Where to purchase tires

[roughwaterjohn]

Hey all,

 

Without setting off a tire-storm of tire brand recommendations, where's the best place to purchase tires for my R1100RT-P? By best, I mean least expensive, with good customer service and decent delivery time to So-Cal.

 

Thanks for your input and suggestions.

 

[elkroeger]

The best place to buy your tires is the local shop where they treat you right, listen to your needs and sell you appropriate, quality tires, at a reasonable price. Personally, I lean towards independent shops. Ymmv.

[Deadboy]

http://www.swmototires.com/

[RichEdwards]

Depends.

I agree with the two above posts. Get your tires changed at your local dealer...if they will match or come close to the prices seen from the internet tire providers. My Tampa dealer saw their tire sales go up significantly when they matched prices. Their profit comes from the $40 per tire installation charge. I will pay that installation charge but not 25% more for the tires themselves.

[jcguin]

My local BMW does not match prices (they might would double them for you though). I tried to support them in the beginning but I had a number of bad experiences. I order mine through my local Cycle Gear store. The young lady up there does the best balance of anyone in the store. No shipping and free mounting if you pull the tire for them. Also 10% discount for law enforcement so that cancels out my local sales tax (yes, 10% sales tax in TN).

[philbytx]

Shop around on the Internet for best prices as they do change.

Jake Wilson currently has good prices plus you can find online coupons for an additional $10 off plus they have free shipping. Just got a rear Conti RA 160/16 18 shipped to me for $121.99 !

[Grumpy-ol-Fart]

I got a set of Shinko Raven 009's delivered to my door in 3 days for 171.00 from Motorcycle Superstore...

[Bronx Cheer]

I think you'll find some of the on-line houses will price match. I had recently ordered some tires from Competition Accessories. A day later I noticed a post on the board for a better price on some PS2s and called to cancel my order. They said just send us the link from a competitor and we will match the price. Sweet deal.

[BlueTools]

Another vote here for Cycle Gear, web or walk-up. There are many locations in So Cal. I was not a big fan of theirs for a long time (most stuff seemed focused on ricers and cruisers) but lately I have found they put the customer first and have very reasonable return policies. Tire prices are good and they will mount and balance in-store. If they don't have a tire/price combo you like, just wait a couple of weeks and it will go on sale. Or ask for a 15% coupon which is sent on the monthly mailer.

[RocketMoto]

+1. I will pay more to buy my tires locally and have a shop install them - and I can buy tires at dealer's cost from my distributors, and don't.

 

First, mounting modern tires without a mounting machine is a PITA. Second, if I have an issue, I don't want to take the time to mess around with it. Take it back to the shop and have them deal with it, swap in a new tire and I'm on my way. Many shops won't install tires unless they're purchased at the shop, nd if they will, they charge lots more to make up for the loss of profit from not selling the tire.

 

Buying mail order, you will have to pay to remove and re-install the tire, pay freight back for the old one, wait for a replacement. In the long run you will wind up spending more.

 

Case in point - just yesterday, a customer of ours with a Gold Wing came in with a front-end wobble issue. He had Traxxion suspension installed at Traxxion in Atlanta, last year, rather than having us install here... whatever. We suggested re-torquing the steering head bearings as they do bed-in after a time. We did that, and same story. We checked the torque on on everything in the front end, and then suggested that it could be a tire problem. So, we pulled the front wheel, swapped on a wheel from one of the shop bikes (another Wing), and presto! Issue resolved. Now, he had to go to the Honda dealer and buy another tire, since he bought by mail order initial, and needs the tire for a long trip he's taking starting this week. New tire + mounting and balancing... $300. Time in our shop - over five hours, we charged him for three - $200. If he had bought his tire at a local shop... $0. 'Nuff said.

[Swag]

www.derbycycles.net best price I've found on PR2's

[roydog007]

I've always had good luck with southwestmoto. The local shop charges me 10 bucks a tire to mount them If I just bring in the rims. Gives me chance to poke around and inspect some stuff while I got the rims off.