start negotiating

[rodeo1]

with the economy the way it is right now, its time we started to negotiate prices. yesterday i stopped at my local honda dealer and priced new tires. i was told $439.00 plus tax for avon cobras, and $409.00 for dunlop elite 3's, plus $85.00 to mount and balance if i take them off the bike.

well, thats just about a hundred a set more than last year.

so i got on the internet and found a place in salt lake city that will ship the elite 3's to me in 2 days for $306.00 including shipping and no tax.

so i called my honda dealer and told him i would be buying out of state unless he could meet their price. after some negotiation i bought the elite 3's for $313.00 including tax. then i went over to harbor freight and bought a tire mounting machine and a wheel balancer.

i don't know about everyone else, but i can't afford to pay 25% more than last year in a failing economy. these dealers are gonna have to step up and take care of their customers. mine did, hope yours will too.

[caphillips]

So many dealers used to figure there will be someone else after you, so they didn't really want to cut prices.  Looks like they will have to rethink that policy with today's economy.  A lot of the boat shows, wood working shows, and other "big events" are either a lot smaller this year or have cancelled their shows completely.  Times are definitely getting rough for everyone.  My dad always used to say that a little bit of profit is better than nothing.

[Smokinjoe]

I had a E-3 on the front of my bike and it slid out from under me on three different occasions . One of those being on The Cherohala Skyline in a hard left hander it almost put me down. I would'nt run a E-3 if Dunflop gave them to me with free mounting.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[rodeo1]

wow ! never heard of that. i have been running them as has my kid bro, ever since they were released. i found them to be the very best handling tire i have ever tried. the best ever on wet streets. is there a chance you had them a bit underinflated ? i rode a valk with avons that were underinflated and it slid out on me, but with 40 psi front and rear i have nothing but praise for them, and my last set came off at 21,000 miles. sorry to hear you had that  kind of trouble.

but then i don't make a habit of leaning a bike as deep as you are in the photo. never felt a big heavy cruiser was intended to lean that deep.

[Smokinjoe]

First thing before every ride I check the p.s.i they don't leave the garage without it ( 40 F /40 R ) . I had right at 7,400 miles on the Dunflop when I pulled it off it was near gone. Only tire that ever gave me  worse mileage was the 206 Dunflop that came on the bike in 1998. I get between 10,500 and 12,000 on Avon fronts. I'm running the Cobra now but have'nt had them on long enough for a " wear " report. That's cool if you like the E-3 I personally think they should be pulled off the market before they kill someday.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Nogrey]

I began the same search for tires at my local Honda dealer, Canyon Honda of Caldwell, Idaho. I asked for pricing on a set of tires for the newly acquired Valk. After making some snide comments as to the difficulty of removing the rear tires and exhaust etc from my Interstate, they quoted me $425 for OEM Dunlops (not the new E3's) and another $200 for mount and balance. Now, I hadn't come in there asking for anything but some friendly information and a quote. I was excited to get new skin on my "new" Valk. I have to tell you that I don't easily swear, but when I left Canyon Honda I felt like giving them the "one finger salute". I didn't, but I also didn't feel like negotiating anything with those premadonnas. I haven't graced their doors since. I've heard several similar stories about them from many other folks. I've got to say, the most friendly folks and my best source of information has been the friendly folks at "Birds of Prey" Harley Davidson, although they won't put new tires on my Valk. So I went shopping on the net and bought two new Avon Venom's (one front, one back) for under $250 shipped (no, I'm not kidding) and had the local Yamaha/Suzuki dealer mount and balance them on the wheels that I brought in. That cost me $40. Removing the front and rear wheels was no problem at all, thought it took me about 2hrs (total) per wheel. I was very careful. I've had Honda motorcycles before I moved to Idaho, and I've owned Yamaha's as well. I can tell you, if Canyon Honda was the first place I ever shopped for a motorcycle, I'd never own a Honda. Period. That being said, they're obvoiusly not all the same.

[Smokinjoe]

I just pull the shocks when removing the rear wheel that way you never touch the exhaust ( No leaks at header ) . Makes getting the final drive and shaft out for maintance way better IMO .

[attachment deleted by admin]

[rodeo1]

First thing before every ride I check the p.s.i they don't leave the garage without it ( 40 F /40 R ) . I had right at 7,400 miles on the Dunflop when I pulled it off it was near gone. Only tire that ever gave me  worse mileage was the 206 Dunflop that came on the bike in 1998. I get between 10,500 and 12,000 on Avon fronts. I'm running the Cobra now but have'nt had them on long enough for a " wear " report. That's cool if you like the E-3 I personally think they should be pulled off the market before they kill someday.

sounds like you must have gotten a really bad tire. unfortunetly that happens, i remember when the avon roadrunners came out, wow ! what trash they were. i don't know of anyone that ever had that much trouble with an elite 3, but when you said it wore out in 7,400 miles, that tells it all. i have had three sets so far and got 20 to 23,000 on every set. you had a bad tire bro.

[disc sanders]

I hate to tell you guys this, but I just put a set of Elite 3's on my '97 standard with the OEM Valk leather bags on it just before last Thanksgiving.  Didn't take anything off of the bike before hand to make it any easier for them either.  Our local Honda shop charged me $283.13 out the door....tires, mounting, everything and had it done in about 3 hours.....and I'm not kidding.  Got the receipt to prove it.  That said, their prices on the Avons was pushing 500 mounted front & rear.  The Elite's where a no brainer at that price. 

http://www.hondayamahafwb.com/

Honda/Yamaha of Fort Walton Beach, Fl, 32547.  If you're ever in northwest (the panhandle) of Florida, check 'em out. 

[rodeo1]

I hate to tell you guys this, but I just put a set of Elite 3's on my '97 standard with the OEM Valk leather bags on it just before last Thanksgiving.  Didn't take anything off of the bike before hand to make it any easier for them either.  Our local Honda shop charged me $283.13 out the door....tires, mounting, everything and had it done in about 3 hours.....and I'm not kidding.  Got the receipt to prove it.  That said, their prices on the Avons was pushing 500 mounted front & rear.  The Elite's where a no brainer at that price. 

http://www.hondayamahafwb.com/

Honda/Yamaha of Fort Walton Beach, Fl, 32547.  If you're ever in northwest (the panhandle) of Florida, check 'em out. 

Amen, disc sander. these dealers, and business everywhere, have been digging at us for years. maybe what is going on in the country today is nessesary to give business a giant enema. i read the other day that harley sales are down 30%, well duh ! when a bike is overpriced by 100%, people who are trying to keep their jobs just ain't gonna pay it. my honda dealer says honda is looking at a 15% price increase across the board. i said sure ! why not, heck there are other bikes we can buy. don't everyone agree that we need customer service in this country ? when is the last time a clerk did something to make you believe they knew what they were talking about, or cared if you spent your money there ? personally i think we need to band together and every time we find someone who cares about our business, post it here like disc-sander did. in the mean time, if your around grand junction, colorado, i have all the eqipment to mount and balance tires, and high tech tools to balance carbs, etc. all free to any brother biker.

[threevalks]

sounds like you must have gotten a really bad tire. unfortunetly that happens, i remember when the avon roadrunners came out, wow ! what trash they were. i don't know of anyone that ever had that much trouble with an elite 3, but when you said it wore out in 7,400 miles, that tells it all. i have had three sets so far and got 20 to 23,000 on every set. you had a bad tire bro.

              I would love to be able to ride 20,000 to 23,000 on a set of tires. I am yet to get more than 14,000 out of a front. (I've used Avons & Dunlop Elite 2's) The best on the rear is 9,000 Avon bike tire and 11,000 Cooper Car tire. Please TELL ME, HOW DO YOU DO IT?

[rodeo1]

its easy. first make sure you check air pressure often. 40-41 front and rear. then it becomes about the right wrist. if you ride it like a hot rod, the tires will last like a hot rod. if you ride it like a gold wing, the tires will last like a goldwing.

its just like mileage. you can only force so much air and fuel mixture into a cylinder. if you ride at 65 - 70 all day, (3,000 rpm) you can expect 36 to 38 out of a valkyrie. if you ride above 3,000 rpm into 4500 and above, you can expect reall crappy mileage.

yesterday i hooked my kwik kamp up and did a fast run across town on the freeway. 85 to 90 mph. when i returned i filled the tank. gor a earth shattering 23 mpg. 85 mpg towing a large brick down the road. to be expected.

on my ministry trip last summer i ran 65 mph all day and gor 35 towing the trailer.

ita all relative.

[TAZ]

I have been running Avons since the OEM burned out and have had nothing but success with them both in handling and traction.  I put the new Cobra on the back mid-summer last year and will be putting a front on soon and the rear has responded great on the rides I have taken since.

Hal's Direct Line Honda is having a really good sale right now so I will be buying one from him like all the other times and if your in need of some tires or other goodies I highly recommend shopping there on line or in person if your in his neighborhood.

As far as giving kodo's to a GOOD HONDA SHOP, I have 4 places that I have had my bike worked at that are great and the staff is most friendly and knowledgable.

RICE HONDA in Rapid CIty So. Dakota
TWO BROTHERS in La Crosse, Wisconsin
Zone Honda in Chicago
Fox Valley Cycle in Aurora, Illinois

All of these places I would gladly buy or have service done by

[Nogrey]

I appreciate the "kudos to the good honda shops". I realize that it's always easier to bash a place/person than to outwardly praise one. I guess I am just frustrated with the reception I received at the one I mention below. I was very excited about the purchase of my new Valkyrie, and with good reason. I guess I expected the same courteous behaviour that I see on this web site. You know, folks who really enjoy riding and being around great bikes. I've been in shops like that. As I mentioned, the folks at "High desert Harley" or "Birds of prey Harley" (the two stores just combined). They are really excited about their motorcycles. I'm really excited about my Valkyrie. I was just expecting a somewhat positive experience and came away with all "the wind knocked out of me". Sorry for the negativism. I really wish there was a Honda shop near me that was nice to deal with. There is one in Boise that I've been in a couple of times. They've always been pretty helpful and nice to deal with. It's just that they are about an hour drive for me.

[disc sanders]

Don't sweat the "negativism"......bad shops should be brought to people's attention IMHO.  My Honda shop has some good people working there and they move alot of bikes.  They're not so great on stocking OEM or aftermarket parts, and their pricing on some of their service is a tad high on some things...but, for certain things, such as tires, ya can't beat 'em. 

For most other service, there's a guy that has his own little shop that most non-Harley riders swear by (including me).  He doesn't stock parts, apparel or bikes, just does service work.....and is the best in town. 

Now, for our local Harley shop, their not known for their hospitality to put it bluntly.  Their freakin' snobs and they treat their customers like poop.  If you want to buy a t-shirt there, it's great, but don't expect a warm welcome for sales or service. 

I went in there bike shopping one day totally expecting to buy a bike....that day!  Trying to get a sales person to even talk to me was the first clue.  Asking for details on models was like pulling teeth.....asked to sit on one.....the salesman wanted to know if I was licenced first......just to sit on one!  Walked out swearing if I ever bought a Harley, it wouldn't be from those jerks.....ever. 


To sum it up......it's all relative.  There are good shops, there are great shops and there are shops you wished you never stepped foot in.  Ya just gotta find the ones that work for you.