Good price or no

Hope you all can help me out here. I just got a quote for new Dunlop 501’s mounted and balanced. Is this a good price? Seems a bit high to me. Thanks

501's
100/90-19 126.99
120/90-18 136.99 w/tax, tubes, tire disposal and labor
$375.88

Hi OzNative,

The price for the tires seems fine. That leaves the balance, $112 for the tubes, mounting and balancing. Which would be high unless the shop is also R&Ring the wheels.

KZCSI

sems a little high...but that is what r&r new tubes and tires cost 2009...everything seems high....mail order tires ..mount em yourself....still is a lot...

The tire prices are high. swmototires.com (free delivery) and ronayers.com (free delivery) have both tires coming in for just about $200. If you take this price to denniskirk.com, kirk will match the the best price INCLUDING SHIPPING. That leaves $175 for mount/balance, tubes and taxes. You can buy the tubes from Kirk as well.

The shop is asking too much for both the tires and mount/balance but especially the mount and balance part.

Thanks All, I had no idea that tires were as high as they are. I’m in the wrong business I guess. I may settle for something a little cheaper. A local shop up here has the D404’s on sale for $255.00 mounted and balanced. This seams a little more affordable to me.
Any comments on the 404’s?

before u buy tires online make sure your local shop will mount and ballance someone else's tires. or local shops in Can. will not. they say it's for insurance reasons?

Check www.americanmototire.com/catalog/ good prices.

I buy my tires online and if I can't mount them myself (or don't want to) then Cycle Gear will do it for $25 ea, I bring them in off the bike.

I was looking at tires on-line and found that the shops I’m dealing with are pretty close in price to the on-line tires. What really blows me away is the cost to mount and balance. You would think that they were mounting monster truck tires. I really don’t ride all that much maybe 1500 miles a year up here in the frozen northeast. I think I’m just going to go with the Dunlop 404’s and call it good to go. Thanks to all .

Oznative,

I have the Dunlop 404's on my 550. I am using it mostly to commute to and from work and am not a "spirited" rider. I've had no problems whatsoever (about 1500 on tires now). They replaced a set of Kenda's which were the scariest tires I've ever ridden on. I've also run a pair of Cheng Shins before and they held up well.
Ride safe.

Yep, The tires that are on the bike now and when I got it were the Kenda tires. You are correct, They are the scariest tire I’ve ever ridden on especially when it gets a little wet. I’m no tire guru but I will tell you the Kenda brand tires are economy class and wouldn’t recommend to anybody.

The 404 is an OEM tire on Kaw Vulcans and are intended as heavy weight cruiser / touring tires. I use them on my KZ1000E1 because of their high load rating. I have about 6K miles on the current set and they are wearing good. My E1 has the FIRST tubeless rims and I had the 404s mounted without tubes but bought a set of tubes when I found the rims leaked a little too much for my comfort. Keep in mind that when you buy tires, there is usually a trade off between handling and durability. The 404s handle OK if you don't ride on the edge and are designed for durability. If you are looking for performance and sticky tires, they may not be your cup of tea. They work decently dry or rain but warm a tad slowly and tend to follow rain grooves some.

Thanks George,
I’m not a very aggressive rider. In fact I should be on a cruiser. I tend to get a little jittery when road conditions change beyond sunny riding. I’m hoping that these tires will suite my needs. I was really surprised at the cost of bike tires compared to car or light truck tires. However those Kenda tires are way to scary for me in any condition.
I’m dropping off the wheels tomorrow to have the new tires mounted and balanced.