different life expectancy, in the form of warranty - Michelin 2 years, Bridgestone 4 years, Metzeler 4 years, Dunlop 12 months.

It takes only a quick check before you ride away to verify the DOT number (or Date of Manufacture) and I can't stress enough just how important this little check may be... if nothing else, saving you a heap of money in sub-standard rubber!

 

The same date stamp is used on automotive, light truck, trailer, and heavy truck tires. This is useful information when looking at a used (preowned) bike also. Tires on a bike that has been in storage for many years may look great, but in reality could be very old.

 

Can't argue with the advice but of course shop storage conditions/prior tire handling are not usually knowable to the end buyer. I have multiple bikes so my tires tend to "age out" before they wear out.

It being cold lately and not having anything else to do I purchased tire spoons and rim protectors and took a shot at changing my own tire. Everything you need costs around $45, so just a bit more than my shop charges to change/balance one tire.

There really wasn't much to it. Not counting getting the wheel off the front fork (the Buell has a unique brake setup that took some figuring out) the whole process took me 30-45 minutes. And that's the first time in the cold with stiff rubber. I could knock at least 10 minutes off that now.

There's no magic to balancing and it doesn't require anything beyond a level, a piece of metal pipe and some tire weights. I've known more than one amateur racer who didn't even bother with it as they're rarely much out of balance (and they go through a lot of tires).

The only hiccup I encountered is the beading. My car tire inflator didn't move the volume of air required to bead the tire and I had to buy a more professional one. If you hear the two pops, see the tire beaded against the rim and have no air loss you're good. Nothing to be afraid of.

Changed the wheel bearings while I was at it, something that was never mentioned to me in the first 30 years of motorcycle ownership but now seems to be a thing to do.

 

Yes the tire dates are important. The general rule on motorcycle tires is that 5 yrs from date of manufacture is the maximum, then they should be replaced. Several years ago I was at a motorcycle rally and attend a tech session put on by Michelin. They had a couple of their tire engineers in attendance and the question of tire age came up. I was surprised but they said the max for their tires was 10 yrs. They wouldn't comment on anybody elses.

I 've used the 5 yr max, no matter how good they look, for the past 50+ yrs of riding motorcycles and it has stood me in good stead.

 

I've been riding bikes for decades, and never paid any attention to date codes until this century. And I don't know anyone else
who did. We just rode, but we didn't do track days and much serious corner carving. The introduction of pure sport bikes changed
the way we looked at tires. I started paying attention sometime in the late 90's.

However, I must say in the many hundreds of thousands of miles I've ridden, I've never had a tire go bad. I wore out a lot and
actually had a couple flats, usually in the driveway for some reason, but my tires have always treated me well.

 

The tyres on my latest purchase are dated 0202....

 

$25 per wheel, tires off. I use front and rear Pit Bull stands which have more than paid for themselves, not to mention they are very safe tools to use. The front is actually easy...just takes a little longer than the rear. Getting the bike up also allows for brake pad changing at quite a savings.