Do you guys think I'd be better off buying the tires myself (online, @ dealer) and then bringing them to the shop to have them installed or just let them do the whole thing? I'm at 18k miles and I've got the original tires and the back one is starting to wear.

 

It all depends on what type of deal you can find & what kind of tires you want. The dealership will probably only have in stock, or order, Dunlops. This past spring I was quoted something like $306 for both front & rear tires replaced with the Dunlops, and the dealership doing the removal/mounting of the tires/wheels. Sometimes the dealership will run deals on tire replacement too. However, I ended up getting some Avon Venoms from Motorcycle Superstore for a little over $200, maybe closer to $250, and found a place that would mount them for $30 if I brought the new tires & my rims with the old tires still on to them. The HD dealer wanted $90 minimum to just mount the tires if I brought the rims & new tires to them.

 

I shopped around, but couldn't beat www.motorcycle-superstore.com. I found a few places that looked cheaper at first, but they charged for shipping, so the total cost would have actually been higher.

I heard contradictory stories about other brands (like one guy said he did more burn-outs than wheelies with the Metzlers, others said traction was great). I have no personal experience other than Yokahamas on my old Honda, and Dunlops on my Harley. I was happy with the performance and mileage I got on my stock Dunlops, and stuck with them.

I found an Indy that gave me a break -- He didn't have a lot of space for the whole bike, so he'd pull the old tire, put on the new one and balance it for $20 if I pulled the rear wheel myself and left the bike at home. I took him up on the deal.

About 2 months later, the front tire was due. Once again, I bought from www.motorcycle-superstore.com, but this time I bought two tire irons from Harbor Freight, cut some rim protectors from an old anti-freeze jug and did the whole thing myself. From now on, I'm taking my wheel back to the Indy. I managed to get the job done, but I won't sell my sweat that cheap again.

 

I just got Dunlops front and rear at the superstore you're talking about for $177. No shipping and no tax. They also have a installer referral program set up. I think the installer only wants $65 or something like that to install them. That includes taking the wheels off of the bike itself.

 

I'm going to be ordering soon, but I have a question. The center of my rear tire basically has no tread left, while the center of my front tire has about 1-2mm of tread. Should I be replacing both at the same time, or on their own separate schedules?

 

I dont know about anywhere else but a lot of places around central illinois wont mount cary in tires anymore that even includes some indy places

 

We have a good indy dealer here in Firehouse Performance. Bryan will sell and mount a D401 150 rear for 178.95, and a D402 MH21" front for 129.95.

At superstore prices that is 110.99 + 67.96 to mount and balance the rear, and 78.99 + 50.96 to mount and true the front.

An excellent deal and it's only a few miles away.

 

The primary question here is, are you capable of removing and reinstalling your own wheels? If so, order the tires online from somewhere like www.motorcycle-superstore.com and save a bunch of money.

Then have an Indy mount and balance the tires for ~$25.00ea. That still means you reinstall the wheels back on the bike. If you aren't able to do that, then be prepared to bend over.

 

The rubber that is left on your tires, is the only thing that is preventing your face from meeting the asphalt.

If In Doubt, Throw It Out.

The quality of the above comments are limited based on the fact that the poster supplied no information regarding the brand, age or mileage on the tires.

 

Yeah no I'm not debating getting new ones or not, I just want to know if I should be replacing both at the same time. I did say 18k miles and original tires in my first post.