Adventures in Tire Changing

[rlfaubion]

It all started in the midst of the winter. Redeye and Valdez decided to purchase and install tire-changing equipment for Their comrades and them. They were influenced to do so from some motorcycle show’s vendor making it look so EZ, and the idea of convenience, with some savings, and the satisfaction of doing their own maintenance.

They installed the tire changer, bought the necessary accessories, went to work, and changed two tires on Redeye’s Nomad over the weekend. They may have worked harder than they might normally have until they read the instructions through completely, but regardless, saved the $20.00 per tire it would have cost to outsource this tire change. At the end of the day, they analyzed their financial position against the effort put forth and here’s the break down.

Equipment Cost = $275.00
Harbor Freight Changer
Mojo Blocks and Bar
Mounting hardware

Labor factor = 1/3 of tire change income ($20 divided by 1/3) = $6.67

Tire changes required to break even, ($275 divided by $13.33) = 20.63 tire changes

Average miles between changes (rear 11,000 miles, front 16,000) = 13,500 miles

Miles required to recapture equipment investment (less labor) = 275,000 miles

Average miles ridden per year (your miles may vary) = 15,000 miles

Amortized years for return on investment (275K mi divided by 15K mi) = 18 years

Bottom Line:

Age of investors at time of $$$ recapture is Redeye 74, Valdez 79,
Two old guys making $3.33 an hour each,
The convenience of changing tires and riding the same day, while drinking beer in Ole Smokey’s garage (not OSHA approved)…….

PRICELESS!