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Tire Mounting/Balancing Service... Thoughts and Opinions.

storm 64

storm 64

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I was thinking about buying a Weaver motorcycle tire mounting machine, also the tire balancing machine.
I thought I could offset the cost by providing a tire service for the local motorcyclists in my area.
My big question is about the liability I'd have. Could I have the person just sign a waver? Or, do it free of charge and get compensated with a "tip" gift card? I wonder how much liability insurance would actually cost and if it would be worth it? You also have the hassle of old tire disposal.

I picture a sport bike rider coming to my house. He takes his wheels off in my garage. We mount and balance his tires. He puts them on his cycle, pays me $75.00+-?...
I'm not sure if I'd want to do cruiser type motorcycles, unless the wheels were already off the motorcycle.
I'm just kicking this idea around. Any thoughts or opinions welcome.
 
Hi Norm
Funny you bring this up now as just last night I was at my good friend's (and gsr member AZR) Rob's last night getting new tires on my ST1100...He bought a tire changer last year for the same reasons as you are thinking. He's doing tires for the local bike community....doesn't advertise on facebook or anything, just word of mouth.
He didn't have me sign anything but he didn't charge me either...we are good friends so he knows there's beer at my house for him every Friday :)
He does charge though and I doubt he have anyone sign anything....of course we don't sue each here :)
I think he charges around $40 to $60 if you bring the wheels in....which I actually think he only does it that way.....cheers and good luck my friend.
 
I already do a lot of (manual) tire changing for myself and friends, and a lot of other work besides.

To be frank, I've never figured out the liability end of things, and no one really seems to know whether slipping a pal cash for a tire change or oil change in his garage opens a can of liability worms. I can tell you that exchanging beer for motorcycle work soon leads to a fridge full of way more beer than anyone needs, with no room for food. But where the line between a pro shop and your garage is, I don't really know.

Some years back, I actually did a lot of paid work in my garage on bikes belonging to my home and auto insurance agent at the time, and he never brought up any issues. But I didn't think to ask any pointed questions either.

I've actually reached out to an insurance agent that provides track day insurance, hoping to interview him for the TRO podcast. I never got a reply, but I suppose we should try harder, and work on finding answers to these sorts of questions as well; just how much "professional" work can someone do in their garage before they start to take on too much risk? Seems like it would be a common question in many enthusiast communities. There's a lot of very confident ignorance out there as well.
 
Norm.. Look into just using DYNABEADS and do away with weights and save your money on a balancer. Ive used them forever and your NEVER out of balance and youll get longer tread wear too.
 
chuck hahn said:
Norm.. Look into just using DYNABEADS and do away with weights and save your money on a balancer. Ive used them forever and your NEVER out of balance and youll get longer tread wear too.
Click to expand...
I had them put in my Suzuki GT1000 and they were ok at regular speed but at high speed 130kms plus, they would vibrate the bike....never used them since and buddies have experienced the same thing
 
For me beads have worked fine up to that 130km. (interstate hwy.) speed, noticed nothing odd or out of whack... Always wondered how they work or what happens at high speeds, I've not tried them at fast speeds and pretty sure I never will... Anybody tried them at 120+
 
rphillips said:
For me beads have worked fine up to that 130km. (interstate hwy.) speed, noticed nothing odd or out of whack... Always wondered how they work or what happens at high speeds, I've not tried them at fast speeds and pretty sure I never will... Anybody tried them at 120+
Click to expand...
Just said I have in the post above...lol
 
Plus, I don't think there good if you have Tire Pressure Sensors in your wheels.
 
Doesn't that junk leave a gawd-awful mess in tires and on wheels?

I'm thinking of that goo (foamy) stuff. Is there a product that just consists of BBs rolling around inside? If so, I can easily imagine them not working at all speeds and even vibrating, which would scare the shyte out of me.

And even if you're riding your stock (42 hp) 883 Sporty, how could you definitely limit yourself to 130 kph (80 mph)? What if a situation arose?

Say it was a beautiful summer day, and you found yourself riding on an empty mountain road. I'd feel better with foam rather than little beads rockin' & rolling around in there, but I'd say no to both.
 
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