Tyre changes

West Cork Paul

West Cork Paul

Man in a Shed
Subscriber
Following on from @RA5 ’s post elsewhere, what do you pay to have tyres fitted? What have you paid. Tell me, us, how much it’s cost to have a front or rear tyre changed.

Say whether it included wheel removal & replacement or whether you took just the wheel to the fitters having removed it yourself.
 
I took both my s4r wheels and new tyres, supplied by me, to my local Honda shop I have dealt with for years and they charged me $150 to fit both. I can do two tyres within an hour in the same circumstances at home. So now I do…
Hardest bit is breaking the bead but I made a thing…
 
Right, so, I have a block of wood screwed to the wall. A substantial workbench may work but you do use a large amount of force so I have this block with large screws through into a stud. Next you need to make a "cricket bat" whittled into shape and roughly sanded up to be smoothish and uniform.(I have seen people do this with a garden spade and just stomp on it!) next I made a 20mm ply ring with a bit of carpet to protect the rim, glued onto a ply base.(this I also use, on sawstools, for the removal and replacement process)
Then is just a matter of levering the tyre down and manipulating it around if necessary. Easy peasy.
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Laava said:
Right, so, I have a block of wood screwed to the wall. A substantial workbench may work but you do use a large amount of force so I have this block with large screws through into a stud. Next you need to make a "cricket bat" whittled into shape and roughly sanded up to be smoothish and uniform.(I have seen people do this with a garden spade and just stomp on it!) next I made a 20mm ply ring with a bit of carpet to protect the rim, glued onto a ply base.(this I also use, on sawstools, for the removal and replacement process)
Then is just a matter of levering the tyre down and manipulating it around if necessary. Easy peasy.View attachment 132544View attachment 132545
Click to expand...
Massively let down………disappointed……….ffs 🤷‍♂️😕🙂🙂🙂

Thanks !
 
Laava said:
I took both my s4r wheels and new tyres, supplied by me, to my local Honda shop I have dealt with for years and they charged me $150 to fit both. I can do two tyres within an hour in the same circumstances at home. So now I do…
Hardest bit is breaking the bead but I made a thing…
Click to expand...

In real money then that’s about £67/€80 for fitting 2 tyres, thanks.


Barry Hell said:
I always take the wheels to the fitter and buy tyres from them so it's all included, guy I use would remove and replace wheels free but I prefer to do that bit
Click to expand...

Have you ever checked how much you could just buy the tyre for on the market ?
 
The last tyre I had changed was the front off the Panzer, took the loose wheel to the local dealer and they changed it for a tenner. I do know them though so I may have got a discount.
 
I’m asking this question because I don’t think I charge enough for tyre fitting. If one has a tyre machine (as opposed to tools - or even blocks of wood - to do the job manually) the actual removal & fitting is quite quick enough, less than 10 mins. It’s the wheel removal & replacement that can take much much longer.
 
I bought a tyre fitter widget which I use for the 999. I was worried about other folks changing tyres on my cf wheels.

Irritatingly, the spindle on the fitter is too wide for the 750's wheels (and probably the 310s but I haven't checked).
 
Had a pair fitted last year at a new place in town - a local shop for local people. Just rode it over there.

I paid for the tyres and I think he charged £30 or £40.
 
My tyre dude who i've used for a very long time doesn't charge and never has, give him a ring before mid day and order the tyre or tyers and next day delivery by 11am. Ride your bike up go for a wonder for 20 minutes, i usualy wait outside if the weather is good and job done. You just pay for the tyres, he runs a shop at the same place selling Motor X gear and bikes, sound bloke!! (y)
 
Barry Hell said:
I always take the wheels to the fitter and buy tyres from them so it's all included, guy I use would remove and replace wheels free but I prefer to do that bit
Click to expand...
Typically, I'll get charged about £25-£35 for fitting tyres that I've supplied to loose wheels and £50 ride-in/ride-out for them to remove the wheels and refit them. If they supply the tyres you dont get the fitting surcharge but they'll be putting it onto the tyre price. That's reasonable. You can't expect to get workshop time for free.
Removing the wheels is easy on my Ducati and KTM and so I can shop around for the best prices. But the Rocket is a different matter. I'm hoping my local Newcastle Triumph dealership will look after me there on a good supply and fit ride-in/ride-out price. They've been very straight and reasonable with me so far.

At least main dealers have all the tools and experience to work on less conventional bikes. Some independents are reluctant to remove wheels from bikes that are out of their comfort zone. That was a problem with the Harley. One-man-band tyre fitter outfits don't like working on them because they dont have the imperial spanners and specialist Harley tools, which means you have to buy them yourself. Independent Harley specialist workshops will fit tyres on the bike but generally only if you supply the tyres, which leaves you having to trailer or van the bike over to them with the tyres, or make two trips.

Harley dealers know this and they milk the situation. My local dealer wanted £700 to supply and fit a set of tyres to my Low Rider S, and I had to have the stock Michelins which aren't very good. You can buy the pair of tyres off the internet for £350. That was another reason for my decision to get rid of it and replace it with the Triumph.

Long term I'll have to look at getting some sort of lift so I can remove both wheels from the Rocket myself. But I'm not sure what to buy. My Abba lift won't work. It's a very heavy bike and the engine is a stressed member so there are no lower frame rails to lift off. I don't like the idea of lifting a 350 kg bike off the sump. I will have to get advice from the dealership, I think.
 
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