Had new front tire installed

[Sunman]

I had a new front tire that I ordered from Dennis Kirk in the garage and with the trip to Kerrville coming up I decided to go ahead and have it mounted. I took the front wheel off and took it and the new tire to a local shop I have used for several years to mount tires. They informed me that they will no longer be mounting tires ordered on the internet. They said their insurance company had raised their rates and didn't want them to mount tires period. This is because they had been sued a couple of times by people who had them mount tires bought on the internet and then had a blow-out and they accused them of damaging the tire during mounting. They told me that they would go ahead and mount my tire this time since I was a long time customer but not in the future. In addition they no longer had a set tire mounting charge but would charge the standard shop hourly rate for how ever long it took. Used to cost me $37.00 for mount and balance and disposal of the old tire but this time is was $52.00. They did say they would continue to mount tires as long as they were purchased from them. Sounds to me like they are using the insurance issue as an excuse to force the customer to buy tires from them. They are the only shop in my area that mount motorcycle tires. Now I may have to go to Houston (at least 60 miles away) to get a tire mounted but I have heard of some shops around the Houston area doing this too.

Anyone else running into this problem?

Sunman

[PosseRider]

No problem having my dealer mount it. But, I wanted new bearings also. May be overkill, but had heard several having bad bearings. Years ago , they used to tell ya good for a 100k, now with the junk they are using I just had them changed at 40k.

[Sunman]

No problem having my dealer mount it. But, I wanted new bearings also. May be overkill, but had heard several having bad bearings. Years ago , they used to tell ya good for a 100k, now with the junk they are using I just had them changed at 40k.

Probably not a bad idea. I usually change wheel bearings at 50K. I hope I don't run into the same problem when I change my rear tires. I buy all my car and trailer tires from a chain store (Discount Tire Company) and they have the Goodyear Comfortred tire but I don't know if they will mount them on my wheels since they are going on a trike. Guess I will stop by there this week and check on that. Where did you buy and get your rear tires mounted?

Sunman

[PosseRider]

Probably not a bad idea. I usually change wheel bearings at 50K. I hope I don't run into the same problem when I change my rear tires. I buy all my car and trailer tires from a chain store (Discount Tire Company) and they have the Goodyear Comfortred tire but I don't know if they will mount them on my wheels since they are going on a trike. Guess I will stop by there this week and check on that. Where did you buy and get your rear tires mounted?

Sunman

My Goodyear dealer changed mine,but, I carried the rims in.

[Sunman]

My Goodyear dealer changed mine,but, I carried the rims in.

That was my plan, pull the wheels and take them in. Thanks Bill.

Sunman

[PosseRider]

That was my plan, pull the wheels and take them in. Thanks Bill.

Sunman

No problem Danny. Cya in a few weeks

[RFG7680]

No problem having my dealer mount it. But, I wanted new bearings also. May be overkill, but had heard several having bad bearings. Years ago , they used to tell ya good for a 100k, now with the junk they are using I just had them changed at 40k.

If I change a tire. I change my bearings. Cheap insurance.

[CrystalPistol]

I had a new front tire that I ordered from Dennis Kirk in the garage and with the trip to Kerrville coming up I decided to go ahead and have it mounted. I took the front wheel off and took it and the new tire to a local shop I have used for several years to mount tires. They informed me that they will no longer be mounting tires ordered on the internet. They said their insurance company had … etc …

I am surprised that shops would have been doing it anyway. I wouldn't.

I've never had the nerve to ask a shop to mount a tire I bought elsewhere. If I buy a tire other than at the shop, I figure the install is up to me.

[Sunman]

I am surprised that shops would have been doing it anyway. I wouldn't. I've never had the nerve to ask a shop to mount a tire I bought elsewhere. If I buy a tire other than at the shop, I figure the install is up to me.

It isn't like they were doing it for free. They charged labor and tire disposal fees. They don't stock tires in my size so they have to order them from somewhere. Could it be that they are ordering them on the internet, same as me?

Sunman

[PosseRider]

It isn't like they were doing it for free. They charged labor and tire disposal fees. They don't stock tires in my size so they have to order them from somewhere. Could it be that they are ordering them on the internet, same as me?

Sunman

HD does nothing for nothing,even if purchased from them . My dealer does not carry Avon either & I asked him . He said if I got one somewhere they would install. I see no prob with it either Danny, Their hourly is much more than an Indy to install a tire.

[1dn5up]

I am surprised that shops would have been doing it anyway. I wouldn't.

I've never had the nerve to ask a shop to mount a tire I bought elsewhere. If I buy a tire other than at the shop, I figure the install is up to me.

Same here. My indy sells parts and tires , car repairs also. Gives me a discount (no tax) . So I wouldn’t bring my lunch to a dinner and ask them to heat it up Gota buy stuff somewhere , and don’t burn bridges.

[CrystalPistol]

It isn't like they were doing it for free. They charged labor and tire disposal fees. They don't stock tires in my size so they have to order them from somewhere. Could it be that they are ordering them on the internet, same as me?

Sunman

Oh, I haven no problem with you asking him or with him complying, offering, or however the arrangement was reached. That's on y'all.

I thought from the sound of a read of the opening post, that you were surprised that they told you "no more" such dealings and it surprised me they were doing it to begin with. "Surprised" because no one I know of will do it around here, not a MC tire anyway. I can recall MC shop guys telling me 20+ years ago that they would only change tires they sold, so I have a choice (I can get the tire elsewhere, I-net, etc … and swap onto the rim, … or … I can let them sell me a tire and let them do it). That was all.

I do have friendly access to tire machines for things like car or PU tires if I do the work, clean up, supply my weights (I do). I often trade labor. Help out a bit, etc. Sometimes, I can get them to do a bill and let me pay, but the two I'm thinking of often resist that, they seem happier splitting a pizza. I enjoy doing it when I'm able.

[LadyonaMission]

I had a new front tire that I ordered from Dennis Kirk in the garage and with the trip to Kerrville coming up I decided to go ahead and have it mounted. I took the front wheel off and took it and the new tire to a local shop I have used for several years to mount tires. They informed me that they will no longer be mounting tires ordered on the internet. They said their insurance company had raised their rates and didn't want them to mount tires period. This is because they had been sued a couple of times by people who had them mount tires bought on the internet and then had a blow-out and they accused them of damaging the tire during mounting. They told me that they would go ahead and mount my tire this time since I was a long time customer but not in the future. In addition they no longer had a set tire mounting charge but would charge the standard shop hourly rate for how ever long it took. Used to cost me $37.00 for mount and balance and disposal of the old tire but this time is was $52.00. They did say they would continue to mount tires as long as they were purchased from them. Sounds to me like they are using the insurance issue as an excuse to force the customer to buy tires from them. They are the only shop in my area that mount motorcycle tires. Now I may have to go to Houston (at least 60 miles away) to get a tire mounted but I have heard of some shops around the Houston area doing this too.

Anyone else running into this problem?

Sunman

I have a client who told me last year that his insurance company has it written in his policy that he cannot mount tires ordered on the internet. He said it's because some of the tires are really old, not properly stored, could be factory rejects or knock-offs. He doesn't work on motorcycles or mount motorcycle tires.

[wheelerza]

There is merit in the insurance explanation.

I owned a forklift tyre manufacturing business, and we fitted our own tires for free.

We did fit walk-ins when they rolled in with their own rims & tires and charged them for the time and effort it took.

It was a pita, there was no profit in that. Often these were 2nd hand or very old tires that did not fit the rims properly, and despite informing customers of probable issues, they insisted we go ahead. As expected, they experienced the issues as we explained, yet somehow expected us to rectify often unsolvable problems.

I understand the commercial reason for a tire seller not wanting to fit tires bought elsewhere and brought to his workshop.

[MDO]

C y c l e Gear will mount a tire they did not sell for $50 if you carry the wheel in.

$25 if you bought it from them. I'm gonna have them do my front next spring. They do a lot of them.

We have a couple of HD dealers that will do it for $60

[John Luciano]

My independent guy does it for $20 and balances on a speed balancer.

Oh it’s a Goldwing but I take it to him. Rear tires are on car rims. Last time he asked about the other 2.

[Vin]

I had a new front tire that I ordered from Dennis Kirk in the garage and with the trip to Kerrville coming up I decided to go ahead and have it mounted. I took the front wheel off and took it and the new tire to a local shop I have used for several years to mount tires. They informed me that they will no longer be mounting tires ordered on the internet. They said their insurance company had raised their rates and didn't want them to mount tires period. This is because they had been sued a couple of times by people who had them mount tires bought on the internet and then had a blow-out and they accused them of damaging the tire during mounting. They told me that they would go ahead and mount my tire this time since I was a long time customer but not in the future. In addition they no longer had a set tire mounting charge but would charge the standard shop hourly rate for how ever long it took. Used to cost me $37.00 for mount and balance and disposal of the old tire but this time is was $52.00. They did say they would continue to mount tires as long as they were purchased from them. Sounds to me like they are using the insurance issue as an excuse to force the customer to buy tires from them. They are the only shop in my area that mount motorcycle tires. Now I may have to go to Houston (at least 60 miles away) to get a tire mounted but I have heard of some shops around the Houston area doing this too.

Anyone else running into this problem?

Sunman

I bought another set of wheels for my trike and put taller tires on it to get a higher gear ratio. The local shop I went to said they can't mount the tires since their machine won't accommodate the small hole in the center. I guess I should have shopped around more. Went to Harley and it cost me 100 bucks to mount them. Bought new take off wheels from the Harley shop also.

[Pappy49]

The owner of one of the local shops is a long time good friend. He says the problem with some online tire dealers is how long the tires sit in a warehouse. One customer brought in a tire he claimed was just purchased but the date code showed the tire to be over 8 years old and showed some cracking on the sidewall. My friend pointed these both out to the customer and refused to mount it. The customer left after a few choice words for my friend.

I bought the car tires for my tag along trailer online and went through several retailers before I found one that would give me the date code on the tires they were going to ship so I could know I wasn't getting old stock.

If I'm not mistaken, Discount Tire won't mount or repair a tire that is over 9 years old.