brand new tires, are they factory seconds?

[whiterabbitt]

so I got my new bridgestone s11 spitfire tires the other day from jc whitney, and went down to the local to get them mounted and balanced. well, they wouldnt do it because:
" The tires you buy off the internet are factory seconds and thirds thats why they are so cheap. We cant be liable for them so we dont mount them."
is there any truth to this? any way to tell?

the date codes are as follows:
90/90-19 52H front-pcd4210
110/90-18 61H rear-pce2910

the front has a white stamp with a 3 and a funny looking 7 in a circle and the rear has a circle with 5D in it, both are near the yellow balance dots.
otherwise visual inspection and feel check reaveal a brand new imperfection free tire so far as I can tell

[chuckycheese]

Bs

I would never go back to that dealership under any circumstances.

[Krunk_Kracker]

Yeah, they sound like a bunch of idiots.

[gbw]

The tires are fine. That dealership sucks. Find someone else to mount them for you or do it yourself.

[DanTheMan]

They want you to buy their tires. They cite safety concerns as a cover-all to force customers into buying only their merchandise.

[whiterabbitt]

thats kinda what I thought. well, off to find spoons. I wonder if anybody else can balance them..... any tips for checking wheels for true while I am at it?

[chuckycheese]

That clears up the mystery!

They want you to buy their tires. They cite safety concerns as a cover-all to force customers into buying only their merchandise.

Ya think?

[Adler]

thats kinda what I thought. well, off to find spoons. I wonder if anybody else can balance them..... any tips for checking wheels for true while I am at it?

Balance 'em yourself! all you need is a pair of jack stands.

[lurch12_2000]

I don't believe that on-line ordered tires are 2nds or 3rds, nor do any of us on this forum. In fact, you might get more recent dated tires on line than the local dealer has in stock. Maybe there would be an easier recourse with a local person if something were wrong with a tire, but that local entity was just giving you a hard time, so I would not go back there.
Most of us do think that some online brands are inferior to others and steer clear of them, but do your research. I personally steer clear of Kendas because I observed severe cracking of those tires on bikes I've purchased. I don't like certain Dunlops because of tread design, and am presently leery of Avon Roadriders because of recent cracking issues.

[Big T]

" The tires you buy off the internet are factory seconds and thirds thats why they are so cheap. We cant be liable for them so we dont mount them."

is there any truth to this? any way to tell?l

This reminds me of the crap I hear from contractors to CTA. No basis in reality whatsoever

Like Bridgestone sells seconds?

Yeah, they want that type of liability (heavy sarcasm here)

Stay away from that dealership

[tkent02]

Spin the wheel and look at it, it's easy to tell if it's not straight. Spoons are good. Dyna Beads are easy and they work very well. Statically balancing the wheels with weights is very easy too. Agreed, that shop is a bunch of liars trying to rip you off. Unfortunately, most are.

[mighty13d]

good tires. I have one of my 850 and love it. I couldn't afford the front too, but it is only a couple years old now.

also... This is why people call them STEALerships! Some are rotten to the core. I don't mind if they do free mounting for tires you buy from them and charge you $25 for one you bring in, but to try to scare you after you already paid good money for a good tire??? That's not cool at all. maybe you should tell them that you talked to bridgestone and they wanted more info about the dealership because they want to bring a slander lawsuit against them!

[bradleymaynar]

Just curious, is this the only dealership local to you? Not sure how rural your town is. There used to be a great Suzi dealership around here, but they closed. But my second choice, and now first, isn't a dealership. They specialize in working on older bikes. Granted I won't buy their overpriced aftermarket stuff, unless I'm in a pinch. But any dealership will have a mark up to turn a profit.

Brad BK

[whiterabbitt]

the local that I go to is one of three- one is a h-d and honda dealer, waaayyyy wwwaaaayyyyy tooo expensive; - one is a motorcycle and lawnmower repair shop, he wont work on older bikes unless your a,friend,cop,railroader, and hes really expensive; that leaves the kawasaki dealer, who also happens to have the best local guy for older bikes, but still spendy and apparently crafty too.

I really didnt think that bridgestone would sell inferior tires, but it could happen I suppose.

for the balancing: is there a good how to- that someone can direct me to? and anybody know where to find the video of a guy that changes a tire in like 5 minutes? he used a weird trick, damn, I shoulda paid more attention!

[Adler]

for the balancing: is there a good how to- that someone can direct me to? and anybody know where to find the video of a guy that changes a tire in like 5 minutes? he used a weird trick, damn, I shoulda paid more attention!

Either use dynabeads or use this...

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/images/tire_info.html#A04

Its not so much a guide as an illustration. I don't think the rollerblade bearings are even required.