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In need of tire mounting near Monterey/SantaCruz/SanJose

Hibs

Hibs

New member
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
Location
Monterey, CA
Moto(s)
ZX-12R
Rims are off the bike. Rear rim is bare, just needs new tire mounted and balanced. Front tire needs old tire removed and new tire mounted and balanced. I'm contemplating buying balancer/tire irons and trying to do it myself (after watching some DIY youtube videos) but figured I would ask here first before I spent the $60 on balancer and tire irons in case anyone had the equipment they would let me use for cheap (like 6 pack cheap! :thumbup). I'm not interested in paying a shop $50+ just to have the tires mounted/balanced. I'm located in Monterey, but willing to go to Santa Cruz/Salinas/etc and maybe even San Jose. Hoping to try and do it this weekend.
 
All the shops I've been to here charge at least $60 to mount tires (one guy charges $60 per tire). Still a couple I haven't tried but I mean it's not any cheaper than having a go yourself so I might try the DIY approach.
 
Abyss said:
All the shops I've been to here charge at least $60 to mount tires (one guy charges $60 per tire). Still a couple I haven't tried but I mean it's not any cheaper than having a go yourself so I might try the DIY approach.
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Ya, like I said I'm not looking for a shop to take it to. I know there have been several members here who say they do it themselves. So I'm looking to see if there was a member who would help me do it on the weekend (that are in my area) to help me save some money.
 
Cycle Imports or We All Ride, both in Soquel, mount tires off the bike for $15.
 
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Holsers Tires in Santa Cruz mounts car tires for dirt cheap (last time I was there it was like $10 a tire). Not sure if they do motorcycle tires though.
 
CRUZer said:
Cycle Imports or We All Ride, both in Soquel, mount tires off the bike for $15.
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$15/each is still about $20 more then the cost of even my favorite chilled 6pack. BUT that's cheaper then the shops down here, so I'll keep them in mind if I do consider to go that route.

IpseDixit said:
Holsers Tires in Santa Cruz mounts car tires for dirt cheap (last time I was there it was like $10 a tire). Not sure if they do motorcycle tires though.
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Most machines that do car tires can't do motorcycle tires. Well, they can, but they usually stratch the crap out of your rim. No one cars if the inside of your car tire gets scratched because no one sees it. Obviously not the same on a motorcycle.
 
I have the tools to do it if you want to make the trek to Foster City. I can show you how it's done and then you can decide if you want to buy the equipment for yourself.
 
jgard said:
I have the tools to do it if you want to make the trek to Foster City. I can show you how it's done and then you can decide if you want to buy the equipment for yourself.
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If I can't find anyone closer then I'll probably take you up on that. You have free time this weekend?
 
Call Mike Martin @ Seaside superbikes (831)760-2701
he's in the industrial area behind monterey airport.
 
Hibs said:
If I can't find anyone closer then I'll probably take you up on that. You have free time this weekend?
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Sadly no, I'll be in Tahoe this weekend for a hockey tournament. I'll be around next weekend, though.
 
railinrob said:
Call Mike Martin @ Seaside superbikes (831)760-2701
he's in the industrial area behind monterey airport.
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Hibs said:
I'm not interested in paying a shop $50+ just to have the tires mounted/balanced.
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I went and talked to him in person, and all he wanted to do was sell me a set of tires for $400. No thanks. I got a brand new set of Pirelli Diablo Supersports for $209/shipped. I asked him how much just to mount and balance and it was $25/tire. I asked him how much just to mount (figured I could balance myself) and it was $25/tire. For 5 minutes worth of work? He then went on this rant about how he has to pay the bill somehow and he can't compete with these online tire store prices so that's why the price was so high. Here's an idea, find a new source to buy your tires or stop marking shit up and be competitive. I mean really, if I can buy the tires for $209/shipped why does he feal the need that he has to put a markup on them? I'm more then willing to buy my parts through a local dealer, if they aren't trying to rape me on parts markup and/or labor. But that seems to be very hard to find anymore. I did see that there was a store that is a sponsor on here that seems to sell tires at a good price and offers free mounting/balancing if you hand carry them in. In hindsight, if I would have found them before I had ordered this brand new set of tires I probably would have gone with them. But I didn't, so now I'm hoping a fellow BARF'er can help me out.
 
:facepalm
Sorry, I didnt think he'd be like that. Guess I wont recommend him anymore
 
Hibs said:
I went and talked to him in person, and all he wanted to do was sell me a set of tires for $400. No thanks. I got a brand new set of Pirelli Diablo Supersports for $209/shipped. I asked him how much just to mount and balance and it was $25/tire. I asked him how much just to mount (figured I could balance myself) and it was $25/tire. For 5 minutes worth of work? He then went on this rant about how he has to pay the bill somehow and he can't compete with these online tire store prices so that's why the price was so high. Here's an idea, find a new source to buy your tires or stop marking shit up and be competitive. I mean really, if I can buy the tires for $209/shipped why does he feal the need that he has to put a markup on them? I'm more then willing to buy my parts through a local dealer, if they aren't trying to rape me on parts markup and/or labor. But that seems to be very hard to find anymore. I did see that there was a store that is a sponsor on here that seems to sell tires at a good price and offers free mounting/balancing if you hand carry them in. In hindsight, if I would have found them before I had ordered this brand new set of tires I probably would have gone with them. But I didn't, so now I'm hoping a fellow BARF'er can help me out.
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For 5 minutes of his time? Clearly you have never mounted tires, or looked at the price of tire changing machines. Of course, he needs to pay for the building, employees, insurance...etc. But whatever, as someone that mounts his own tires best of luck with getting them put on by a stranger, in his garage, who doesn't care a bit about scratching wheels or need to worry about his business reputation falling, all to save 20 dollars.
 
I think I'm gonna invest in some tools to change my own tires and make a balancer, but there's a guy in san jose that does them off the bike for ten bucks a wheel. His name is Angel and you can search the thread up on him. He is fairly popular for providing tire service and well reviewed/liked. :thumbup :thumbup Two thumbs up.

We All Ride in Santa Cruz is $20 a wheel unless you get the tires from them.
 
wsmc831 said:
For 5 minutes of his time? Clearly you have never mounted tires, or looked at the price of tire changing machines. Of course, he needs to pay for the building, employees, insurance...etc. But whatever, as someone that mounts his own tires best of luck with getting them put on by a stranger, in his garage, who doesn't care a bit about scratching wheels or need to worry about his business reputation falling, all to save 20 dollars.
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Clearly I was a full time mechanic for 5 years. If someone would walk in with a set of bare rims and tires, it would take 5 minutes to mount them on a pneumatic tire machine. I understand having to pay for your equipment, blah blah blah. But I think $50 for what I'm needing done is a little excessive.

I usually do about 2 tire changes a year. It's not about saving $20. I really don't want to spend hundreds a year on tire changes at a shop. Obviously you don't either, as you stated you change your own tires. In all the other places I have lived I was able to find a local motorcycle enthusiast who has a No-Mar machine or something simliar that would charge $20 for TWO rims. That was dismounting/mounting/balancing. I found a member here that seems to have the same setup, but he's about 120 miles away from me so I figured I would ask to see if I could find something closer.
 
5150ninja said:
I think I'm gonna invest in some tools to change my own tires and make a balancer, but there's a guy in san jose that does them off the bike for ten bucks a wheel. His name is Angel and you can search the thread up on him. He is fairly popular for providing tire service and well reviewed/liked. :thumbup :thumbup Two thumbs up.

We All Ride in Santa Cruz is $20 a wheel unless you get the tires from them.
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Ya I searched and found that thread. And from the recent posts, that Angel guy no longer works there, the number is disconnected, etc. But a deal like that is what I'm looking for!
 
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