the "Tire Nazi"

maybe thats why only one tire vendor showed up this year

Statdawg said:

What kind of cheese are we serving to go with the whine in Wisconsin ?

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Cheese

Statdawg said:

What kind of cheese are we serving to go with the whine in Wisconsin ?

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Vermont Cheddar Cheese from the Cabot Creamery of course!

Friedle

Friedle said:

Vermont Cheddar Cheese from the Cabot Creamery of course!

Friedle

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PHAT CHANCE

tb

would I want to spend 4 days mounting tires as fast as my body could move? I don't think so...

However, Jill and I have a nice ride in the Ozarks planned, starting Thursday,and our internet tires didn't show up in time to the house. Sometimes this vendor gets them to us the next day, other times a few weeks, but it is a crap shoot, and we lost this one. Last time I lost was about two years ago...

So backup position is riding 100 miles each way to cycle gear for a list price tire...but, changing a back tire on a K1200R with a handy lift and HF tire machine, infinate compressed air at home, beats the heck out of trying to find a 190/50-17ZR somewhere on the road during a our first long ride as a couple in two months.

So Jill's bike has a new rear, and new rears for both our X1XXR bikes (K1200R and R1150R Rockster) will be waiting by the shop when we return. At our rate of tire use, we should keep half a dozen around...

Is it too much to expect others to be as careful with tire wear/replacement as we are?

Howard

StevieWonder said:

It's whining when the poster offers no reasonable solutions.

Nobody, but NOBODY has addressed the fact that the tire "nazi" was being asked to support a huge variety of bikes with a just as huge variety of tire needs with ZERO way of him predicting the needs and the volume of those needs.

What I hear is that rally goers expect this guy to show up with an inventory of tires at his expense that he doesn't know if they will be sold. He's supposed to transport personnel and equipment plus this huge amount of rubber to a remote (non-shop environment) location on the HOPES that he's guessed right and sells the inventory so he won't be stuck with thousands upon thousands of dollars of tires that he may not be able to sell for years, for bikes that he never sees.

Then he's supposed to sell the product and the service for the same or lower price than an internet hound can sniff out and get his rear chewed out for not doing it fast enough nor cheap enough.

Serious question ... would YOU want to be the tire/tire service vendor with expectation levels like that?

How about getting specific with some reasonable expectations that balance likelihood and volume with profitability considering the costs of inventory purchase, transportation, personnel and the costs associated with operating away from home (food, meals, hotel, etc)?

So far most of what I've heard from those with bad feelings are, in fact, whining because they have no realistic recognition of what's involved and what SHOULD be expected and what it costs.

So, YEAH .... it's whining.

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It's a relief, reading something positive'bout Rob,who I still figure is THE best in the business,regardless of what some of the whiners may say.

OK, Ok, I give in

"It's a relief, reading something positive'bout Rob,who I still figure is THE best in the business,regardless of what some of the whiners may say. "

Since I'm the whiner who started this whole pissing match, maybe I can close this out with a few positive things about Rob:
He DOES know more about tires than anyone else I've ever met, he did a beautiful job of mounting and balancing my new tires, I'm very pleased that I took his advice on which tires to get, and he absolutely worked his tail off for LONG hours to get everybody's tires on. And he has a great sense of humor!

In my own defense, this was my first International rally, and I made mistakes in planning, which I take full responsibility for. The idea to get tires at the rally was based on what I now know to be "outdated" advice from friends who haven't been to a rally in many years.
OK, I'm done, the words "Tire Nazi" shall not get punched into this computer ever again.
Dave Kaftan
Ann Arbor, MI

Not that it realy matters NOW. But if you don't like the way he does business...go somewhere else AND STOP YOUR WHINING!! SHEESH! Go out and learn to adjust your valves.

StevieWonder said:

What I hear is that rally goers expect this guy to show up with an inventory of tires at his expense that he doesn't know if they will be sold. He's supposed to transport personnel and equipment plus this huge amount of rubber to a remote (non-shop environment) location on the HOPES that he's guessed right and sells the inventory so he won't be stuck with thousands upon thousands of dollars of tires that he may not be able to sell for years, for bikes that he never sees.

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Umm, yes, that is what rally goers expect. Is this not exactly what a buisness owner is supposed to do. I am a part owner of a Wine Importing Biz. We buy wine from Spain, Argintina, Uruguay, and Chile all the time (with our own money) with no guarentee that we will sell it all. We have it all transported across the seas and stored in a warehouse we have to rent in NJ due to strange b.s. laws concerning booze. Being in biz. and selling products to the public is all about taking a risk and then, maybe, reaping the profits.

I rode out from Colorado and planned on spending the next 4 weeks riding around the East (which I did). I read on this site about the tire Nazi and how cool he was. I looked at my tires and decided they would probably make it to Vermont. In a foolish move I decided to try to take my money to a cool vendor at the rally whom everyone on the forum seemed to like and not to one of the dealers in Denver. All turned out well as the guys at the dealership down the road from the site took care of me. The tire nazi could have made a boat load of money at the rally. Instead he really came off looking a bit sloppy and foolish. I will not count on him again and I am sure he could care less. Just my thoughts.

jdmetzger said:

Shame on ME???

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You're kidding, right?

Unless you're personally a large corporation, I'm pretty sure he misspelled the name of a motorcycle tire manufacturer

Stuff2C said:

Not that it realy matters NOW. But if you don't like the way he does business...go somewhere else AND STOP YOUR WHINING!! SHEESH! Go out and learn to adjust your valves.

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What does adjusting valves have to do with getting tires?
The people who are upset over this vendor, I'm sure, won't use his services again, that's hindsight.
But they thought they were dealing with a capable businessman and found out otherwise, the hard way.
I go to a rally to have fun, not get tune ups, or tires.
But, if I found myself in need service I would expect a vendor to be prepared and capable.

wuli959 said:

You're kidding, right?

Unless you're personally a large corporation, I'm pretty sure he misspelled the name of a motorcycle tire manufacturer

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When I read this post the other day, I was pretty sure he did (meant the tire company w/elephant logo) too. Metzger, you're cool, man. As we used ta say in Brooklyn, "Doanworryaboudit"

tessler said:

When I read this post the other day, I was pretty sure he did (meant the tire company w/elephant logo) too. Metzger, you're cool, man. As we used ta say in Brooklyn, "Doanworryaboudit"

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I appreciate that, tessler. I read it and re-read it, and couldn't figure it out. Later that night, I ran into BeemoKat at a biker gathering, who also informed me he probably meant "metzeler". So I missed that one. We all have off days, right?

Bensonhurst said:

What does adjusting valves have to do with getting tires?

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If you don't get it...

Arizona Tires aka Tire Nazi (Robert) whatever

I've used Roberts services several times in the past, at Daytona, the Ra National in Birmingham (Barber Motorsport Park) and the National at Canaan Valley W.V. and have always received great service as well as a better price than I get from my dealer of 18 years. I always check in advance to make sure he will have my brand and size tire. This year I had about 2,000 miles wear still in my rear Michilin Anakee. As we were going on to Cape Breton and the Cabot Trail after the rally our total trip would take us about 4,500 miles from Carolina. I called Robert about 2 weeks out and asked if he'd have an Anakee and also a Tourance for my riding buddy. Sure, was his response. Friday before we left on Tuesday for the rally he called me and apologized stating that he'd been unable to get either tire, that he couldn't find them through any of his normal suppliers. He did offer that he would have other brands if indeed I had to have a tire and also that the Metzler truck was to be at Franks BMW 5 miles from the rally site. Possibly I could get a tire from him. After checking locally I was told the same thing from local dealers...no Dual Sport tires from Metzlar or Michilin were availiable! I called Franks BMW in Essex Junction as Robert had advised. Frank had 1 Anakee left and swore he would hold it for me until Wednesday before the rally. True to his word he mounted the Anakee for me Wednesday but although the Metzlar truck along with lifts and tire changing equipment was on site as Robert had stated they were idle as they had no tires for Dual Sport machines. A SNAFU due to the huge increase of sales of Dual Sport bikes. My buddy went back to Robert who was hoping for a UPS delivery of tires (Anakees, he still couldn't get Tourances) and promised one was reserved for us.
I can't say that Robert is the most organized person in the world, but I can tell you this, he worked his butt off trying to help those who needed tires. As has been stated before, there's no way he could have been prepared for the huge numbers needing tires as well as the unavailability of certain tires. Some say he overcharged them. My buddy paid $68.00 less than I did from Franks BMW for the same tire mounted and balanced. He received apologies for the delays but all in all I can't say enough about Robert The Tire Nazi. I'll continue to do business with him and be thankfull that he does the rally circuit. Years ago Metzlar and Dunlop both used to cover the National rallys, selling and mounting tires at discount prices. They've since quit. To my knowledge Robert was the only one in the area able to get dual sport tires duriing the time frame of the rally. He could have closed shop at 6PM as many vendors did and just told everyone ...sorry I can only do so much. Instead he worked his butt off and has caught a lot of flack on this forum for it. I guess that's the nature of forums...a lot of whinning. I for one am glad he was there.

Jim

I get it

Stuff2C said:

If you don't get it...

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But I think you're mixing apples and oranges.
I adjust my own valves, do my own oil changes, I've re-built engines, etc., but when it comes to tires I have to go to a qualified tire shop.
Do you have mounting and balancing equipment, are you suggesting we all should have such equipment?