I learned I need to learn more about wrenching - Motorcycle-Journal Forums

St0nkingByte · 06-28-2005, 01:14 PM

So about a month ago I ordered some new tires for my bike off the internet, Metzelers. I got a great deal on them. Literally $100-$150 less than the local shops were quoting for the same tires. My plan was to get the tires, pull the wheels off and take them to a shop to get mounted on the rims. Then I got sick and used up a bunch of sick/comp time at work. Now I'm back on the road and my rear tire is looking bald and needed the tires swapped and need it done now because I'm still feeling kind of sick and I need my bike to ride to work every day. I start calling shops, yeah we can do it, leave the bike with us for a week. A week? To mount tires? WTF. Finally I call a couple larger shops. Yeah they can do it in a couple hours just leave the bike with us for a day. I'm so happy to find a shop that doesn't have the leave it here for a week attitude I don't even ask about price dumdumdum.

This morning I drop the bike off at the shop with the new tires. The gal says hey I need you to sign here, oh by the way it will be $220. I'm like $220!? She says well yeah the labor for the front is this and the back is that and etc etc. So I do the math real quick and figure out that by ordering the tires off the net I've saved -$10. Yeah its costing me $10 more than if I'd bought the same tires there and had them mount them.

Now if I'd pulled the wheels off the bike myself I would have saved a fair amount of money. Man I gotta learn how to do that.