Big Companies

Time to vent a little. On Monday I happened to be in the big city for some appointments. While I was there I went to two Harley dealers in search of an Avon trike tire. They don't carry it. On it's own this is idiotic. A tire company has gone to the trouble of developing a tire specifically for the front of A trike and the largest manufacturer doesn't carry it. I then asked if I could get a Michelin Commander rear put on, they refused. More stupidity as this is endorsed by tire companies. I was able to find an independent shop that had no problem taking care of the tire issue.

There are several upgrades I will be doing in the next few months. One example is new bars. I am amazed that at HD they are almost double in price compared to what aftermarket cost. Anyone with an internet connection can save literally thousands of dollars.

Indian doesn't get away unscathed either. If they would open their eyes and notice all the Harley trikes running around and get in the game maybe we would have some better choices. Many of the things HD offers as upgrades are standard on Indians.

Thanks to all those small shops like DK Customs that when you call to get a product delivered a little different than standard they don't hesitate to do all they can to assist.

[QUOTE=TonkaDriver;635720]Time to vent a little. On Monday I happened to be in the big city for some appointments. While I was there I went to two Harley dealers in search of an Avon trike tire. They don't carry it. On it's own this is idiotic. A tire company has gone to the trouble of developing a tire specifically for the front of A trike and the largest manufacturer doesn't carry it. I then asked if I could get a Michelin Commander rear put on, they refused. More stupidity as this is endorsed by tire companies. I was able to find an independent shop that had no problem taking care of the tire issue.

There are several upgrades I will be doing in the next few months. One example is new bars. I am amazed that at HD they are almost double in price compared to what aftermarket cost. Anyone with an internet connection can save literally thousands of dollars.

Indian doesn't get away unscathed either. If they would open their eyes and notice all the Harley trikes running around and get in the game maybe we would have some better choices. Many of the things HD offers as upgrades are standard on Indians.

Thanks to all those small shops like DK Customs that when you call to get a product delivered a little different than standard they don't hesitate to do all they can to assist.[/QUOTE]

Just to be the Devils Advocate.......[COLOR=#ff0000][On tires] [/COLOR]There are legal reasons why a dealer will not / can't put those tires on...If by chance something happened while using that tire the dealer will be legally responsible ...And lets not mention signing a waver...A waver means nothing ....The dealer is the expert, You the costumer are a layman..And any dealer in his right mind should not install a part that he the dealer needs you to sign a waver before he will install it...

[QUOTE=rhino 2;635724]Just to be the Devils Advocate.......[COLOR=#ff0000][On tires] [/COLOR]There are legal reasons why a dealer will not / can't put those tires on...If by chance something happened while using that tire the dealer will be legally responsible ...And lets not mention signing a waver...A waver means nothing ....The dealer is the expert, You the costumer are a layman..And any dealer in his right mind should not install a part that he the dealer needs you to sign a waver before he will install it...[/QUOTE]

On tires, who is the expert, the dealer or the tire manufacturer? If a manufacturer has published articles endorsing the safety of running a rear tire on the front, are they more expert in the construction of a tire than a motorcycle dealer?

Given that there is no safety concern could it be that they would rather that I purchase a front tire much more often? I may be cynical but based on the way they operate in other areas, I believe it is about sucking all the money they can out of my wallet.

[QUOTE=TonkaDriver;635741]On tires, who is the expert, the dealer or the tire manufacturer? If a manufacturer has published articles endorsing the safety of running a rear tire on the front, are they more expert in the construction of a tire than a motorcycle dealer?

Given that there is no safety concern could it be that they would rather that I purchase a front tire much more often? I may be cynical but based on the way they operate in other areas, I believe it is about sucking all the money they can out of my wallet.[/QUOTE]

The trike manufacturer, and the dealer..On that particular Trike/Tire combo......

[QUOTE=rhino 2;635724]Just to be the Devils Advocate.......[COLOR=#ff0000][On tires] [/COLOR]There are legal reasons why a dealer will not / can't put those tires on...If by chance something happened while using that tire the dealer will be legally responsible ...And lets not mention signing a waver...A waver means nothing ....The dealer is the expert, You the costumer are a layman..And any dealer in his right mind should not install a part that he the dealer needs you to sign a waver before he will install it...[/QUOTE]

You could make that argument on anything a dealer installs. At some point, a dealer would get sued every time something they installed went wrong. And with a Harley dealer, that would be quite often!

[QUOTE=daf62757;636200]You could make that argument on anything a dealer installs. At some point, a dealer would get sued every time something they installed went wrong. And with a Harley dealer, that would be quite often![/QUOTE]

When i had my business in mid-town Manhattan 30 years in the same exact location...

And being a one man shop i couldn't afford to keep a lawyer on contingency when a customer wanted me to do something that i though would come back to bite me , I would refuse......Never had a problem that way...:Shrug:...

I'd bet money that HD dealers don't stock the trike tire because they are and have been in bed with Dunlap forever. Not saying that Dunlap doesn't make a good tire for HD's, but putting a tire on a trike that is designed for a two wheeler makes almost as much sense liability wise as putting a rear tire on backwards. Having said that, I'm sure Dunlap would swear on a couple of stacks of Bibles, that the Dunlaps that come on the Trip are the only tire "tested" to be safe on the Tri. I have no facts to back this up, Just my own gut.

As for liability issues ... HD for years has stocked and installed after market exhaust, race tuners and many other products that were illegal to have on a street bike, and they continue to do it to this day. This practice leads me to believe that being in bed with Dunlap, is the reason. HD gets a good price per tire and Dunlap gets the HD Volume. Win Win.

[QUOTE=FuzzyWuzHe;636219]I'd bet money that HD dealers don't stock the trike tire because they are and have been in bed with Dunlap forever. Not saying that Dunlap doesn't make a good tire for HD's, but putting a tire on a trike that is designed for a two wheeler makes almost as much sense liability wise as putting a rear tire on backwards. Having said that, I'm sure Dunlap would swear on a couple of stacks of Bibles, that the Dunlaps that come on the Trip are the only tire "tested" to be safe on the Tri. I have no facts to back this up, Just my own gut.

As for liability issues ...[COLOR=#ff0000] HD for years has stocked and installed after market exhaust, race tuners and many other products that were illegal to have on a street bike,[/COLOR] and they continue to do it to this day. This practice leads me to believe that being in bed with Dunlap, is the reason. HD gets a good price per tire and Dunlap gets the HD Volume. Win Win.[/QUOTE]

And they had to pay a 15 million dollar + fine and sign a ceased and desist order...

Over that practice...

[QUOTE=rhino 2;636228]And they had to pay a 15 million dollar + fine and sign a ceased and desist order...

And you think that stopped them??? Friend of mine just had a set of Vance & Hines monster ovals installed on his CVO, and the local dealer "tweaked" his map via his race tuner to adjust for them. Not sure how they "Tweak" ... no dyno, just a race tuner and a tech "tweaking".

[SIZE=3][/SIZE][I][COLOR=#333333]the Dunlaps that come on the Trip are the only tire "tested" to be safe on the Tri.[/COLOR][/I][COLOR=#333333]

Fuzzy, I'd have to think that's a dead-on statement.

I've been running an Elite III backward on my front end for the last couple years with no ill effects and it's wearing very well.

PC[/COLOR]

[QUOTE=FuzzyWuzHe;636420][QUOTE=rhino 2;636228]And they had to pay a 15 million dollar + fine and sign a ceased and desist order...

And you think that stopped them??? Friend of mine just had a set of Vance & Hines monster ovals installed on his CVO, and the local dealer "tweaked" his map via his race tuner to adjust for them. Not sure how they "Tweak" ... no dyno, just a race tuner and a tech "tweaking".[/QUOTE]

Google ; Harley Davidson Clean Air Act Settlement .....

That will splane it better......

I have the [B]Avon Trike Tire[/B] on the front of my Goldwing, no problems there.... why can't harley??????????

Ronnie