Tire Change on Monday?

[JohnCVermont]

Hey... My first three go-to places to have a tire removed/new tire mounted are all closed on Monday. Zoinks!?

I actually have the car today with wheel with old tire & new tire in the back. I called an open dealership that quoted me $75 for a removal & mount. (I passed. I slapped my forehead how silly it was to think they would be accommodating. they could have just said "no".)

Not super-urgent...mostly my fault for not examining the various shop's hours closely.

I live at Fort Ethan Allen so a place that close would be handy.

Thanks in Advance...

"Doofus-At-Large"

[markbvt]

I expect The Daily Rider would do it. Give them a call.

--mark

[JohnCVermont]

I expect The Daily Rider would do it. Give them a call.

--mark

Thanks Mark...but sadly, they were first on my "go-to list" but they are not open on Mondays.

Tues-Sat, 10a-6p (my bad, I would have endured the rain on Saturday to removed my wheel & tire & took it in) .. <sound of the palm of my hand slapping my forehead quite loudly instead of waiting until yesterday>

JohnCVermont
"Learning to Read Very Carefully & Plan with Fewer Assumptions"

[catamount]

Green Mountain Harley?

Moonlight Cycles in Winooski? http://www.moonlightcyclesvt.com/about-us.html

[jcbell1007]

You absolutely need it done today? I'd possibly be able to do it for you tomorrow.

[JohnCVermont]

You absolutely need it done today? I'd possibly be able to do it for you tomorrow.

Thank you for the offer. I didn't *absolutely* need it done today but I worked out a plan to get the car for the day to run the wheel & tires around. We are a single car household with four teenagers & a wife work that most days, therefore lots of demands on our single car. My motorcycle has turned out to be quite an important part of the family transportation resources.

I never called Green Mountain HD, although they seems to be nice folks. Given that I have an old trusty Honda Nighthawk, I didn't think they would be interested doing work for me given the $75 quote I got from another high-end dealership that happened to be open today. Although, I have found the parts & services staff at GMHD to be very personable & easy to talk to about motorcycle technology. (Here is an assumption on my part) I would guess that they would have to charge me what dealership owners decided to charge for services. The virtues of being the owners & the bosses & their employees need to support their policies. The dealerships will do what they do.

I tried calling or visiting five different places for my tire today... 0 for 5 , I didn't practice good planning or do my homework carefully. I made assumptions...My mistake. I just gotta roll with it.

Although, I can't help but use my "how much to remove an old tire & mount a new one" as a litmus test these dealerships. But these small things are important to me as customer, because the small things lead to bigger things or at least, a loyal multi-decade customer

I even tried to look for some parts today...called both Roadside & Land-Air, both closed on Mondays. No biggie.

No matter, I will figure out something & adapt to the terrain as it is. I prefer to work with small garages & their owner-operator mechanics for my cars and now my motorcycle.

Who would have thought that motorcycle repair services would be like the restaurant business....usually closed on Mondays. Hey, that's cool, Everyone needs a two-day weekend.

[korndogg]

Did you get it done John?

There's a shop in milton that can mount but not balance. I personally choose to have my tires balanced, but many say it makes no noticeable difference. I rode a CBR1000 that he had mounted (and not balanced) and I felt no vibrations or anything.

Anyway - not going to get into the argument about whether or not to balance - but I'd be he could do it today and he's cheap.
http://ridindirtyunlimited.org/

[NobodySpecific]

Did you get it done John?

There's a shop in milton that can mount but not balance. I personally choose to have my tires balanced, but many say it makes no noticeable difference. I rode a CBR1000 that he had mounted (and not balanced) and I felt no vibrations or anything.

Anyway - not going to get into the argument about whether or not to balance - but I'd be he could do it today and he's cheap.
http://ridindirtyunlimited.org/

Balancing can be done at home if you have jack stands, some good 3m double sided tape, and extra wheel weights (you could just reuse what is on there to start). It's not perfect, but it usually works well enough. Or you could add dynabeads, which in my experience have worked well, but can be a pain to put in (especially with 90* valve stems).

[JohnCVermont]

Thank you all ... I will give you all & Burlington Bike Night some shout-outs on my radio show tonight.

Because of spending the morning trying to locate a shop, I missed my window of opportunity to get my tire done today, the travails of the modern life... it will be a pain, but I am hoping to get my rear tire done tomorrow and my front tire done when my front stand comes in this week, then registration renewal (can't do it on-line for some reason...computers ugh!), inspection, insurance, etc, etc... then I should be ready to ride again with all my paperwork in order which is always a nice feeling.

Thanks for the encouragement to try balancing the tires myself...normally, I would give it go...sadly, I have another thread in the Vermont..."Garage Challenged".

JohnCVermont
"OneChord", Those Monday Blues, 5p-8p EST, WWPV 88.7 FM, http://wwpv.smcvt.edu

[jcbell1007]

How late are you up? I'll be home around 1030 tonight and could do it then.

[JohnCVermont]

How late are you up? I'll be home around 1030 tonight and could do it then.

believe or not...I will be working late tonight, big deal stuff at work.

Thanks for the offer. I will buy you a soda at the next Bike Night... ... and a slice.

Some days you get the bear & some days the bear gets you.

[JohnCVermont]

Did a song dedication to all of the helpful people on this thread & Burlington Bike Night ... hey, it's free & it's my show.

Need to get my bike squared away so I can get back to chasing down those tags.

[JohnCVermont]

Rear Tire made it to the shop! Woo Hoo!! One done, one to go. Just waiting for the front stand I ordered to arrive.

[Kitt]

I've been doing tire changes on my snap-on changer for $15/wheel.

[JohnCVermont]

I've been doing tire changes on my snap-on changer for $15/wheel.

I think that dealership was just telling me they weren't interested. No biggie. Just didn't realize that Monday was a motorcycle services "desert". I am better informed now.

[Kitt]

I think that dealership was just telling me they weren't interested. No biggie. Just didn't realize that Monday was a motorcycle services "desert". I am better informed now.

didn't see anything about a dealership - just giving you another option in vt 7 days a week

[Doc]

Rear Tire made it to the shop! Woo Hoo!! One done, one to go. Just waiting for the front stand I ordered to arrive.

I have a front stand you can borrow...

[JohnCVermont]

I have a front stand you can borrow...

Thank you sincerely for the offer. Since I have ordered the stand already and UPS says it is already in Chelmsford, MA this evening, I will wait until my new stand arrives.

My day job is crushing me right now...basically flat out until Saturday morning. So I will be trying to work on getting the rear wheel back on tomorrow ...or Thursday ... or even Saturday morning. Then pull the front wheel on Saturday & get the tire changed out as well.

Then I should be ready for the annual inspection & more riding..but now on some much better tires.

[JohnCVermont]

didn't see anything about a dealership - just giving you another option in vt 7 days a week

Thanks, Kitt. I appreciate it....my misunderstanding...I thought you were way out of town/out of state.

[JohnCVermont]

Thanks to the referral by Yesterdaze... my front stand has arrived & ready for action. I should have the front tire changed out by Saturday afternoon. Ready for my Sunday Father's Day ride. The new rear tire is working great. Always a good reminder ... very important piece of safety equipment...good tires.

Thanks for all of the help.