| Author | Message | ||
     Luxor |
Went to the local HD dealer today to have my shiny new Michelin Pilots mounted and they refused saying that the tire is too heavy for the wheel, and has a possibility of damaging or cracking the wheels. The service writer even called Buell, and guess what, Buell recommends Dunlops or Pirellis. Now I know that alot of XB owners use the Pilots. My question? Have any of you heard or seen a Michelin damage an XB wheel????? And, HELLO, I have been a member for awhile but lerked, I am now out in the open!! Eric S. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
There simply is no place on Planet Earth where one is more likely to encounter a fragrant load of BS than one's local Harley Davidson Service Department. Just to set the record straight, here are the weights of Dunlop, Pirelli and Michelin 120/70/17 front tires from a recent magazine test. Dunlop Qualifier 9.73 lb. Michelin Pilot Power. 9.33 lb Pirelli Diablo 8.9 lb. I have run several sets of Pilot Powers on my previous Buell, and incredibly enough, after 13,000 miles, the wheels were still intact. Could the fact that Buell has supply contracts with Dunlop and Pirelli, and not Michelin, have anything to do with the service writer's enthusiasm for those brands? Perhaps it would be more prudent to change dealers than tire suppliers. That being said, I am currently using the Dunlop Qualifier, (a tire not supplied by Buell), and like many other Buelligans, find them admirably suitable for law breaking the in tight and twisties. I have heard that the new Michelin Pilot Power 2CT's are rather marvelous as well.  (Message edited by gentleman_jon on January 12, 2007) | ||
| Mikexlr650 |
love my pilot powers, gives the bike a wonderful feel. go someplace else for your service needs! or, do it yourself, we do our own changes as well as balancing(thanx hammer). hook up with some buell friends if your not sure how, have yet to meet a bueller not willing to help out. | ||
| Rubberdown |
I did a race school on new pilot powers. They were incredible. Burned my knee puck to the leathers and ground the peg feeler down about 1/2 on a 9R and those tires never slipped a bit. I'm a believer. | ||
| Bake |
It's worse than just cracking, didn't they tell you the wheels may fall off too? Welcome to the wonderful world of HD/Buell dealerships, luckily there are a few good ones out there. Oh ya I am runnung Metzlers (Message edited by bake on January 12, 2007) | ||
| Diablobrian |
no way, no how will a michelin tire damage the wheel. Unless the installer is inept. Then again if these guys routinely see damage due to mounting Michelins.... you know..  | ||
| Cmm213 |
Now I've heard it all! | ||
| Firebolteric_ma |
 Dealerships.......There lines just keep getting better....make it stop | ||
| Hammer71 |
LOL. I'll take em if you dont put em on. Best damn tires I've had on a bike, quick warm up, stable as all get out ( swear I could scrape my elbows). Confidence inspiring tires, great load of BS from that dealer....find a new one | ||
| Firebolteric_ma |
Buy a No-Mar Bar best damn thing you can buy for tire swaps. Literaly takes me 15 min. to dismount/mount the new one. the practicly fall off RIGHT Hammer71 | ||
| Hammer71 |
I love my No Mahh Bahh | ||
| Buellshyter |
Or take them to a Jap dealer | ||
| Teddagreek |
I worked in a tire shop in high School. Because our machine if the customer had aluminum rims we had to disclose the the rim could break.. I never broke a rim ever... Some tires are tighter than others... Just have to use more lube... | ||
| Xl1200r |
Just have to use more lube... That's what she said. Anyways, sounds like a load to me as well. If a shop is using the correct type of machine to mount the tire, you shoudln't have any problems. | ||
| Luxor |
Thanks guys!!  My dad actually took the wheels in for me today to have them done, I was working(he's lucky, retired and all), anyway, they told him this bit of information. Fast forward, I get home expecting to see mounted tires and I get surprise. Dad tells me the story and I got a bit fumed. I work for an auto dealer in service. The only other time I'd heard the tire story was from a crooked service writer trying to sell his brand. Anyway, I had a feeling the HD dealer was full of it, but I'd better ask you guys to be sure. My XB9S is my baby, the best bike I've ever owned or ridden PERIOD. I've been riding for over 20 years and wanted a Buell for over 15, just never the right time/finances. Last year saw the little 9(black) used with 2 babied tics and said MINE! I do all my own service, I LOVE to just touch the bike(sick huh ). Again thanks guys, I am off to a metric dealer or better yet just do it myself  Eric S. | ||
| Kootenay |
Again thanks guys, I am off to a metric dealer or better yet just do it myself Hey, at least take the wheels off yourself (I expect you already do this). I read a horror story here on Badweb a while ago about a tech trying to loosen the front axle with a very long bar and a lot of muscle--he never noticed the arrow and "LH Thread" cast right into the fork leg... | ||
| Daves |
Make sure the metric dealer knows about the front axle as well. I had a customer that took his to a independent metric dealer and they broke his fork trying to get the wheel off. They did buy him a new fork for us to install. | ||
| Rich |
"Anyway, I had a feeling the HD dealer was full of it, but I'd better ask you guys to be sure." Obviously, no one here is.  | ||
| Isham |
"There simply is no place on Planet Earth where one is more likely to encounter a fragrant load of BS than one's local Harley Davidson Service Department. " Eloquent use of words. Love it! That would make a good signature. | ||
| Molly_hatchet |
wow...once again i cant belive how lucky we are here in the pnw....ive never heard such a load of crap in a long freakin time and ive worked at car dealerships most of my life....im planning on getting my tires swapped at legend and funny thing they never bothered to ask what kind of tires i had they just said sure no problem....i guess they pretty much let any asshead become a harley dealer these days....i think id be kinda pissed if i was u. | ||
| Luxor |
Molly_hatchet-- wow...once again i cant belive how lucky we are here in the pnw. Kinda funny cause it was a NW dealer. I live in Oly. took the wheels up north to what I thought was a good dealer, guess I was wrong. I tried to give the HD stores a chance and now I can see that they really have no clue or understanding when it comes to Buell. Yes, I did remove the wheels myself, very easy really, because of the PitBull stands(thanks, Daves). All the service on the XB is rather easy because they were engineered so well to begin with. I was a NASCAR crew member for over 15 years, and these bikes are built just like a late model stock car, very logical in design and use of very high quality parts such as the STANDARD braided brake line, pure engineering class if you ask me. Eric S. | ||
| Court |
>>>>STANDARD braided brake line, pure engineering class if you ask me. Buell was the FIRST in the motorcycle industry to provide braided lines as standard equipment. (1995) | ||
| Debueller |
Luxor, If I'm not mistaken the H-D dealer in Olympia is not a Buell dealer. I went in there looking for a Ulyssess about 18 months ago. They looked at me like I was talking a foreign language. Some H-D/Buell dealers are bad..... H-D only dealers must be downright terrible. (scary) (Message edited by debueller on January 13, 2007) | ||
| Luxor |
Debueller--- If I'm not mistaken the H-D dealer in Olympia is not a Buell dealer. I went in there looking for a Ulyssess about 18 months ago. They looked at me like I was talking a foreign language. You are right, NWHD in Oly has no clue. Walked in once about a year ago and will never go back. I had to listen to all the same old Buell this and Buell that, knowing they were talking out the side of their collective heads. Hey, off topic here a little. I am in Oly and have yet to meet another Buelligan. I have a 9S(race mod) and my dad has a 12S(stock). I work at Allstar Ford in Lacey. I am in the parts room. If anyone wants to stop and say hi it would be great. We can plan a ride as soon as the weather gets a little better. Again, I really appreciate all the positive response here. Buell owners really do have a little different perspective don't we Eric S. | ||
| Reepicheep |
To DaveS's point, my experience with HD dealers relative to other dealers has actually been that the HD dealers are (on average) probably one of the better brand dealer networks. When I had my Radian, you should have heard the crap that my Yamaha dealer told me. A friend with an XR650 had some choice experiences with the Honda dealer as well. No question there are bad HD dealerships out there... but there are good ones as well. | ||
| Rocketman |
To be fair, when Buell launched the XB9 they claimed upto 6lbs of unsprung weight saving using the Enkei wheels with Dunlop tyres. If memory serves, weren't there some wheel failures on the XB? Either way, given the lightness and design of the XB wheel it's good to err on the side of caution if the tyre weight is not know by the fitter. Some motorcycle tyres are considerably heavier than others, and when in motion that's x4. A 1lb extra gain in tyre weight becomes 4lbs extra dynamically. The XB's are sensitive to weight and loading on the front axle are they not? It's foolish to say all HD tech's or service departments are bad. Rocket | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
My dealer wanted my feedback on how I liked my Avons in that they wanted a working knowledge of different tires in case customers wanted something DIFFERENT than the Dunlops or Pirellis available through the dealer. As long as the tires were the size recommended, my dealer wouldn't care. | ||
| 12r |
The OEM Dunlops fitted to early XBs were a 'shaved' derivative of the retail D207s - the front was an 'FY' and the rear was a 'U'. While you could argue that they were lighter than the std D207, you could also argue that they were part-worn  Nevertheless, the bottom line is that they were so indescribably sh*te in all aspects I couldn't wait to get a decent set of tyres fitted and I junked them after 2k miles for a set of Pilot Powers. I'm now on my third rear and second front and have run the 2CT derivative since last Summer. The only damage you'll get is from the frazzled bits of rubber that fly off and stick to the undertray. Enjoy. | ||
| Molly_hatchet |
hey lux if u have a cycle gear close they do tire swaps.... on a slightly different note maybe all us pnw people could get together for sport bikes northwest. | ||
| Sloppy |
Well, actually, there is a problem with Michelins!!! Michelins use a SYNTHETIC base for their rubber stock that requires special PAO mold releasers which makes for an extremely low friction coefficient. What happens is the tire no longer rolls on the road -- it will actually stop spinning and instead, ride on a super slick film which causes the tire to get a flat spot; Hence you should stick to HD brand tires... Some of those mechanics sure know how to explain things in simple terms, no? (Message edited by sloppy on January 15, 2007) | ||
| Sleez |
sloppy, that was perfect! | ||
| Starter |
That is possibly the best dealer quote for this year. Beats my local Ducati dealer refering to my bike as "temperamental and finicky" when a customer expressed interest in it thinking it was a Duke while I was purchasing some oil. I informed him that I was just grateful my servicing only required a change of oil. | ||
| Luxor |
Once again, thanks guys. Found a local Triumph dealer to mount and balance, and they did a fine job. The tech was extra careful with the wheels as it was his first time with a Buell . I just need a little dry spell so I can break these babies in. I must say that in no way was I trying to bash any HD dealer. I knew going in that HD dealers didn't have the best rep with Buells, but I decided to give them a shot anyway figuring my dealer might be better. Well, I gave them a chance and they let me down, so I will be doing ALL my own service. (well, except tires ). Eric S. | ||
| Panhead_dan |
"Found a local Triumph dealer to mount and balance, and they did a fine job. The tech was extra careful with the wheels as it was his first time with a Buell. I just need a little dry spell so I can break these babies in" I hope the tech had the book. Do this simple job incorrectly and your drive belt will fail. (Please don't ask me how I know this.) | ||
| Mainstreamer |
Suggest you call Buell Customer Service and get the straight scoop. This would be a good opportunity to let them know how you feel about your dealer refusing to mount the tires. It will be interesting to know how Buell Customer Service responds to you. Please keep us informed... | ||
| Xbeau12s |
That is a full load of BS. I do my own tire mount and dismount now. Thanks google and Badweb on how to do it by the way. I had my tires changed once at the Dealership. They scratched the hell out of my wheels and my primary cover. Don't know how they scratched the primary cover doing wheels but yeah, do it yourself if at all possible on a Buell. Sad but true | ||
| Rocketman |
Changing a tyre with a machine it's about impossible to damage the wheel or even chip the paint. The machine should never come into contact with the wheel - period. Rocket | ||
| Metalstorm |
The first dealer I took my wheels to chipped a tiny bit of one wheel. I didn't get miffed cause I knew damn well that if I did it myself, having no tire changing experience, that they would have come out far worse. However the last dealer I took them to not only did not damage a single wheel, he got the front wheel to balance perfectly with no weights at all and the rear with just a couple. So if you have a good dealer it's not a problem but it is still always better, smarter, faster, safer and cheaper to take the wheels off yourself & bring them to the dealer sans the bike. |
