July 4th w/e, no ride scheduled, but

[GreenMachine]

...that doesn't mean you can't see if other like-minded individuals might want to join you for a short or long ride. 

Post up if, when & where and see what happens.

I still want to check out some of the ride/hikes I thought about doing earlier this year.  Should still be water flowing at the higher elevations.  Hmmm.

[PAPASMURF]

up and in for the unknown.

[Vegasrider]

My front tire is shot, I need to get a new set on my Duc before I start riding out of the city again.  Going to Motosource tomorrow and see what they can do.  I'm looking to get a set of the Michellin's Pilot Road 4's or their GT version of the 4's.

[GreenMachine]

Always ask for the SSA discount, just in case they forget to get that credit to you too.  I think they're the only shop in town that honors that.

[Vegasrider]

Always ask for the SSA discount, just in case they forget to get that credit to you too.  I think they're the only shop in town that honors that.

Not sure if the discount would have helped, but I ordered a set of Pilot Road 4's from them, paid $480 which I thought was on the high side, and that's not including the removal or install.  They said it was their sale price.  Got home and found out that I could order a new set from Motorcycle Superstore for $342 shipped! Others like Bike Bandit, Revzilla was around $350-380.  I was going to cancel my order and just order the set myself and pay the labor for the removal and install, which would still come out ahead assuming I paid $150 for the removal and install, which would essentially be 2 hours worth of labor.  Probably doesn't take that long. 

Once again, Rich made it right.  He agreed to include the removal and install with the price of the tires.   I can live with that.  Either they marked up the heck out the tires or they are getting burned from where they buy their tires. 
I like to support the local shop, and I want them to make money, but I just felt that the price on the tires alone were just too high.  Worked out in the end, just waiting for the tires to come in now.  They are so convenient, only about one minute away from where I work. 

[GreenMachine]

Wow, PR4s are pricey.  PR3s, not even close to that online.  I'm still burning through the last of my PR2s, which work well in this heat.  Think I paid under $200 for those sets on closeout.

You should still get it established with them that you're an SSA member.  I think the discount is 10%.  It'll cover taxes plus some.  The deal I have with MS was for a stockpile of tires, so they were able to match price on that level with installation.  It was a unique buy I doubt most people would care to do.  I take the rim/old tire down with the new tire and by day's end I have new rubber.  For a while before that, they thought I was going to trackdays, for all the rubber I was going through.  You seem to ride a lot too.  Might want to consider doing a volume buy, if not through them, someone else, then storing the tires in a cool dark place.  I'm set through next year for sure.

It's nice not worrying about tire prices when you have boxes of them sitting in storage.   

[PAPASMURF]

kinda late to post up, BUTTTTTTT, anyone up for a friday ride. no work   meet at 4-bucks at 9. see what

happens. want to go somewhere, time to get away, need the road. jonesing

[GreenMachine]

Wish I could play too, but I have to make up time in anticipation for next week.

Lucky bassard! 

[PAPASMURF]

 

[dub]

Not sure if the discount would have helped, but I ordered a set of Pilot Road 4's from them, paid $480 which I thought was on the high side, and that's not including the removal or install.  They said it was their sale price.  Got home and found out that I could order a new set from Motorcycle Superstore for $342 shipped! Others like Bike Bandit, Revzilla was around $350-380.  I was going to cancel my order and just order the set myself and pay the labor for the removal and install, which would still come out ahead assuming I paid $150 for the removal and install, which would essentially be 2 hours worth of labor.  Probably doesn't take that long. 

Once again, Rich made it right.  He agreed to include the removal and install with the price of the tires.   I can live with that.  Either they marked up the heck out the tires or they are getting burned from where they buy their tires. 
I like to support the local shop, and I want them to make money, but I just felt that the price on the tires alone were just too high.  Worked out in the end, just waiting for the tires to come in now.  They are so convenient, only about one minute away from where I work. 

Yep, that's about par for the course in my experience. Of almost any part/accessory, tires seem to have the biggest discrepancy between online price and brick and mortar price. And the funny thing is that full MSRP on that set of tires is $572, so MotoSource probably thought they were giving you a deal! They all buy their tires from the same distributors, I think that the prices of online retailers just reflect the volume they they buy and sell. Just think about how many sets of Michelin Pilot Road 4s MotoSource sells per month compared to Motorcycle-Superstore.com.

That's awesome that he's going to install them for free, that was a big win for you.

And therein lies the problem with getting new tires. I wasn't willing to pay the huge prices of local stores, so I would order them online and bring in my wheels with the new tires for them to swap out. Most shops charge about $25 to mount balance tires, wheels off the bike. However they don't really like doing it, because they know you just bought them online instead of from the shop. I could always feel the resentment in their attitude when I brought a set of wheels in for them to install new tires on that I didn't buy there. And also, buying parts online and bringing them to a local shop for installation is not a very good way to build a relationship with your local service shop.

I solved this dilemma by getting set up to change my own tires. Now I can get the cheap prices online and change them in my garage whenever it's convenient for me.

[RedLeader]

They all buy their tires from the same distributors, I think that the prices of online retailers just reflect the volume they they buy and sell. Just think about how many sets of Michelin Pilot Road 4s MotoSource sells per month compared to Motorcycle-Superstore.com.

Having worked at a motorcycle parts distributor I can attest to this, its all based on how much they order and what kind of discount they have set up. Some of the discount for some of the bigger stores go to 20 or 30%, but they are ordering millions of dollars of merchandise every year.
I remember trying to do something similar years ago. I went to a local shop, and they said they could price match any other tire. I brought them an online add for a tire, and it was under their cost for the tire. They couldn't honor the online price, but they gave me the tire for their cost.

I solved this dilemma by getting set up to change my own tires. Now I can get the cheap prices online and change them in my garage whenever it's convenient for me.

I've been thinking of doing this for a while. I recently took a tire to RMS to have them mount and balance. I'm not sure if the guys was an idiot or just wanted to sell me a new tire, but he was unable to bead the tire. Said he put 100psi in the tire and it wouldn't pop out. Something about the tire being "too old". Date stamp on the tire said it was a little under 2 years old, always stored in my garage out of the sun and weather. I took the tire home, and changed it myself on my garage floor with 2 tire spoons. Beaded it no problem. I think the guy tried to bead it with no lubrication or something. RMS has always been good to me in the past, but I wont be taking any more tires to them to change.

[dub]

I remember trying to do something similar years ago. I went to a local shop, and they said they could price match any other tire. I brought them an online add for a tire, and it was under their cost for the tire. They couldn't honor the online price, but they gave me the tire for their cost.

It's totally fucked up that the retail price from an online seller could be under the wholesale cost for a brick and mortar shop.

[RedLeader]

It varies on what the product is, and how much it costs, but standard dealer markup is around 20-30%. Some of the bigger and more expensive items like exhausts are less and some are more. We never sold tires, but from what I've heard from Brian, there is almost no dealer markup on tires anyway. Its all in the volume.

[PAPASMURF]

going out today, after 930. was a good ride yesterday, a little over 300.

[GreenMachine]

Where you going today and where's the meet-up, you nut!