OFFICAL:How much you pay for tire mount and balance thread.

[TDM Rider]

1) Honda of Cool Springs in Franklin, TN

2) About $25 to mount and balance if I recall correctly

3) Off bike carry-in

I hate changing tires and the time I would spend f'ing around doing it is worth far more to me than $25.

[Cromoth]

1)Where: Plaistow Powersports, Plaistow, NH USA

2)How much per tire: Front N/A Rear $88.56 (don't recall wheel weights so not sure if not needed or not balanced)

3)Wheels Off/On Bike: ON

4)Will They Mount/Balance Tire You Bring In: Yes

5)Anything worth noting? Prior to the job I asked the price & was told $40 but on invoice, $82. Al would not correct the price even though it was their mistake (another guy looked at the used tire I brought in & thought it was a new tire I bought there). Other errors occurred over the 3 days they had my bike + I just will never go back or recommend them.

1)Where: North Reading Motorsports. North Reading, MA USA http://www.northreadingmotorsports.com/

2)How much per tire: Front + Rear $15 total balance only.

3)Wheels Off/On Bike: OFF

4)Will They Mount/Balance Tire You Bring In: Yes

5)Anything worth noting? Can talk with & watch tech, an experienced enduro rider (John). Excellent experience. Wish they were a Yama dealer. My first experience mounting new tubes & D606's w/spoons & I'm so glad I did. Highly recommend this shop.

[REALGRAVEROBBER]

$10 for a mount and balance if you carry it in (removed from the bike) here in Missoula Montana at 5 Valley Honda. They usually do it quickly too.

[Tosh Togo]

Originally Posted by D.T.

$0.00

I do my own.

ONE TIME I was traveling and had cords showing on my rear tire. I took the tire off myself and brought it to a stealer. Cost me $234 bucks to buy their tire and put it on my rim. Probably would have cost $300+ on the bike. I can buy a rear tire for $124 shipped and DIY for my suzuki. I balance it on the bike, using weights and static balance method.

Yup, that's about what I pay for home-mountage, and if I boo-boo and a tire needs to be changed while I'm away from home, it's bite the weenie time and pay full pop to get home without worrying. Ride to shop/pull the wheel off/hand it to them/reassemble in reverse, and save $30 bucks or so for 10 minutes wrenching.

Originally Posted by JamesG

I change my own as well. BUT

Its not $0, or "Free". How much did the changing equipment cost? Even if you are like me and made your own DIY changer out of an old car rim, some 2x4s and misc. hardware, the tire irons cost some. Also your time isn't free. So if it even only takes you an hour to change tires (more like 3 or 4 for me), do you work for minimum wage or more than that? Even if you discount your labor costs, there is still the opportunity costs, you could be doing something else instead of wrestling rubber.

That is the actual "cost" of DIY tire changing.Most people will find that its actually cheaper to have a shop do it unless you have more time than money or you a masochist who likes doing it (me).

So what?...after three decades of changing my tires with the same tools, those "costs" are long since amortized.

It takes me about two hours to do tire R&R on both ends; shops in my area are at least half an hour away, won't do the work while I wait, so that's two one-hour round trips in the cage just to enjoy the "convenience" of someone else doing the work for me. .

I started changing my own tires after the second time a local motorcycle shop screwed things up: the first time both tires were mounted backwards- I caught it before leaving, demanded that they get it right, and had to come back the next day. The second time (different place) they couldn't get the rear to fully seat, gave it back to me that way, and said "just ride it, it'll seat after awhile."

Had a long chat with the shop owner after that one, asked for a refund (no joy), and haven't been back since.

It may not be totally "free", but I trust my work more than any shop's.

The only real upside to having the local Motorpickle Shoppe change your tires is that they dispose of the old ones for you.

For a price.

[spots63]

I wish there was a shop in my area that would mount internet tires. There is not so I do my own. Last set of tires I bought were 275 shipped to my door, best local price within 80 miles was 550 for 2 mount and balanced OFF the bike. I also let friends do their own tires and balance for free-they usually buy lunch or beer for the fridge which is fine. I will pay off the changer and balancer within 2 or 2.5 sets of tires which for me is a set a year on my RT and I can sell them if and when I ever get tired of changing my own or get out of riding.

[TheOtherBart]

I just dropped my rear wheel off at Bob-Jo Cycle in Sycamore, for a tube replacement of all things. I've changed tires before, but it isn't something I've done very often. Last night I managed to ruin two tubes trying to get the tire mounted, both at the same place/stage of the process. I was out of tubes and patience so the shop gets the call.

I know there are other threads about this, but I need to figure out what the hell I did wrong in case I have to repair a flat on the road sometime. Frustrating!

[Idle]

I mount my own motard tires for the practice, and pay $5 for a spin balance.



Suicycle on Auburn boulevard in Sacramento. $25 or $30 for mount and balance.

[urbanXJ]

$30, but he also adjusts my chain

[C-Stain]

LPs Seasonal in Waterville, NS

Carry in: $11.25 for two

Mounted: $38.00 incl. new wheel weights.

[Bigger Al]

I get paid to do it.

[BMW-K]

Originally Posted by Flashmo

I change and balance my own...where ever they happen to be (tubeless).

Zero charge.

Yup.

[nanotech9]

Originally Posted by JamesG

I change my own as well.

BUT

Its not $0, or "Free". How much did the changing equipment cost? Even if you are like me and made your own DIY changer out of an old car rim, some 2x4s and misc. hardware, the tire irons cost some. Also your time isn't free. So if it even only takes you an hour to change tires (more like 3 or 4 for me), do you work for minimum wage or more than that? Even if you discount your labor costs, there is still the opportunity costs, you could be doing something else instead of wrestling rubber.

That is the actual "cost" of DIY tire changing.Most people will find that its actually cheaper to have a shop do it unless you have more time than money or you a masochist who likes doing it (me).

I get paid $35 / hr... but thats only M-F 8-5... so any time other than that, I get paid $0.00....

three tire irons at $10 each... a piece of 3/16 wall DOM tubing with a standoff welded on it as a bead breaker... tires from the LOCAL SHOP (MotoZ's) cheap, or off the internet for other tires (much cheaper as i only buy when they're on sale)...

Takes less time to do them myself than to drive to the shop, get raped anywhere from $35 (cyclegear) to $90 (Maxey's cycle) per tire and either wait two hours, or come back the next day...

Not to mention, I've got a buddy with a $3k tire machine and balancer... but I've only asked him to do it once...


I do all my tube or tubeless myself... street bike, supermoto, dirt bike, 12GS, etc. I've got tire lube (the real stuff), good air chucks, etc.

oh, and tube or tubeless, I balance by cutting open the end of a 1 1/8" oz #7 12ga shotgun shell and pouring the BB's inside the tire, or inside the tube. Balances fine, no need to re-balance.

[Minnesota]

Nobody around me can capably change and balance a BMW (rear) wheel, so I do it myself. Last time was a couple years ago and I don't remember it taking any more than an hour or so. I've got a new set of tires coming from SW Moto on Monday, so I can time myself. IIRC it was just a little bit more complicated than changing a bicycle tire because I didn't want to scratch my anodized rims.

[rbrsddn]

Originally Posted by TheOtherBart

I just dropped my rear wheel off at Bob-Jo Cycle in Sycamore, for a tube replacement of all things. I've changed tires before, but it isn't something I've done very often. Last night I managed to ruin two tubes trying to get the tire mounted, both at the same place/stage of the process. I was out of tubes and patience so the shop gets the call.

I know there are other threads about this, but I need to figure out what the hell I did wrong in case I have to repair a flat on the road sometime. Frustrating!

I use Talcum Powder when I am replacing tubes. It makes the tube slippery so it's harder to pinch,

[STANIMAL]

Originally Posted by Minnesota

Nobody around me can capably change and balance a BMW (rear) wheel, so I do it myself. Last time was a couple years ago and I don't remember it taking any more than an hour or so. I've got a new set of tires coming from SW Moto on Monday, so I can time myself. IIRC it was just a little bit more complicated than changing a bicycle tire because I didn't want to scratch my anodized rims.

Thats odd that a motorcycle shop around you doesnt have a set of cones for a single sided wheel . You can buy a set from No-Mar along with a balancer . Also , Harbor Freight has a good balancer thats cheap and works great .