Need a new rear for my Road Glide and normally buy online and have it put on by my Indy but need the tire soon and Indy is closed this week. So I call my dealer that I bought the bike from. $425 on the bike. Call dealer 2 and $460 is the price. Call dealer 3 and $316 is the price so I will be there tomorrow.

This is maybe the 3rd time in the last 10 years I have had a HD shop put a tire on and each time it was just more convenient. Normally I buy online and have the tire shipped to the Indy shop.

Point of the thread is simply let your fingers do the walking. It pays to shop around.

 

Personally I go where I get the best customer service. I will pay extra to be treated like my business is appreciated and the people I deal with don’t act like they are being bothered to do their job.

 

My Indy is just over a block away. It is super. He carries popular sizes and a few brands, mainly Dunlops, Michelin and Metzler. He sells them for about the same as J&P, Revzilla and other popular online stores. I bought an American Elite rear from him at the start of the season. I think I paid $178 for it and he mounted and balanced it for $10, I did bring the wheel to him. Every rider I know buys their tires from him. Great guy.
kk

 

Local indy just installed a rear American Elite on my bike.......he did it all, i just rode the bike in and waited......for $290. Then I got a $20 rebate from Dunlop, so total cost was $270.

 

Issue with the dealerships is they typically will only sell Harley branded tires. The touring dunlop's that branded HD have a tread pattern that is prone to cupping where the American Elites are not.

 

The closest H-D dealership to me usually has a great annual "spring" tire sale.

I've bought three sets of tires from them, the latest being a set for my CVO Ultra in July. '15 and the set OTD price was $425.

Prices have gone up since then I'm sure but even if I am close to needing tires I always ask about sale prices and sometimes it makes sense to throw a little bit of tire away in order to save on the cost of new tires.

Along with new tires comes the question of also having new bearings installed.
It seems that the newer bikes ('09 and up) don't seem to have bearings that last as long as they once did.
(FWIW, I've been riding since '69 and I have NEVER had to have a wheel bearing replaced)!
My '13 CVO has 33,00o+ miles on the odometer and is on the second set of tires and when the next set of tires are installed, new wheel bearings will be also.
A little PM before hand will save a lot of problems (and expense) in the long run!

 

Years back I came out to the garage and my bike's rear tire was flat. Called a new independent shop that had just opened up close by and they sent a truck to haul the bike to their shop. They did not charge for the pickup and replaced the rear quickly and to my satisfaction. I decided to give this new shop some business and they serviced the bike a few times and then I needed new tires. I had picked out what I wanted and was ready to order them off of the net and have this local mount and balance the tires.

I gave the shop a call to book an appointment. The service manager told me he had the same tires in stock, a much higher price than the net, and he would be hesitant to install tires off the net. I asked why and he proceeded to tell me that most tires you order off the net have been sitting in the back of some motorcycle shop for years and that is why they were cheaper.

Lying to a customer to try and make a few extras bucks....I never booked the appointment and have never been back.

 

I'm not able to look at my own mc tires right now, but don't mc tires have something on the side to tell the manufacture date? (my car tires do)

 

You are correct...first two number are the week and the second two are the year of manufacture. 5 years or more is considered old. The independent was still full of crap and was probably describing his old stock of tires sitting in the back of a storeroom.

 

Some great deals some of you are getting. FWIW the HD branded Dunlops only cup when not properly inflated or maybe other neglect much like any other brand.