whitewall tires

[MaggieQ]

wow with all the horror stories everyone has about the shops across the country its amazing to me that any of us stay in business, luckily we do.  It definitely puts even more weight into the arguement that if you ride you should learn to know your own bike, work on it yourselff as uch as possible, and double check everything.  Up to now, my answer has always been, I have no need to know how to do stuff on my bike, I have a mechanic I have known since before I could drive that has always watched out for me.  Maybe its time to read a manual, thing is, I would not even know where to start, I know engine essentials, from taking a year of auto shop in high school, but next to nothing on how the bikes really work, I don't know what a CDI does, or a magneto, or if my bike even has one, and I sell them all the time.  Its sort of pitiful.  hmm wonder if there is a motorcycles for dummies?? Anyway, sometimes I carry on like I am the source for all things from the dealer end, and get a little full of myself, for that I appologize, I have researched our products, I know what sells, and why, and I wouldn't trade my bike for double the excessive amount of money I have into it.   Off my high horse, and watching the Rock in a TUTU...Tooth fairy here I come

[chief]

I do most of my shopping online... from one of our stores or our customers' stores if possible. I haven't been in a walmart in years, or the mall.

I always buy tires locally and have them installed locally at the same place. I really don't want to do these myself... though I once managed a tire shop... and many places won't do the work if you don't buy the tires from them. There are few other things I buy locally as well, usually impulse stuff though.

But, unfortunately buying from a dealer and having them install doesn't mean you aren't getting old tires or seconds... but usually a larger dealer sells enough they don't have any old ones sitting around. And, the first time I have tires put on by a dealer the tore up my brake caliper (front) and didn't tell me... I discovered the problem after a lot of noise and a badly scarred rotor.

[cochise]

Back on the road again. My lady in red all dressed up in new ww's. Was an adventure by myself removing and installing the wheels, gotta get a manual. Trail and error turned out to be error and error. They came off easier than they went on but now I know the procedure. The Metz's seem great . The Bridgestones seemed to follow every crack in the road. They were $ 300.00 from Motorcycle Superstore with free shipping.

[MaggieQ]

you will love the Metzlers, no worry, we run a small family owned shop for 30 years also, and they did seem to make an effort to appologize, of a fashion, we do draw on the rotor sometimes..permanent marker, but only on the useable surface where the pads hit and that rubs off fast and NOT EVEr on paint, or chrome.  We routinely carry wheels and packages out to cars for customers, normally they are in their work clothes and don't want to get tire gunk on their good clothes, its pretty cute sometimes when I go to carry the wheels out or back to service or hand them over the counter, and the customer offeres/tries to do it for me, I know they are just being chivalrous, and I always thank them, but it is my job and I do it 10 times a day, then offer them a cup of coffee, I hand out almost as many cups of coffee as I drink.  Its the little stuff like that that helps promote good feelings when people come in.

Good customer service is a dieing art form.  Walmart has numbed society to it anyway.  Its a whole other topic, but we try real hard to keep prices as low as we can and still turn a profit, its really hard! You can get anything cheaper on the internet and people expect us to match/beat that price in the retail store.  We just can't.  The difference is, you have to wait for internet orders, if I have it in stock you can have it today.  When the customer comes in and says I can get that online for 10.00 and we charge 12....they never ever ever think....I can get it for 10...plus shipping...in a week.  We have bigger overhead than internet stores, have to pay employees that actually know what they are doing (we hope) and when you need to return  online, they almost always charge a restocking fee, and you have to pay return shipping.  When we do a return, we offer full credit on in store exchange, full crfedit on in store gift card, and restocking fee with money back.  and NO return without a reciept.

I have personally seen someone return something to walmart no reciept that they did not buy there, with no packaging.  Now, I shop Walmart as much as anyone, gotta safe money where we can., but they are making retail really hard. There is no real answer for this, its just normal management frustration.  I worry quite a big about online tire sales, many of them sell factory 2nds and don't disclaimer for this fact.  One thing I never scrimp on is my tires.  No need to pay more than is reasonable, but if a deal is too good to be true, it normally is, for whatever reason.

Ok time to get off my high horse and go to work.  Sorry, sometimes I get going and forget the point, but its in there somewhere.

[cochise]

This is a family run shop, in business about 30yrs. When I brought in the wheels , old tires were on and the new Metz were wrapped in plastic with the size and front, rear stickers on them. The son asked about the rotors, mom wrote the work order with the make/ year bike and dad stood at the counter. today when I picked them up he said sorry, but said I would have been better off with Bridgestones or Dunlops. Also left me a black magic marker arrow on the painted part of my front rotor. Myself, being in business, I would have washed off the blue and made the ww look nice,called to say they were done and delivered them 5 miles to where I was. But I thanked him and carried them out to the car myself. I guess I go the extra mile but I wonder today if it's really noticed or is it just the way life is today.

[MaggieQ]

the sad thing is the kid running the counter is the least common denominator in that job most of the time.  seasonal help is the most willing to work person for the least ammount of money.  we have to put a list of things to ask over the registers so they mostly get it right, but when you just bring in wheels, questions to ask are....what side is the rotor on, what is the rotation, do you want to save the old tire,
and if no one asked those questions we would have fixed it for free and sincerely appologized, but our service writer would have called and asked the questions if they were not on the repair order before doing the work. I think they dropped the ball on this one.

[cochise]

I hear ya Chief. When I carried them back in and pointed it out, he said ok, what side is the rotor on for both wheels? I confirmed that the spin direction was ok , he said see those two bikes over there? each has the rotor on a different side , those a- holes always have to do that in their designs. Not anything about the a- hole in the back room who mounted my tires wrong. Sh*t happens, but own up to it don't spin it to blame someone else.

[chief]

Geez... you did say BIKE shop... is that MOTORCYCLE SHOP???

You really need to question a shop who could do something like that. LOL

[cochise]

Took in my wheels this morn to the bike shop to have the Metz ww put on. Stopped in at 5 pm to pickup. All jazzed till I realized they put the front tire on the rear rim and rear tire on the front. Better now than finding out down the road, but still......Going to rain for next 3 days anyway. Always check somebody elses work.

[MaggieQ]

you will like them muchly, after you get a couple miles on them.  remember, they are slick in the beginning, yikes, the first day I had them I went to stop at a stoplight a little last minute.....and the back of the bike was coming around the front, scared me a bit, but I got it under control. Now they are by far the best set of of tires I have ever been on.

[cochise]

Metzeler 880's arrived today. They'll go on next week.

[MaggieQ]

haha ok I guess the fact that I have teenagers shows huh?

If you can find Metzler ME880's for less than 200 dollars, that is a very good deal.  Just make sure they are not factory 2nds or "slightly imperfect" the one thing you don't want to be "irregular" is your tires!

[cochise]

MaggieQ, does sweet price mean good? or is it like the kid who walked past my bike at the gas station and said "thats sick ! " . The 20 yr old next to me said "he means cool, sick is good" . Go figure.

[pcarrell]

I went with the Conti Milestones and I love them.

[MaggieQ]

I went with the 140/90 Metzlers on mine.  and that is a sweet price !!!  but mine are not white walls, but when I got hime it had the black ones when I got it, I just had to replace the back, next set will be a pair of Metzler whitewalls

[cochise]

Looking to go whitewalls on my 2001 800 but seeing the selection is limited. Metzeler ww rear 140/90/16 but $ 161.00 . Dunlop Cruisemax avail from Motorcycle Superstore for $ 120.00 but is a 150/80/16. Anyone tried a different size besides the stock one or have a suggestion.