i've got an 03 night train. i'm needing a new rear tire and brake pads. i went into my local harley dealership to get a quote since they are offering 15% off of the tire and pads and 50% off of labor. they quote was around $260 for everything. i check with my local indy's and they were more than harley was. i talked with a buddy at work and he said he has changed 3 or 4 tires on his yamaha vstar and said it shouldn't be that different on a harley and said he would help my change the rear tire if i wanted to. is it that hard to change a rear tire??? what are the tricks and and is there anything i need to know??? or should i dish out the $260 to harley for them to do it?? or do it myself for less than 1/2 of what they are going to charge me (since i know i get get a tire for around $100 and pads for around $35)

 

I changed mine out myself when I did the Deuce wheel swap with a 160 tire. It was VERY easy, I really didnt even use the service manual too much. It was pretty self explanatory.

I called all of the local dealers for prices for the tire if I hand carried the wheel and old tire in. I got a range from FREE if I buy the tire from them to $100. Obviously, I went the dealer that did it for free. Because you have that exhaust, yours will be a little easier. The dealer is taking into account time for removal and reinstallation of the exhaust in replacing a tire. With stock exhaust the system has to come off to get the rear axle out.

I would definately just do it yourself. When I put mine back on I didnt do any measuring for alignment purposes (which you are supposed to do). I actually used the belt as a guide and just adjusted it until the belt was aligned with the sprocket and none of the "teeth" on the belt were catching on the edges of the sprocket. It was very easy to do this way.

 

That sounds awful cheap, better doublecheck. I paid $328 +tax just for rear tire R&R. $400 for the wife's Deluxe.

 

my indy wants 31 to mount and balance if i remove the wheel and bring it in. the dealer wants 45 plus tire disposal fee of 6 plus tax and weights