Well, being that I get so many tires I know for a fact I can get a rear tire and install from everywhere other than Harley for around $200. When I can, I order the tire from Dennis Kirk and have it shipped to me for around $130... And it even says Harley Davidson on the side of the tire. Then I take it to a Honda dealer or a mom and pop local mechanic and can get it installed for around $50.
Since I couldn't get it shipped to me I started calling the other motorcycle shops. First one had the Dunlap tire I needed (without the 'Harley Davidson' on the side but yet works on a Harley.. Hehe) for $150. They couldn't put it on but got me in with another guy who installed for $70. Even with the more expensive install I'm still over $100 cheaper than the original price at Harley and this was without a discount.
Also, going to these mom and pop mechanics I have a mechanic with more experience. A lot of them have worked for Harley at one point and went thru the Harley Certification. They worked their time at Harley and decided they would be better off opening their own shop. At Harley, you may get someone with years of experience but a lot of the time, especially with something like a rear tire change, you get a newbie. I know we all need experience but when I'm pulling a trailer in the middle of nowhere I would like to know someone with experience looked over my bike. Not that it is always helpful.
I like to be able to watch,.. Not that I don't trust them... More to learn and to look over things as they go. They tell me what's going on, maybe what will be needed and it is always amazing when I watch they find something a mechanic should of seen long before. Last year, about this time, I got new rotors... All 3 of them. When this mechanic took off the rear tire my brake pads were almost completely gone and the ware on the rotor was as if I had ridden for years. Quite frustrating... This last year the rear tire had been taken off 6 times. Four times for tires and two times for other maintenance needed. Six times and no one noticed ware on the rotor or brake pads. Seriously?? That is once every other month... Less than 5000 miles in between rear tire removal. To me, this is completely irresponsible! A mechanic, who knows I pull TicTac... Because it is attached when I bring it in... Sends me off without checking the brake pads. Rates right up there with the time the Harley shop in Simi Valley forgot to attach my mufflers after replacing the Y-pipe. I drove 40 miles thru LA traffic before I realized they were on only by the slip on connection to the rest of the pipe. Or the time I started to pull out of the Harley shop in Newburgh New York and realized that the brake cable from the hand brake was disconnected. Neglectful is all I can say, any of these things could bring me down... Could cause an accident or my death. This is in their basic job description... They are suppose to check all of these basic things when you bring in your bike for maintenance... But we live in a world that the mechanics is someone special and going out of their way if they actually do their job.
I don't know if it is being busy... Me being a woman... But there is no excuse. It is difficult as a woman in Harley shops... Not as bad in the mom and pop places. I don't know if people haven't heard of Google but I Google everything... I can probably find a YouTube video that tells me how to do it myself. There isn't any mystery anymore about the maintenance of a motorcycle... Plus, I never do anything to the bike without consulting my dad... In case it is needed for him, as a man, to call to get something done. So why do they still tell lies... Or not the whole truth.... Or think a woman has no idea what she is talking about or doing??? I had a Harley shop once thought my dad owned a Harley shop... Had one Harley shop after multiple times of bringing in my bike for the same thing sent my dad a gift... My dad!... Who doesn't own the bike... And his time want wasted... But sent him a gift.
No one knows their bike better than the person who rides it everyday. I have 117,000 miles to know Blue so I know every squeak, bobble, and bump to her. No mechanic can tell me something I don't already know, I have been telling the mechanics for quite some time there was something wrong with the back brake but yet they said it was nothing... I didn't know how to use my brakes... It's because I pull a trailer.., I need to learn to downshift.
The only difference between a woman and a man comes when birthing babies. Other than that a woman can do everything a man can do. I do everything a man does on a motorcycle but I pull a trailer. Nothing is more frustrating than a man coming up to me, grunting, spitting, grabbing his crotch (sometimes I think they may lift a leg) to tell me my bike is a bit big for me... Or the trailer is a little big for my bike... And always ending with sweetheart, honey or babe. I give them a look and say I've been on the road for 2 1/2 years and have almost 117,000 miles on my bike... I think we are ok. They then get a shocked look and walk away. I take a deep breath and tell myself that meeting these type of people will change the way they view the world. They may have never known a woman who rode... or who lived on the road. There are many of us and by living our truth and doing what we want we change the view of each person we meet. So, taking a deep breath I am thankful Blue got some work done. She needs an oil change but I think I will do that myself at my next stop.
Oy. Glad this issue is finally identified for you . Agree 100% with your sentiments on dealing with sloppy patronizing sexist crotch-grabbing mechanics.
ReplyDeleteIt may be wholesale incompetance more than sexism. Practice talking to a mechanic like you are their equal. Tell them all your horror stories of dealing with other mechanics. --- then watch them not screw up on yours. As for the tire prices thanks for the warning. I need to get new ones in my VTX1300 and was wondering about the cost.
ReplyDeleteWhen they allow me to see the mechanic I always tell my horror stories and sarcastically tell them they better not leave me stranded. haha
Deleteeverything both of said is true. i'm a master plumber and a licensed electrician. almost all of our customers are women. stfu and listen. make notes. if i see something wrong i consider it my job to tell you once. it doesn't need to be in my field. but it needs said. no job is complete until thank you is said and meant.
ReplyDeletemy brother went one of motorcycle schools in florida. nobody was paying more than minimum wage + spiff. spiff was chump change. he went to work at the local school system at substantially more as a janitor.
tires are not a favorite job. i do my own. go to sears get a socket set and open/box combo set. do you own work. i'm not being a smart ass here. although i can be. 4' piece of pipe to help the socket set along. i have two 5" pieces in my work truck. they are to big for a motorcycle. 4' and you jump up and down on the pipe. usually standing on it will do. aluminum pipe wrench. pipe should fit pipe wrench handle. 4x5 5x6 5x5 drop cloth. just one or two. it is easier to find what you just dropped. i never drop anything. i would not buy any manuals. i get all the instruction i need from youtube. do not use pipe to tighten, you may never get it apart.
rotors. buy a mic at harbor freight. hell just look at them if they are grooved badly get a new one. buy a good grade. same with pads. dennis sells em. call and ask for input. your stopping a lot more weight than a stock bike. my experience with online sales are that they mostly want to sell you what you need. mostly. there is a reason that they monitor the calls and it ain't for our protection.
one reason the mechanics don't pay any mind to rear brakes is that the front brakes do most of the work. 75% to 90%. you still need a rear brake. you will need a torque wrench for rotors.
i was mechanic in college. that paid for my education, such as it is. i worked on foreign cars. i'm 70. i was the only mechanic around that would work on em period. sears metric tools and i was in business. it drives me nuts to see this kind of work. i try to never leave any money on the table. if something needs done i want to do it.
YOU can do any of stuff that you have paying these idiots to do.YOU can do it better. this may sound sexist, women have a better attention to detail. motorcycle are easy to work on, mostly everything is right out in the open. you had a pic of being next to someone you knew, great time to work on the bike. somebody to help and gopher.
actually men get the same shitty service. mostly they are at least polite to me as i have guns in the doors of all my vehicles and in my pocket. you should not have to do that. i'm back to servicing my vehicles myself. my mechanics both retired and the shops now are staffed with techs. techs are part changers.
well i'm going to quit. YOU can do it. i make notes on the sequence. you are college educated, you can do this.
ice cream, raz
I'm learning as I go. When I visit my dad we spend a few days going over everything and learning maintenance as we go. My dad is good with that sort of stuff but sometimes a good youtube video is helpful. :)
Deletetires. the only place to put a car tyre is on a car. the dynamics of bike and car tyres is quite different. look at pic above. it rolls over in a turn. look at a car tyre. if it rolls over a wreck is right behind. watch cars that fly around you, their tyres don't roll. also the reason motorcycles don't float or hydroplane on water is that the contact area is small and the tyre pushes the water away.
ReplyDeletei googled "harley davidson forums", about 10 came up. use search. enjoy. dennis sells tyres. lots. the sizes look to be right. side hacks sometimes use car tyres. if you keep 3 tyres on ground the the dynamics or similar to cars. mostly. if at 80mph if you don't have 3 on deck, well it could be a long day. most of the hds that i see with a car tyre are tt bikers. full tilt boggy tavern to tavern. seriously. straight roads. slow down to turn a corner, then give holy hell down the straight away. putt home and get the car if it rains. you did not put 117.000 miles on you bike riding like that. if you think i'm kidding about the tt part, well i'm not.
in have memories of people so drunk that they would raise the kick stand, fall over with the bike and then lay there trying to kick start. i'm still laughing. as far as using dunlaps well never had a problem with then. all my brit bikes had them. laps are fine. i would call dennis and ask about you needs. pulling you trailer is bound it cause more wear than without. read the forums.
www.ridermagazine.com has an article "tales from the dark side: putting car tires on motorcycles". i googled "harley davidson with car tires".
ride safe.
ice cream, raz
I'm not courageous enough for car tires. I like my Dunlaps. I had a different tire put on in Utah last year and it didn't last worth anything. It is just part of pulling a trailer and I realize that. I would rather have to buy a new tire every 5000 miles and be safe than get an extra few miles and not feeling confident.
DeleteI'm sitting at a Toyota dealership reading this right now!
ReplyDeleteI'm here because about ten days ago I had them do a tune-up. I drove over 200 miles today due to work. I hear a sudden bad rattle. The parts tech forgot to bolt down all four bolts on the engine cover!!
I was pretty angry when I got here.
I can do much of my own work but they keep making things more
Ugh!! That is all I can say. Best, if you can, to do it yourself.
DeleteNice website. Keep up the riding and good work. I'll follow you.
ReplyDeleteI'm inspired by women who will launch out on the open road and ride. Many have been doing it for over one hundred years but for some reason in recent decades you never seem to hear of it.
Good for you.
thanks for this post
ReplyDeleteWhy are awful streets considered the most noticeably bad foes of feels worn out on truck? In the event that a tire keeps running on a smooth surface through its whole life, odds are high that it would give better administration over longer length of time. Then again, if the tire is well determined on awful surface for the duration of its life, odds are high that its execution would be not as much as half of its unique and planned execution.
ReplyDeleteWhy are awful streets considered the most exceedingly bad foes of feels burnt out on truck? On the off chance that a tire keeps running on a smooth surface through its whole life, odds are high that it would give better administration over longer term. Then again, if the tire is well determined on terrible surface for the duration of its life, odds are high that its execution would be not as much as half of its unique and proposed execution.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of bike tires accessible available. In any case, in the event that you are riding your Harley-Davidson, then you will want to ride official Harley tires-and unquestionably not some reseller's exchange knock off. Numerous organizations create and plan tires particularly to fit Harley motorbikes. A considerable lot of the tires are made for cruising, visiting, and wearing. View more
ReplyDeleteHarley-Davidson Motorcycles has been Americas favorite motorcycle since the beginning of the century. Winning many races and helping the military, they became the image of Hell's Angles and outlaw bikers, but many may not know that Harley-Davidson got it's start by being number one in Motorcycle racing.
ReplyDeleteUpgrade your Meteor 650 riding experience with the sleek and functional Meteor 650 Side Boxes. These side boxes are meticulously designed to seamlessly integrate with your motorcycle, offering ample storage space while complementing its aesthetics. Crafted with durable materials, these side boxes provide protection for your belongings during your adventures on the road. Whether you're embarking on a long-distance journey or commuting through the city, the Meteor 650 Side Boxes offer convenience and versatility, allowing you to carry essential items with ease. With easy installation and a secure locking mechanism, these side boxes are the perfect accessory to enhance both the practicality and style of your Meteor 650, ensuring you're always prepared for wherever the road may lead.
ReplyDelete