Paid $215 total for a rear only Commander II installed at a local indy, dropped off bike and picked up a couple days later once had the chance to get back to him.

 

Guys,

Two tire changes ago I switched my Ultra to Dunlop Elite 3's. I buy them at Dennis Kirk, always had good luck with them. About $170/rear and $130/front. I also mount the tires myself. A couple of years ago I bought a tire bead breaker from (I think) Northern Hydraulic. You might ask: "What about balancing"? Here's what I've gotten away with. I do not remove the wheel weights from previous times. I make sure I place the yellow dot at the tire air valve. In 4 years I have not had a wheel balance problem. Call me lucky.

I switched to E3's to get higher tire mileage. My last set I got 17,000 on the rear and 18,500 on the front. So I have two new tires for my Florida trip in a month, and it can't come soon enough! We had a rare 4 inches of snow in N.E. NC and the high is 20° today!

 

I got the factory Dunlop replacements on my RK for $405 out the door for everything. Dropped off bike and was back on the road in 2 hours, hard to beat. I like the stock Dunlops.

 

In June, 2012 my local H-D dealership had a tire sale on all Dunlop tires for $160 per tire.
I had two sets of tires (1 set of WWW's, and 1 set of WW's) with new tubes and rub strips, removal and replacement, mounting and balancing for about $ 425 per bike.
Last year (2013) the tire sale prices went up to $170 per tire but that still sounds reasonable to me.

Dealer prices may be high (especially in certain areas) but it sure is nice to be able to have a dealership to go to, especially if you're "on-the-road" and in serious need of parts and/or service.
BTW, I also use a local indy from time-to-time.

 

The shop I go to has free mounting but the tire prices make up for it. I'm thinking of going to an indie shop the next time. There's one outside of Waco.

 

Good idea. I have been going to an indie shop for years and their prices are more reasonable and they have a better eye for detail and people need to realize that just because the tire says Harley Davidson on it, it doesn't make it better.

 

For the folks wondering, but how do I do that with a tire like an Avon with no dot, there's where a static tire balancer comes in handy. Rotate the tire around the wheel till it's the least out of balance; where that tire is can make a big difference, like 3 or 4 ounce of weight to less than one on some big tires. No, haven't found a perfect balance point on one yet. It's also a good way to figure out just how much dyna beads are really needed, if you use those. Just lightly stick on some wheel weights till it balances, or gets real close, use a half ounce more with the beads. Been working for me, anyway.

I also got a Cycle Hill (cheaper line of No Mar changers) tire changer, used, with all the extras, for about half new cost (though they're having their best sale I've seen now, but still more than I paid). Once you use something like that, you don't ever want to struggle with irons again. With multiple bikes in the family, it does pay for itself pretty quick compared to dealer prices - and I don't have to worry about scratched rims, or a mechanic in a hurry missing the crack I found at the weld joint on the inside of my sportster's spoke front wheel (yes, new wheel!).

 

My complaint is they don't put any meat / tread tepth on the tires for the money or good mileage . I agree it's getting very expensive just to change them every 10 or 12 thousand Miles.

 

Are the quotes for bringing in the bike and the service department does everything? Or bringing in the two wheels?
There is a big difference in labor costs between the two methods. Better yet my way is find the tires online at a discount with no sales tax and free shipping then I mount them. Mounting a tire is not rocket science.

I get over 22K on the Dunlap HD touring tires.

The one pet peeve I have is the statements about HD's prices for labor and parts. Obviously the one's saying that have not dealt with other brands. I have found that all brands from Honda to BMW labor rates, parts prices and comparable bike prices are close to each other. The highest price parts that I ever experienced was items for a 04 Honda Rune. A TPS was a full ten times the HD TPS. $795 vs HD's $80. All labor rates for motor cycle dealers are also on par with Auto dealers. In both cases independent shops are better values. But could be bad experiences also.

The lowest labor rate that I have found is Reiman's HD in Kewanne, Illinois. $55/hr. In Feb. 20% off tires and batteries. Mount and balance a tire and rim you bring in $25. In December bring in a $10+ toy for Toys for Tots and get 25% off during their two day event.

Planning and timing is key to reducing your costs. I buy stuff before there is an absolute need. Works with J&P also. Plan ahead with them and save 10 to 20 percent and free shipping. Lazy folks pay full price then whine about it on the internet..

 

I found any tire stamped Harley to be about 50% higher in cost in the St. Louis area. Just bout a rear white wall for my heritage, harley scripted tire was 230 dollars at the dealership for tire alone, no mount. The tire was made by Dunlop. I went to same dealership, but the metric side, different building than Harley, and got a Dunlop Cruisemax white wall for 155 and mount was 25 bucks off the bike. The kid mounting the tire pinched my tube and offered to buy me a new one! Stand up guy!