Oi, tires!

[primal]

Just ordered a new rear tire for my bike today. Apparently EVERY 130/90-15 tire ever made other than the Dunlop D404 is on backorder right now.

$120 for the tire, installed + $12 for a tube + $15 to balance it

Sound decent?

[music man]

Sounds about right to me.


Later

[Easy Rider]

$120 for the tire, installed + $12 for a tube + $15 to balance it

Sound decent?

I'm sure there are a couple of folks who will jump in with "Do it yourself; save $50. It's really not that hard." While that may be true for someone who has a good mechanical apptitude and the time and the tools........it is NOT true for most of us.

SO.....yes, I think that is probably a fair price, if you ride it in and they do everything.

Just for curiosity, what type do you have on the front? Your handling may change a bit with a different tire.....but not much with just the back.

[primal]

I've got a Metzeler in the front.

The quoted price is for me bringing in just the rim. It doesn't include remounting it on the bike. The only other option is an independent shop, and they already pissed me off with crappy customer service.

[Easy Rider]

The quoted price is for me bringing in just the rim.

Well, now the quoted price is a little on the high side but not outrageous.
This would be an excellent time to check the rear brake shoes too.

[primal]

Basically what they do is charge MSRP for the tire and labor is free (i.e. included in the markup). If I'd been able to get the Kendas it would have only been $60 + $12 + $15. The main thing is that the only tires I could get were the expensive Dunlops. But, oh well, it will be cheaper in the long run than driving my car every day waiting for the Kendas to get back in stock.

Rear shoes are just fine. A good 3.5mm of shoe left.

[primal]

Ended up only costing me $136. They must have given me a discount because it should have been closer to $150. One of my motorcycling friends is friends with the son of the owner, so that might be it... :)

[Brian Donofrio]

I got a harbor freight motorcycle changer tire about 100 bucks. I use the Cheng Shen tires. Changing tires is not all that difficult and if you do alot of miles it makes a lot of sense. The Dunlops have steel belts in them witch can make them tough to do with spoons ( I wrecked one thats why I bought the Harbor freight changer.)

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=34542 (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34542)

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/D ... mber=42927 (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=42927)

The price has risen but sometimes the only way to get it done right is to do it yourself. Balance is done using the steel stock and a couple of buckets. The big advantage with the GZ is that it uses tubes and thus you can do it without a compressor.

Tires
http://www.google.com/products?client=s ... 1&ct=title (http://www.google.com/products?client=safari&rls=en&q=cheng+shen+130+90+15&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title)

Lube 6 in 1, soapy water or No Mar solution

http://www.google.com/products?client=s ... 1&ct=title (http://www.google.com/products?client=safari&rls=en&q=6+in+1+lube&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title)

http://www.nomartirechanger.com/

The more you can do the better you understand your machine, the better off you are ;-)

Spoons can be tough I wrecked a Dunlop trying to use spoons. the Dunlops have steel belts in the sides.

[David Bo]

Question- Do WHITE WALL tires for our bikes exist?

[Easy Rider]

Question- Do WHITE WALL tires for our bikes exist?

:lol: :crackup :haha2: :shocked: :roll:

:facepalm:

Sorry.....that made me laugh.
I'm pretty sure the answer is NO.........or maybe I should say I HOPE the answer is NO. :biggrin:
But to each his own, I guess.

[patrick_777]

Dupo has a thread lying around the General forum where he Photoshopped a "Classic" look to the GZ. It didn't look all that bad, but IMO, whitewall tires would make the _stock_ bike look terrible.

I have never seen them available, but if you find them, please post the information...some people really like the classic look.

[David Bo]

I don't know guys, I think it would look kinda cool... Anyway, I checked around the internet and the answer is NO. I guess the tire manufacturers agree with you :cry:

[mrlmd1]

It may be the buyers or consumers that agree. If there's no call or market for them, no one will make them.

[patrick_777]

I don't know guys, I think it would look kinda cool... Anyway, I checked around the internet and the answer is NO. I guess the tire manufacturers agree with you :cry:

That's not saying you couldn't just buy some whitewall paint (http://www.rangerpaint.com/products/white-sidewall) and do it yourself...

[Water Warrior 2]

Nothing wrong with white wall tires. Depending on the bike's color it could look very good.

[mr. softie]

The Dunlops are good tires and may return a bit longer tire life than the Kendas. Just a hunch on my part, nothing wrong with Kendas. Too bad the Cheng Shins are not going to be available any more. That price for the Dunlop including mounting is not bad at all.

[primal]

Talk about digging up an old thread. ;)

BTW, the Dunlops were pure crap. The Kendas handled much better than the D404. The Dunlops were wobbly and I never really felt comfortable on the bike after switching the rear tire.

I wish Pirelli made tires for the GZ. I'm running the Route 66 tires on my KZ and couldn't be happier.

[Sarris]

This is from the last and lengthy Chen Shit tire thread.

The set I just put on the GZ was a Pirelli Route on the rear ($107.65) and the Pirelli Sport Demon ($90.57) on the front. (the Route model was not available in the correct front size) The tubes were $8 each.

I like the Pirellis I have. They are different models, but are the correct size and are visually a similar tread pattern.
:)