Regarding tires and insurance for same, I think that in 75K miles of my riding on my FLHT and 45K miles on my wife's 883, I've picked up one nail (knock on wood). I plugged that one with a Wal*Mart tire plug kit and rode it a while until I changed out the tire. It was about shot at that time anyway. I seem to recall picking up one in the 25K miles I put on a Shovelhead. Three bills for tire "insurance" is more than I care to spend, being about two tires worth with mounting, etc. Maybe if I lived in a high home construction area where the carpenters were always losing nails, I'd be more interested.

Regarding dealers, there is one here that I won't mention by name because they have not ripped me off personally, that has a lot of bikes on the floor. Each and every one has had all the "stuff" stripped off it, like floor boards, pegs, grips, mirrors, etc., and replaced with"theme" items: All stripes going one way or another, shapes, etc. They charge full list on all the "accesories" plus labor to install them. They will even strip the new front end off and replace it with a chrome one. Of course, you don't get the original parts when you buy the bike, but they will sell them to you at 1/2 of list. Oh, and the final price on the bike is close to double list, depending on how carried away they got.

 

yep! I agree, well worth it. I had 2 flats in 2 weeks. In 20 years of riding Ive never had that bad of luck, but I was taken care of, no questions, no hassles, no 'out of pocket' !!

 

No offense. Anyone that plugs a motorcycle tire is a moron unless it is temporary.It is temporary fix and makes the tire unsafe at highway speeds because the reamer tears the plys and belts in the tire.Forgive me if I upset anyone.

 

Just checked the bill from having a flat replaced due to a nail while traveling. Only 8,000 miles on the tire. With tire and wheel coverage they do not patch a tire, they replace it. The coverage also covers towing, lodging and meals when away from home. The bill was $273.84 which did not include the cost of the tow, You can bet that would have been another $100. I paid no out of pocket money and have 4 more years of coverage with no limits. Looks like $300 is a good buy unless you only ride around the block on Sundays.

 

I agree that a plug on a bike tire should be a temporary fix, and that's basically how I did it when I had to. I think that a proper patch would be an acceptable repair, though.

"Only 8,000 miles"? I'm lucky to get 8K miles from a tire. At that point, I figger it owes me nothing at all, and I'd be lucky if it wasn't corded. But then, I like sticky high performance tires on my dresser. I have a Dunop HD tire on the back right now, and it has about 13K miles on it, with maybe another 1-2K left. I'm quite impressed. I've never had more than 8K before this one. Miss that Metzler Mezlaser grip though.

I guess it comes down to where you ride, as I said, and if you want to farm out your risk to an insurance company, which _will_ make a profit, have no doubt.

 

Hey Dallas,

If you're happy with the deal you got then great!! I just replaced both tires on my bike and I know how expensive it can be. I paid $130 for a new rear tire for mySporty Custom with an additional $50 tacked on for labor. I know I wouldn't be too happy if I picked up a nail and had to replace it before I put at least 8k miles on it. So the tireplan paid off for you. I don't think I would necessarily pay for the servicecontract since I think you can save $by doing most of the work yourself. To each his own...

 

Oh I agree. That's why they offer it. Take it or leave it. I do plan on buying all the stuff to work on my bike myself once the plan is over.

 

I should have done the maintence thing, given what I paid for the 1k service today[:@]

 

The stuff is expensive. I'll be ready for my 5000 maintance within the next 2 months. Same as the 1k.

 

What abouttires with tubes in them?

Any harm with having a new inner tube installed & patch up that small tiny hole in the tire?

That's the route I chose. The bike was new with 450 miles on it &bam,ran over a piece of metal (nail, something).

Almost 5000 miles on the bike now & no problems.