Cost for tire installation

[TomA]

I'm new, so please bear with me. I've got an '82 Honda XR250R that needs a new front tire installed. I already have a new tire. What is a reasonable price for installation if I bring the whole bike in? Also, I need new fork covers (which I also have). Is this a good time to get them installed, and how much extra is reasonable? I live in SC.

Thanks for your info.

 

[digifox]

Where i get mine done its about $25-35 for a change/tube

 

[btm1948]

where i go if you buy the tire at the shop then they put it on for free i would say probably $30 or so

 

[Patman]

If you live close to Ivan or Gomer I bet you could get it done for FREE (with the possible clause of a favor at a later date).

 

[High Lord Gomer]

Where in SC? These are all things you need to start doing yourself. They are both easily done with a little guidance and the right tools.

 

[High Lord Gomer]

Do you want to do it Saturday? I'll be in northeast Columbia. I've got a house I'm selling and I need to work on the sprinkler system. I should be there around noon. I'll bring my tools. Just bring the bike, the fork protectors, the tire, and an extra tube or two. I'll email you directions.

 

[rmc_olderthandirt]

Like the High Lord Gomer said, I highly recommend that you do some of the work yourself.

Changing a tire can be a bit intimidating and it does require some special tools. Do not try to change a tire using screw drivers! The "tire irons" are not expensive (I recommend having three) but it can be very frustrating until you learn how NOT to pinch a tube in the process. If/when you learn it, however, it will pay back in spades when you need to fix a flat when you are out camping & riding on a holiday weekend.

If you don't want to deal with changing the tire at least remove the wheel yourself. If the front brake is a disk then it is fairly trivial job and it is only slightly harder with drum brakes. A word of caution: there will be spacers between the wheel and forks. When you remove the axle bolt pay careful attention to which side the spacers are on and which direction they face. I recommend putting the axle bolt and spacers back in place until you are ready to put the wheel back on.

The fork covers will probably be a bit more work. I suspect that the forks need to come completly off the bike so the covers can slide on over the top. Removing the wheel is the first step so you might as well do this job at the same time. I recommend marking the fork tubes in the triple clamp, both height and rotation, so that you can get them back into the same position. Then it is a fairly simple job of loosening the clamp, sliding the fork out, slapping the cover in place and reinstalling.

When you buy a tire at a shop the installation might be free, if the wheel is removed from the bike. Bringing your own tire in I would expect to be charged $15 to $20. If they have to remove the wheel from the bike then I would not be surprised if they reverted to standard shop rates, which could be $75 to $100 an hour with an hour minimum.

Oh, and don't be surprised if there is a $15 fee to dispose of the old tire.


Rod

 

[oldguy]

Do you want to do it Saturday? I'll be in northeast Columbia. I've got a house I'm selling and I need to work on the sprinkler system. I should be there around noon. I'll bring my tools. Just bring the bike, the fork protectors, the tire, and an extra tube or two. I'll email you directions.

Here it goes another newbie sees Gomer frolicking in the front yard in the ...... :whoa:

Tom in reality that is an offer you should not pass on Gomer is a great guy and he can steer you on how to do many simple chores you should know anyways.

In our area it is $10 to swap a tire (or $o on a race weekend if your kid used to work at the shop and does it at night ;)

 

[truespode]

Where in SC? These are all things you need to start doing yourself. They are both easily done with a little guidance and the right tools.

Last time he made that offer to me I spent 3 hours on my knees in his garage :ohmy:

I had lost the spring of something in the gearbox b/c I was playing with it. Stoopid me.

When I was new to riding Gomer took me under his wing. He taught me a great deal and although I'm not an expert on anything I am capable of the basics and can change a tire without popping the tube (I do use heavy duty tubes though).

If he makes an offer of help take him up on it b/c you will only benefit from it and probably laugh a good deal too. He is a funny guy... but looks aren't everything ;)

Ivan

 

[High Lord Gomer]

Smart asses, all of ya!

rmc_olderthandirt... I was taught by a much better mechanic than I to rotate the fork tubes 90 degrees each time they were reinstalled so that the would wear more evenly.

 

[Patman]

The one time I almost pee'd my pants was in Gomer's garage watching him jack around with a pair of pliers and safety wire... OK maybe there was some beer involved.... and Ivan was there and....

 

[XRpredator]

The one time I almost pee'd my pants was in Gomer's garage watching him jack around with a pair of pliers and safety wire......

that sounds like it might hurt

 

[Patman]

Nah it was painless.

 

[rmc_olderthandirt]

Smart asses, all of ya!

rmc_olderthandirt... I was taught by a much better mechanic than I to rotate the fork tubes 90 degrees each time they were reinstalled so that the would wear more evenly.

I guess that really depends on the bike. If I don't get my fort tube (at least the left one) back in the right rotation the air bleed nipples don't end up in a spot where you can access them.
(mine mount at a 45 angle, facing the back)

As for getting a kid to change the tire for cheap:
A few months back Dunlop was closing out their D739 series of tire and Cycle Gear had slashed their prices to less than 50%. The enduro club I belong to (TWMC) spread the word and members raced to the nearest Cycle Gear and cleaned them out.

One of the young men in the club recognized the opportunity and offered to change tires for $10 each at the next outing. I think he made a couple hundred bucks that weekend and bit more at the next month's outing.

Changing a tire is a good skill to have. But once you have it is also nice to kick back, drink a beer while watching a kid work......


Rod

 

[2strokerfun]

Smart kid !!. By the time I got to my local Cycle Gear store, all they had left were 19" rear tires. Oh well.
Around here, Cycle Gear and couple smaller shops only charge $15 to change tire/tube if you bring the wheel in off the bike. If I knew for a fact I'd only change one tire or tube a year, I'd probably just spend the $15 rather than buy tire irons. But if you ride a lot, you'll need to pull a tire off a lot more often than that.

 

[High Lord Gomer]

Did it ride any better? For a 26 year old bike, that motor still runs well.