Have you run into this?

[DavidR3R]

As far as I'm aware all parts have a markup for the shop and then there's the labour charge on top. I suppose they have to make a profit but as said already it should be fair. The good shops will discount the labour if they get enough from the tyre sale. In my area the dealer will only supply and fit. Local bike shop will let me buy over the Internet as he only makes £20 on a tyre and I'm a regular repeat customer.

 

[TURBO200R4]

carried in wheel and had a tire put on $20 mount & bal at the triumph dealer
if the dealer doesn't charge he will go out of business.

 

[EasTexRIII]

Dealerships that take the stance of not mounting/balancing a tire unless they sell you the tire have the attitude of: "You wouldn't go to the local grocery store & buy a T-bone steak, then take it to Outback restaurant & ask them to cook it for you" would ya?
Well................ that may not be a bad idea if it would work!
I recently bought an Avon Cobra front tire 140/75R17 for $113.88 w/free shipping (Great price!!!) - I work at a collision repair shop that has a tire machine so I dismounted the wheel & installed new tire, but this M/C wheel will not fit our spin balancer. So I bought some ceramic compound balance beads & they work great. If you haven't heard of em, check out this link.
http://www.tirebalancebeads.com/
If you can take your own wheels off & take them to any tire store they should be able to dismount/mount new tire & if they are not able to balance it you could try the ceramic compound balance bead route. worked great for me. but make sure you ONLY get ceramic compound, as steel or plastic do not work in the long run.
Internet prices are the only way to go. Ebay has a 240/55R-16 Bridgestone Exedra Max Radial Rear Tire for $162.88!!!

 

[Rick Morris]

I have the same issue with the local Triumph dealer that is not really so local. Full list price on the tire and $50.00 mount and balance and I take the rear wheel off. My local bike shop cannot change the rear tire because the Rocket wheel is to big. I made a deal with my local Good Year franchise to change the tire for $25.00 they cannot balance the wheel because of the hub assembly. The my local bike shop will balance the tire for $15.00. Rocky Mountain ATV has the best price for the Avon Cobra.

 

[scot in exile]

If anyone is not happy with the dealers prices it is easy to remedy, buy your own tyre changing equipment rent a shop to store it and use it pay for the utilites etc etc etc then you can charge your self nothing to change your own tyres
never understood why someone would save a few dollars buying online instead of the local guy now when the time comes that you really need him he might not be around.

 

[idk]

If anyone is not happy with the dealers prices it is easy to remedy, buy your own tyre changing equipment rent a shop to store it and use it pay for the utilites etc etc etc then you can charge your self nothing to change your own tyres
never understood why someone would save a few dollars buying online instead of the local guy now when the time comes that you really need him he might not be around.

This is why I like to support the local guy as much as possible. At RAAX I needed a new front tyre. One local bike shop could get one by the next day, and the other had one in stock. The bloke with the one in stock was more expensive than the other guy, but he got my money. However, as his price was about $100 more than what it costs me to buy one from the web and install and balance it myself, I shall continue to pay 40% less and do the work myself.

Having said that, if you take the wheel in then $30-40 should be about right for them to install the tyre. If you take the bike in and they have to remove the wheel then you can easily double that. If you want them to remove the bevel box and grease the splines then add another $60 or even more if exhaust pipes or panniers are in the way. It starts adding up quickly.

 

[cardinal93]

@scot in exile i buy everything I can from the local shops. My wife's a small business owner and I hope to be soon. But there's a line or rather a canyon with some shops that just can't be crossed. If you're talking $15 - $20 on a hundred then I support (10-20% increase). But if you're talking a $200 (plus install) for a tire I can get for $130 (a 35-40% increase) we've got a canyon and they're not running a "smart" business in my opinion? Those are the shops that don't usually stay in business long. Small businesses that survive are there to 1) make a living and 2) enjoy their service or product. The ones that go out of business think they can get rich on a small business.

 

[scot in exile]

Like all you tight fisted lovely people I like saving my pennies, as said 10-20-50 dollars I would not even think about online but the point does come at times when you have to go online, doing some of the work yourself can save money.
i have my own Plumbing business plus I teach the MSF-BRC courses most weekends I love it when some one calls for my plumbing services and tells me it will only take you 10min to do, my reply is it takes me longer than that to get the tools out of my truck.

 

[CanberraR3]

It's well worth supporting a local business if you can. I work for a family business that offers free fitting and ride in - ride out service while you wait. Almost any tyre size and brand is in stock at any time. Prices are as good as anywhere else except for cheap purchases online. If you bring your own tyres in there's a $20-$50 fitting fee.

This all could change if too many people stop buying from the shop and you'll need to plan ahead, order and wait for your tyres to come in, make a booking and pay most of your price saving in fitting fees. Too bad if you need one in a hurry.

I applauded anyone who will pay a small premium to support a local business; not so much those who would rather save a few bucks now without regard for the future they might be creating.

 

[Rick Morris]

Like all you tight fisted lovely people I like saving my pennies, as said 10-20-50 dollars I would not even think about online but the point does come at times when you have to go online, doing some of the work yourself can save money.
i have my own Plumbing business plus I teach the MSF-BRC courses most weekends I love it when some one calls for my plumbing services and tells me it will only take you 10min to do, my reply is it takes me longer than that to get the tools out of my truck.

I support my local Kawasaki dealer because they are great at what they do when it comes to parts, service, and selling me bikes. However I did go to a triumph dealer to order some Triumph only parts for this Rocket and paid full list price. He quoted me full list on the TORs exhaust. I explained I will need a tire sooner than later and he quoted me full list on the tire and quoted a high price to mount and balance. I did explain that I would more than likely be buying more parts in the near future and that did not seem to impress the parts guy, who is also the service guy, the mechanic, possibly an owner. I went to my Kawasaki dealer for a price on the tire and he was about $40.00 cheaper but could not change it due to the size of the wheel. He was also a little nervous about damaging the inside of the wheel. So with this I looked on line and found the tire at R.M. ATV for $160.00 less than both shops. My Kawasaki dealer does a lot for me and gets about 85% of my business most of the time. But he cannot get factory Rocket parts and the Triumph dealer isn't so friendly. But scot in exile I do completely get your point. Sometimes ya just gotta save a buck.