Frustrating....

[DIGGER]

Gonna try to do a Colorado run from Houston area end of may.  My 17 yr old grandson on his Vtx and my other grandson on his VTx and their Dad, my son and my riding buddy on his Harley.  I decided I may need a new front tire for my Valk.    I called Wild West Motoplex in Houston and they want $445 just to buy the Dunlope E4 and $140 to install.  Thats $600 or so to get a new front tire.  To add insult to injury....they dont work on the older Valkyries and said I would have to take the tire off the Valkyrie and bring only the wheel and tire in.   Thats redicilous.  I bought the bike at that dealership in 2003.   

Called Honda of Houston and their regular price for an E4 tire is $448 but on sale for $315 amd $70 install and bring the whole bike in.  I bought 2 of the E4 tires and getting one put on tomorrow weather permitting. Saving the second tire for the future.

[old2soon]

     While I had my 99 I/S I'd run a couple Shinkos on the front-D/S rear-and those things were Good in the dry the dusty and danged good in the rain! When it comes time for a new front tire on my G/W trike I'll be lookin at another Shinko.  This is JUST an F Y I! I duz NOT wanna start a war over tire selection! Just my 2 cents and probably now worth that much!  RIDE SAFE.

[da prez]

  I would not put a Dunflop on my bike if it was free.

                                             da prez

[ridingron]

  I would not put a Dunflop on my bike if it was free.

                                             da prez

You're holding back on us! What if you were paid?   

[DIGGER]

  I would not put a Dunflop on my bike if it was free.

                                             da prez

You're holding back on us! What if you were paid?   

To each his own choice.  I dont know much about the difference in tires.  Seems everyone has different ideas about why their brand choice is best.  My Valkyrie came from the factory with Dunlops and in 131,000 miles I've never had a tire issue.   Had my first flat a couple weeks ago...picked up a sheetrock screw on the back.   I'm truly curious....what makes one tire better than the other?   What is your reasoning why you are so against Dunlop tires?

[DIGGER]

My post isn't about tire brands...it is just frustrating that at a big Honda Dealership where I bought my 2001 Valkyrie that they are so against working on my motorcycle that they wont even take the front wheel off to put a new tire on...a tire that I bought there!!

[f6john]

My post isn't about tire brands...it is just frustrating that at a big Honda Dealership where I bought my 2001 Valkyrie that they are so against working on my motorcycle that they wont even take the front wheel off to put a new tire on...a tire that I bought there!!

Most larger Honda Dealerships won’t work on a GoldWing over 10 years old! Let that sink in. My 08 only had 20k on it when I bought it a few years ago. Consider that from 2001 to 2017 they were basically the same bike. Now consider the latest generation, the 2018’s will soon be 10 years old!

It’s not too big of a deal for me because I couldn’t afford to pay their rates anyway. My reason for taking it in was to verify that an airbag recall has been performed and they really weren’t helpful there either. So far I haven’t had a problem I couldn’t handle myself with input from friends and forums, but I can’t imagine owning a DCT model and not having any backup!

[Jersey mike]

My post isn't about tire brands...it is just frustrating that at a big Honda Dealership where I bought my 2001 Valkyrie that they are so against working on my motorcycle that they wont even take the front wheel off to put a new tire on...a tire that I bought there!!

I’ve had some similar problems with Honda dealers for the Valkyrie and my ‘95 Gold Wing.

I’ve had one dealer say we have to draw the line somewhere with the age of the bikes we work on, we just can’t fix everyone’s bike.

There’s another dealer I go to for some services and they have an old school Honda mechanic who will still service both bikes but I’m guessing there will be a time when he won’t be there and they won’t service the bikes either. Last fall I wanted new tires on the GW and the rear brakes looked at and they reluctantly agreed but I did find an independent shop who I may use in the future.

[Pluggy]

No shop wants to start on a bike and find out a needed part is unavailable.  That's possible, as the newest Valkyrie is 23 years old. 

Our local Honda dealer will mount and balance a tire, off the bike.  That includes a 1980 Honda.  Most dealers or shops should be OK doing that.

[Jersey mike]

No shop wants to start on a bike and find out a needed part is unavailable.  That's possible, as the newest Valkyrie is 23 years old. 

Our local Honda dealer will mount and balance a tire, off the bike.  That includes a 1980 Honda.  Most dealers or shops should be OK doing that.

Yeah I get that, but these dealers need to realize people can’t keep just buying bikes evey 10 years or so.

Would this open the door for independent shops, possibly. There are aftermarket sources available for parts even if some may come off eBay for used parts for older machines. But basic maintenance for guys who just aren’t mechanically inclined should be something they stilll offer.

[old2soon]

     This thread seems to have veered somewhat! I dropped off my 2012 G/W trile for needed work that I can no longer do myself. The air compressor took a dump and it is in a really FUN spot to git to. My G/W has the Texas motortrike conversion and Honda of the Ozarks is an authorized dlr repair svc here bouts for Texas motortrike. And I had an Estimate over the phone of tween 8 and 10 hrs @ $149.00 an hr!  BUT the work Is Needed for RIDER Safety-ME-so I'll bite the bullet and git er done. Also made SURE H o t O KNOWS to call me before going over 10 hrs! RIDE SAFE.

[Challenger]

An X dealership owner told me a major problem was young techs fresh out of training have no idea what carburetors are or what a Valkyrie is. If there isn't a port to plug in a laptop, they can't diagnose anything.
Newer powers ports dealers have no books for assembly or torq specs even though we can look stuff up on line. Hope you can find an independent work shop who is willing to work on your baby.
J.P. Cycle has Metzler cruiseteck on sale for $298

[Willow]

... but these dealers need to realize people can’t keep just buying bikes evey 10 years or so. ...

Why?  We lose track of the primary business of Motorcycle dealers.  They are primarily in the business of selling motorcycles.  They do offer a side  benefit of maintaining bikes (at exorbitant prices) in hopes to keep customers to whom to sell another motorcycle.

Yes, independent and skilled shops are your best bet.  Their primary purpose is to service motorcycles.  There is no shortage of independents who are very familiar with Goldwings and usually have good experience with Valkyries.

[Serk]

At least your motorcycle dealers still sell motorcycles...

Around here most sell almost exclusively ATVs, side by sides and the like with a few personal watercraft (Jet Skis) and maybe a motorcycle or two if you're lucky...

[michaelyoung254]

Just put a Bridgestone G701 Exedra on mine last month. Got it on Amazon for about $250, and a local tire place in Trinity, TX installed it for me for $10! I already had the old tire off of the rim, and I already had some Dyna Beads for balancing.