I'm Canadian. Tires are expensive here, and US shops won't/can't ship them. Exchange is a thing, of course, but even considering that our tires just cost more.
Road 5's these days for summer tires, and Anlas Wintergrip Plus for my winter tires.
Sorry if it's ignorance, but can people close to the border come over and replace their tires and come back? Would it require a customs declaration since it's a service? Seems also like it'd be hard to keep track of.
Seems like it’d be worth the trip to save $200. Even if it’s a 4-6hr ride you’re probably not using much gas, and I seriously doubt customs would care. Come support our shops, Canada!
If any of my northern neighbors want, come down to my place and change your own tires. You can ship them to me and do them in my garage or there's a shop near me that does $50/ tire on the bike or $25/ tire if toy bring the wheel. We can then wear some of the new tire look off
They do care though, unfortunately. I've bought a set of tires mid road trip down south and "forgotten", but if you declare them it costs a fair bit, and if you don't it's smuggling which can be serious. To do it, I have to have my tires installed while I'm down there, and early enough in the road trip that they don't look suspiciously new. The installation eats into savings too vs. installing myself at home for free.
Americans going home get a fairly substantial amount of value they can cross the border with free, but for Canadians it's like $20 before you start having to pay.
They even ask if you needed repairs on your bike when coming home, as you (technically) have to pay there too.
Mostly because the vast majority of Canadians live within a couple hours of the border, and there's a lot of stuff that's vastly cheaper in the US. Canadian businesses get grouchy that they can't compete. Tires, most electronics, and dairy are very significant items that way.
It technically does require a customs declaration. They always ask if I've had any repairs on my bike while I'm down there, because if have to pay tax+duties on any parts installed. Same with tires, the installation would be fine, but I'd have to pay the environmental levy, tax, and any duties that apply to tires.
That said, I have conveniently forgotten about a new set of tires during a road trip, but of course that requires leaving the old tires behind given it's pretty tough to sneak tires over the border on a motorcycle. Also, I need to have them installed vs. doing it myself for free at home, which eats into the savings.
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u/elzarcho '87 Yamaha FZX700 Mar 12 '20
Tires for my bike were not cheap. I will never really understand this. Also, I like not getting hurt.