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Very unhappy with the shop's work mounting a tire -- What would you do?

Renegade

Well-known Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2020
Total Posts
63
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0
Location
RI, USA
The last thing my CB200 needs before getting on the road is new tires, and this is the only thing on my re-assembly of the bike that I never thought of doing myself. I just got it back from the mechanic and I am extremely upset. I need you guys to talk me off the ledge before I blow a gasket (in my head, not on the bike (this time)).

The tires are way too big for the bike. I let him recommend the tires to me and I followed his recommendation blindly -- I share the blame because I shouldn't have let him talk me into it. I just figured he knew more about it than me so I followed like a sheep.

Here are my gripes and some pictures. Should I ask them to refund me for the tires? Or just cut my losses and never go back? What about the labor? It was $300 for the tires, $250 for labor, and some for the tubes. That's a lot of money for me, and completely offsets the point of me getting a cheap bike to work on.


  • The wheel straight up rubs against the brake arm when it's just sitting there. My understanding is that the tire expands during riding, so if it's rubbing while stationary I assume it's quite unsafe while riding
  • They did a terrible job balancing the tires -- I rode it home before realizing the other issues and it felt like I was riding on a wavy road the whole time
  • The chain is so tight it barely has 1/8" of slack. It's an easy fix of course, but it just shows me they didn't take any care when putting the wheel back on.
  • They had to bend the bracket that holds the chainguard away from the wheel and towards the chain. It will probably bend back without breaking, but now the chain has almost no room for lateral movement
  • Not 100% their fault, but they left the petcock on for the 4 weeks they had it and I know my petcock and carb floats don't seal 100%, so now I won't feel safe until I change my oil. Easy fix, but everyone with a vintage bike knows to turn the petcock off, right?
  • Now both tires are touching the ground when it's on the centerstand. Not a big issue, but I liked having the rear wheel spin freely while cleaning the chain or even just during storage so I know it's not going to flat spot


Thanks for letting me vent. This forum is cheaper than therapy.

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When I was a kid I wanted a fatter rear tire on my brand new CB360. In the end I took the Swing Arm off, and had it "Chopped" and "Beefed up" by a very good welder at the Honda shop I used. Turned out good but it was a lot of unexpected work ! Too bad out youth is wasted on young people !
 
It's another example of the unfortunate occurrences that happen with vintage bikes at shops who claim to know how to work on them. Yes, you should have said something to them about turning off the petcock when the bike wasn't running, but they should also know that. You're not likely to get a refund for those tires now that they've been ridden on, and the fact that they discussed them with you and you agreed to them (whether or not you realized the negative implications) means you won't likely get any satisfaction there either, unfortunately. However, you do have a situation that needs to be resolved. It appears that the rear tire is not fully out on the bead of the rim in at least one place, which would cause the out of round feeling. Also, you should take a close look at what appears to be a slice across the tire to be sure if it's just a mold line or an actual cut, because if it is a cut then that tire should be returned or replaced at the very least. Still, they should have known better.
 
What a rip off !

Over here, most places either fit tyres for free, or charge a nominal fee, if you buy the tyres from them at full retail price.

Those tyres are way too big, and I'd guess designed to be run tubeless on cast wheels on a later bike.
 
You guys are incredibly observant -- that's why everyone should include pictures in their posts. Thanks for the bad news, ancientdad. Even though I rode 6 miles on them I'll see if they're willing to work with me to replace them. I wish I had taken the time to look at it before I rode away, I was just really excited to be talking motorcycles with someone for a few minutes.

The line across the tire is indeed just a mold line. It's slightly raised so I know it's not a cut. Excuse my naïve questions, but what tells you the tire isn't fully on the bead? Also, how can you tell the rear brake is wearing down, is it because the adjuster nut is screwed in so far? I asked him to check the brakes as well because when I had it apart I was kind of guessing on how to measure the thickness properly so I wanted someone to double check it, but I doubt he looked.
 
What a rip off !

Over here, most places either fit tyres for free, or charge a nominal fee, if you buy the tyres from them at full retail price.

Those tyres are way too big, and I'd guess designed to be run tubeless on cast wheels on a later bike.

Oh that's another thing I forgot to bring up! These are tubless tires and I know very little about tube vs tubeless, but I didn't think you could run tubeless tires on a regular old rim. Also I got charged for tubes so clearly you can put tubes in tubeless tires, I guess I just don't know enough about how that works.
 
Hi,

It's not always clear what the height and width of tires are, but a quick internet search will reveal a lot of info. However, it's getting more and more difficult to get tires for these older bikes, especially if you want a decent, modern tire.
The manual / at this forum, can help to identify the kind of tires the bike needs in height and width, then do a search like I suggested, and look for something modern in the same height / width range.

btw, you can run tubeless tires with tubes, it would be bvetter not to, but sometimes there is no choice. Price is ridiculous, my BT45's for my bomber are setting me back no more then 200 euro, including labour, balancing and spoke adjustments.

I looked up what I bought last year:

Rear, Bridgestone 110/90 * 18 BT45 R H, price was 86 Euro, inner tube was 17 euro
Front: Bridgestone 90/90 * 18 51 H BT45 F, price was 75 Euro, inner tube was 12 euro,

1 hour labor including spokes, balancing and chancing tires, 0 euro's,

in total that makes 190 euro's.
 
Excuse my naïve questions, but what tells you the tire isn't fully on the bead? Also, how can you tell the rear brake is wearing down, is it because the adjuster nut is screwed in so far? I asked him to check the brakes as well because when I had it apart I was kind of guessing on how to measure the thickness properly so I wanted someone to double check it, but I doubt he looked.

Good to hear the line across the tread is not a cut. As for the tire not fully on the bead, Steve pointed it out while I was on the phone with him (I was replying to you at the time and so I couldn't blow up the picture). He noticed the small "rib"-like line in the tire molding process that runs around the circumference of the tire, and should be equidistant from the rim when the tire is fully on the bead, appeared to be not fully out in one place - a sure sign the tire isn't fully seated all the way around, which would account for the out-of-round feel you mentioned. I just revisited the picture and though it is hard to be sure without a better close-up, I think I see what he saw and you know Steve is rarely wrong. This shows you what to look for. Put a thin piece of wood under your centerstand to get the rear wheel off the ground and spin it, and if you see a low spot in the tire then stop the wheel and look to see if the rib on the sidewall is "sucked in" a bit, which would cause the low spot and resulting out-of-round feel

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Your CB200T should have 3.00x18" tires;those wide tires on there now are horrendous. They will be pinched too-tight by the corresponding 'too narrow a rim for the width of the tire' and you will have less contact patch/rubber on the road(dangerous) than your original tires.You gave that shop your valuable trust but they didn't return the favor:they screwed-up.I would consider taking them to small claims court if needed.. I would ask for a refund of those tires and purchase your own,correct size tires online:You can buy a nice pair of generic brand Michelin-style 16" long,curved tire irons for about $20 each and it'll make installing a pair of 3.00x18" stock size tube-type tires a snap.
 
Your CB200T should have 3.00x18" tires;those wide tires on there now are horrendous. They will be pinched too-tight by the corresponding 'too narrow a rim for the width of the tire' and you will have less contact patch/rubber on the road(dangerous) than your original tires.You gave that shop your valuable trust but they didn't return the favor:they screwed-up.I would consider taking them to small claims court if needed.. I would ask for a refund of those tires and purchase your own,correct size tires online:You can buy a nice pair of generic brand Michelin-style 16" long,curved tire irons for about $20 each and it'll make installing a pair of 3.00x18" stock size tube-type tires a snap.

This. To hold the bead and stiffen the sidewall these oversized tyres need even more pressure than what the factory specs for the bike, which makes the contact patch even smaller. That makes it easier to skid and really eat it when you hit gravel, leaves, etc. Get wider rims if you want bigger tyres safely but remember that your suspension and brakes were also designed for smaller and lighter tyres. Acceleration will also suffer a bit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
It appears those are Continental ClassicAttack and if so the rear 18" offered is a 110 or 120/90/18 when you should be running an 80/90/18 or a 90/90/18 which is +1 oversized.
Steve's sharp eyes are related to the 2nd picture which shows the pinch.
I think I know who did this to you, does the shop name start with a V?
 
They definitely have no idea what they are doing. I'd go back there and point out everything, and see what they would do.

The prices are insane. You can get decent tires for your bike for $50-75 or a little more if you want to put it through its paces more than just ride it around (it's a CB200, after all). $250 to mount tires? The shop by my old house in Phoenix would take off the old tire and tube, mount new ones, discard the old tire and tube, and balance them for $25 per wheel. I never mounted my own tires because I always wanted them balanced. I would have to bring in the wheels off the bike, but it was Bob's, which is also a salvage yard, and they would let me ride in and let me use their tools to take off the wheels in front of the shop.

All the other stuff? Missed bead? Left the petcock on? Bent your chain guard (!) without talking to you about it (!!)? Left no slack in the chain? Gave you a tire that looks like it is close to rubbing the chain?

Like I said, I would go back and talk to them with a list of grievances. Be prepared for them to be defensive. If they won't do anything to make it right, find a shop that can mount you some stock size tires and try to sell the tires you bought on craigslist for half of what you paid for them.

And don't be shy about telling other people, including here. Honest feedback about a bad experience will help prevent this happening to other people down the line, and I'm sorry it happened to you.
 
And don't be shy about telling other people, including here. Honest feedback about a bad experience will help prevent this happening to other people down the line, and I'm sorry it happened to you.

Absolutely all true, particularly the above statement. The OP should post something in the Vendor Experiences section about getting hosed so others can read and avoid.
 
Wow I didn't expect to get so many helpful responses. Thank you to everyone!

LongDistanceRider, it wasn't who you think! When you came to hand deliver my t-shirt a few weeks ago you may have noticed I live real close to Vicious Cycles (the "V" you may have thought), but this was actually done by Bridge City Cycles in North Portland. I have no problem calling them out by name, I was just going to give them a chance to defend their decisions first but it's not necessary. Thank you everyone for confirming I got hosed!

I have actually never even thought about mounting my own tires because I thought it was best left to the professionals, but now that bilbikek411 mentions it I'll have to research it and do it myself from now on. I'm certainly up for learning a new skill.
 
I think it's fair to ask for a refund since the tires they recommended are unsafe and they should have know better(it doesn't matter that you signed off on it, you aren't the expert). You also may want to consider a chain guard at some point as well.
 
Had a look at their Yelp reviews. Usually I take that stuff with a grain of salt -- it's normally people with an axe to grind that leave bad reviews. But there are enough scary ones on there that it should warn people away. His responses to some of the bad reviews don't help his case much.
 
When you get those good tire levers,it'll make the job Much easier plus use some Murphy's tire bead lube on the edges of each tire bead,all the way around.Keep both the tire beads pulled together in the center of the rim(a pair of new rim strips to protect the correct size tubes)to ease the tire beads gently onto the rims.
The wheels w/ new tires can be static balanced at home with a static wheel balancer too w/o one of those fancy computer balance machines;a simple one can be set-up at home using homemade 2x4's and a cheap pair of bearings mounted on top of them.They are accurate.
 
All I can say is...HOLY CRAP!!!

That place took you to the cleaners - sold you the wrong tires, didn’t do a good job installing them, and charged you too much. I ordered the proper size tires (inexpensive but good quality), tubes, and new rim strips for my CL350, and put them on myself with some tire irons. Total cost was about $130 and a couple hours of my time.
 
Also $250 for labour is A LOT for just mounting tires. Hell my shop charged me $25 per tire.
Well, to be fair, they took the wheels off the bike and put them back on, which can be more time consuming than actually mounting the tires on the rims, not to mention the extra time it took to bend various parts for clearance. :lol:
 
I think it's fair to ask for a refund since the tires they recommended are unsafe and they should have know better(it doesn't matter that you signed off on it, you aren't the expert). You also may want to consider a chain guard at some point as well.


You could tell them that you will bring just the wheels to them and they can remove the new tires,tubes that they installed, then give you back both bare wheels and refund the $ for those parts,etc.

You "signed-off" on the tires 'they' recommended..
 
Googled them, and on the website pictures alone I would never bring my bike ever to such a shop. cafe-racer loops , fat but un-rideable tires mounted on bikes that weren't designed for that etc.

Hipster shop !
 
I would think that any shop that had a bike in the 1 Moto show would be a good place to go -- I guess you didn't like what you saw though?

Some of you guys are saying you wouldn't have gone there based on their reviews and pictures, but Portland is arguably the hipster CAPITAL of the US (mayyyybe topped out by Brooklyn) so it's hard to find a non-hipster place! Between all the shops here, I thought this one actually had the least scary reviews. But now I know for a fact, don't take a vintage bike to ANY shop unless you've told them EXACTLY what you want. If you let them make any judgement calls, you're gonna have a bad time.
 
Well, it's been our experience that almost all modern shops, despite what they may say, do NOT know how to work on these bikes properly. It's a sad story that has been told and re-told so many times... did you talk to them about it yet?
 
As a non expert here is my 2 cents; It seems to me that lots of shops are more concerned with builds that look cool that will get photo shoots on the internet instead of building safe bikes that work properly, are comfortable to ride and also look cool. It sucks the sold you the wrong tires and did shoddy work. Chalk it up as a learning experience and maybe consider learning to mount tires yourself, you can get a set of tire irons for $20.
 
Well, it's been our experience that almost all modern shops, despite what they may say, do NOT know how to work on these bikes properly. It's a sad story that has been told and re-told so many times... did you talk to them about it yet?

Yes, exactly. That's the reason why those of us with the vintage bike experience(mostly old guys like me) pass on the knowledge on a forum like this. The only way to work on these bikes is to learn to do it yourself, or have one of us as a friend. Stick with it. There's nothing like a vintage Honda!
 
Yes, exactly. That's the reason why those of us with the vintage bike experience(mostly old guys like me) pass on the knowledge on a forum like this. The only way to work on these bikes is to learn to do it yourself, or have one of us as a friend. Stick with it. There's nothing like a vintage Honda!

Couldn't agree more Jay. They're not super complicated, so the learning curve isn't that bad and when the outcome is in your hands alone, you'll only suffer the issues that come with learning how to work on them, not the issues of leaving it in the hands of someone you don't know you can trust to make proper decisions for your bike based on trendy interests combined with a major lack of vintage Honda experience.

And to Renegade - remember that whatever difficulties you encounter, we all here have already encountered at one time or another as our ownership of these bikes grew over the years, and we all enjoy sharing our accumulated knowledge and helping you through those moments so you too can learn as we did.
 
And to Renegade - remember that whatever difficulties you encounter, we all here have already encountered at one time or another as our ownership of these bikes grew over the years, and we all enjoy sharing our accumulated knowledge and helping you through those moments so you too can learn as we did.

And it is that willingness to share for which I am eternally grateful! Although I don't post much on this forum, I read every single comment in the smaller twins section and most threads in the other sections. In fact, everything I know about my Honda is from HT and now VHT. I am not opposed to doing everything myself, you guys just never talked about how easy it is to install tires at home until now so I didn't know! I guess for most people who grew up around this stuff it's obvious.

I did indeed contact them a few days ago. I emailed them my concerns and pictures and they called me within minutes. They were incredibly nice about it and willing to take the tires back and let me pick out what to replace them with. I may or may not get any money back, but I will surely not be paying any more. I will update the thread on how it turns out in the end so that anyone searching for the name of the shop that stumbles across this thread will know for the future.
 
And it is that willingness to share for which I am eternally grateful! Although I don't post much on this forum, I read every single comment in the smaller twins section and most threads in the other sections. In fact, everything I know about my Honda is from HT and now VHT. I am not opposed to doing everything myself, you guys just never talked about how easy it is to install tires at home until now so I didn't know! I guess for most people who grew up around this stuff it's obvious.

I did indeed contact them a few days ago. I emailed them my concerns and pictures and they called me within minutes. They were incredibly nice about it and willing to take the tires back and let me pick out what to replace them with. I may or may not get any money back, but I will surely not be paying any more. I will update the thread on how it turns out in the end so that anyone searching for the name of the shop that stumbles across this thread will know for the future.


Stefan,That's great ! I have enjoyed running IRC NR21 3.00x18" tires and new 3.00x18 tubes on mine;the price online is very good.
Did you find the tire levers ?
 
...you guys just never talked about how easy it is to install tires at home until now so I didn't know!

Well, I wouldn't say it's easy to put tires on, it can be challenging at times with old tires to get them off the rim and tubes can be a PITA to deal with at times as well, but it isn't that difficult and certainly worth saving $250 installation for 2 tires. Other than a good set of tire irons, I like to have a 25 gallon drum to set the wheel on to make it easier. It's like anything else on our bikes, having the right tools to work with and the willingness to learn how to do it goes a long way to saving yourself money and getting the feeling of confidence that you know it was done right, because you learned how and did it yourself. I've done enough of it in many categories in my life that I find it hard to trust pretty much anyone I have to hire for things that are either too big for me to do or too complicated for me to feel confident in learning how.

Good to hear you got positive response from the shop, that's good news on getting things straightened out.
 
I did my own tires a few times out of nesessity. It's a total pain in the a$$ to do.
Balancing the wheels is the only easy part IME.

I rather just take my wheels to the local shop and pay them $25 /per to do them.
 
Good news shop is willing to replace the tires. I didn't mean to imply that mounting tires yourself is easy, especially the first couple times but you can do it and it gets easier the more you do it.
 
That looks like a time saver for $47.00 !!! Except it only handles up to a 12" tire.
 
Bought one of those once:https://www.harborfreight.com/manual...ger-69686.html , possibly the worst piece of junk I ever wasted money on. The threads on the central shaft, where the wheel hold-down screws on were poorly formed and galled the first time it was used, needed a 24 inch pipe wrench and a cheater pipe just to unscrew the damn thing to get the wheel off. It went into the scrap pile, right where it belonged.
 
Glad to hear ! Anyways, if I'm reading the Ad right it'll only do up to a 16" wheel ?
 
Well, I wouldn't say it's easy to put tires on, it can be challenging at times with old tires to get them off the rim and tubes can be a PITA to deal with at times as well, but it isn't that difficult and certainly worth saving $250 installation for 2 tires. Other than a Good set of tire irons,I can take a picture of one of mine if needed,a 16" long iron,curved on one end for installing new tires. I like to have a 25 gallon drum to set the wheel on to make it easier. It's like anything else on our bikes, having the right tools to work with and the willingness to learn how to do it goes a long way to saving yourself money and getting the feeling of confidence that you know it was done right, because you learned how and did it yourself. I've done enough of it in many categories in my life that I find it hard to trust pretty much anyone I have to hire for things that are either too big for me to do or too complicated for me to feel confident in learning how.

Good to hear you got positive response from the shop, that's good news on getting things straightened out.


I hope you can get your $ back from the shop,get those good tire irons,etc. and take your time to do your own tire install.Have you ever changed bicycle tires ? Have a look at a youtube video of a few different people changing tires.. You'll get-it.Have faith in your learning curve and enjoy the new experience.The more 'mistakes' you make,the more you'll start to understand about installing the tire with the inner tube just very lightly inflated(keep pushing that tube back inside the tire and away from the tire levers) and keeping both tire beads as squeezed tightly together in the center of the rim as possible(which gives the tire bead you're trying to slide-on much more ease of movement) using both of your knees with the wheel on a piece of plywood.Keep squeezing that tire flat under both your knees and your free hand.I would make sure to remove the sprocket carrier first so the wheel lays as flat on the plywood as possible.Did you find any Murphy's tire bead lube for sale locally ?
A local Goodyear tire store or Napa store should have some:ask for it by name.
 
Stefan,That's great ! I have enjoyed running IRC NR21 3.00x18" tires and new 3.00x18 tubes on mine;the price online is very good.
Did you find the tire levers ?
Have you ever changed bicycle tires ? Have a look at a youtube video of a few different people changing tires.. You'll get-it.Have faith in your learning curve and enjoy the new experience.

Fantastic, thanks for the recommendation! I haven't looked for the tire levers or tire bead lube yet because I'm going to have the shop fix it this time, but I really am looking forward to buying the tools next time I have a tire to change. I have an obsession with having the right tool for the job for every job. Will probably skip the harbor freight tool based on the mixed feedback people here are giving. And yup, I have changed a bicycle tire many times so I'm sure I could get the hang of it!
 
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