[thundrhd]

After 18250mi, I figured it was time for a new set of skins. All said & done I have $370.00 invested in a new set of Metz 880ME tires. 110/90/19 up front & 180/70/15 on the rear. I have to give kudos to a fairly new MC shop where I live "Capitol City Motorsports" for doing the change out. The cost of labor was $73.00. Tires & dynabeads came to $297.00 This young man changed my tires out without an appointment within less than an hour. I will be telling all my fellow riding brothers to give their business to him, he also told me, next time call him first, and let him sell me the tires for a lot less than I could get them online. Very good MC mechanic & works on EVERYTHING!! HD, YAMMY, SUZI, HONDA, KAWI, plus the Brit bikes, and German bikes as well. I hope he does well, as he deserves to do so. We had a very good conversation about the VTX in general & he knew way more than any Honda tech I've ever talked to. This guy will have ALL my business that I can't do myself. Here are a couple of before & after pics of my rear tire:

BEFORE....

AFTER;

 

[Dneel81]

Glad to hear you got new tires, but more importantly, sounds like you've got a great safety net for those mods/fixes (hopefully more mods than fixes) that you can't do or get in over your head with.

 

[BigBoreVTX]

Nice pix I hope I get good mileage out of my tires.

 

[thundrhd]

Depends on what tires & what pressures you run, determines mileage. I'm now running 40psi front & 42psi rear.

 

[bryanova]

from the looks of your old tire you must feel like you have a brand new bike under you. Enjoy and ride free and safe :mosh: Bry

 

[thundrhd]

Bry, haven't had the chance to try them out yet, but I do know the last couple of weeks, the rear end in particular has been a bit "squirrely"...LOL Especially when it rains.

 

[showmevtx]

mike, eat up the miles now with the new rubber. i have about 9k on mine and they still look pretty new.

 

[thundrhd]

Scott, you know I will, the way I see it, I now have another 18k miles to put on the ole scoot!!

 

[showmevtx]

ya got that right brother.

 

[Mondorah]

Glad your all safe again! Also glad you have found a trust-able mechanic. That is a hard thing to find.


Ray

 

[whiskeyrockr]

hard to beat those metz

 

[Spoiler]

Nice tires, and its good to find someone you can work with.

It seemed like pricing was pretty reasonable as well..

Spoiler

 

[thundrhd]

Nice tires, and its good to find someone you can work with.

It seemed like pricing was pretty reasonable as well..

Spoiler

Yep, gotta love those Metz tires, the last time I had a shop change my skins, it was just a little over $90, I will be going back to get my next set done for sure, especially since he told me he could do better on the cost of the tires.

 

[Spoiler]

Well I was interested in this thread, as I just yesterday ordered a new front Metz on-line for $131 and will be pulling the wheel myself and taking it somewhere to get it changed out... I would imagine that they will charge me more for the changeout being I am not buying a tire from them....

The prices you noted looked pretty good to me.. and as Bry woud put it, "...and why not.." :bleh:

Spoiler

 

[Flipflop]

Congrats. on the tires, and also on the repairman you found in your area.. It is always nice to have someone close to you that is bike smart...

 

[Bassdude404]

Hey Mike, did you pull the wheels yourself, or ride the bike in????..

Gonna be getting a tire machine soon (withiin the next sweek or so), and wondering what that $73 in labor covered...:hmm2:

 

[thundrhd]

Pulled the wheels myself, the labor was for at least 1hr, which I did not have a problem with. From the way he talked, next time would probably be cheaper cost overall if I buy tires from him. He is very thorough, and cleaned up the rims and tires when he was through, I've had tires come back and the mess left on the rims was unacceptable, causing me at least an hour's worth of time.

 

[Bassdude404]

Pulled the wheels myself, the labor was for at least 1hr, which I did not have a problem with. From the way he talked, next time would probably be cheaper cost overall if I buy tires from him. He is very thorough, and cleaned up the rims and tires when he was through, I've had tires come back and the mess left on the rims was unacceptable, causing me at least an hour's worth of time.

Right on, that's what I thought...Hell just pulling/re-installing both wheels is another hour labor....:hmm2:

 

[thundrhd]

Right on, that's what I thought...Hell just pulling/re-installing both wheels is another hour labor....:hmm2:

Easily another hour of labor, plus, i've done this enough to know that when I re-install my front, I know it's done proper, because if you don't align the forks right, you're wasting time & money, the left side tire wear syndrome only gives the tire a half-life.

 

[Bassdude404]

Easily another hour of labor, plus, i've done this enough to know that when I re-install my front, I know it's done proper, because if you don't align the forks right, you're wasting time & money, the left side tire wear syndrome only gives the tire a half-life.

Yup....