I've never had problems like this from 30+ years from Ford and Chevy mechanics. In five years I've used 4 HD motorcycle dealers for service. Each one of them has blundered one thing or another and/or given conflicting opinions of what's going on. To their credit, two them have always tried to make things right, but that means multiple visits and drop-offs which equates to lots of time and lots of aggravation. (You know who your friends are when you need a pick-up or drop-off). For a premium priced motorcycle company like HD, I would have expected better. I do get a chuckle when I read about trusting HD technicians in HOG magazine. I guess they're like everyone else: experienced and good, experienced - don't give a dam, and not experienced - hit or miss.

I know there's lots of guys who do all their own work and don't trust anyone else to touch their bike. For me, working full-time, taking care of the homestead, chores, etc, means I barely have time to take a ride.

Am I the only guy who has had less than consistently-good experience from HD service?

 

My local dealer for the most part has always treated me fairly. After my wreck they did a good job at getting things in order and making sure things went smoothly. Although there were a few hiccups which resulted in some serious frustration, mainly due to their communication with the insurance company, but all in all they've taken care of business. Regarding the technician aspect, my bike was fixed properly despite a couple of minor things that did frustrate me but considering some of the stories I've come across on here I feel it could of been a hell of a lot worse.

I, like you, know that a lot of guys on here enjoy wrenching on their own bikes 100% of the time. For me, I have plenty of tools I just don't have a lift, and sometimes just flat don't have the time. I'd love to be able to do everything myself but sometimes that just isn't the case. Sure would save a large amount of $$$$ doing a majority of work ourselves though. On that note, I came across an Indy shop that opened up not far from my house recently, so I thought about seeing what their rates are on various things and possibly trying them out in the near future for a few things I'm planning on doing.

 

NO, you aren't. I see you're from PA and for the last 4 years I've taken my bike to Valley Forge HD. Most of the time the work is good and done in a timely manner. However, sometimes it's not. I had mini apes installed last fall and there were some issues. It took them MUCH longer than they said it would and they ended up lending me an Ultra for 4 days at no charge. But, when I got my bike back, there were a couple of small issues. YES, they made every effort to make good on everything, but it left me feeling leery about them. It's weird, inspections & things like that have never been a problem.

A lot of my buddies take their bikes to a local indy so, I'm going to give him a try next week and see what happens. It would be nice to find a shop with consistency.

 

I took my FLD in for it's first service. When I got it back home I noticed the oil pressure sensor wire was broke. I figured that either they broke it or it was broke and they didn't do an adaquate enough job on the first service to notice it was broken. Especially since that's what the first service is all about. Checking everything and making sure nothing is broken.


I didn't go back. I'll just never go to a Harley mechanic again. I've been riding 30 years and I've met a thousand motorcycle mechanics. The Harley mechanics I met are low man on the totem poll as far as IQ.

 

Harley shops generally only have so many seasoned mechanics. The rest are really green. The seasoned guys tackle the more complex jobs, while the rookies get a lot of the simple services and whatnot.

 

I really dont think its just an HD problem. Over the years I have, on occasion, taken my car or bike to various dealer and indy shops only to be disappointed to down right pi$$ed. 95% of the time I do my own work. About the only thing I wont do is mount/balance tires and auto trans work. I just think most people are only working for a paycheck and just dont care about the quality of work any more. And not just cars and bikes either. I see the same attitude and shoddy workmanship in everything from home repair to medical care.
I just do it all myself when I can and when I cant, I have to stay on top of them to get what I want done correctly. Drs really hate me

 

I guess I'm one of the fortunate ones. My dealer is an hour away and well worth the drive. They're small, two mechanics. Very maticulous. They almost never charge me what they quote. Always under. They're personnal, and treat me like they've known me for years. I do a lot of touring and have complete confidence in their work. When your a few thousand miles from home, thats hard to put a price on. Oh theres a few small, insignificant things from time to time. They recently lost a screw on my air cleaner cover that I didn't discover for a week. When I called them about it, they blew it off and I ended up having to buy one from them. I can't say I was all that thrilled about it. But they do excellent work and they're labor is only 75.00 an hour. They take good care of me down there and I'm not about to make an issue out of a 3 dollar screw with my mechanic. Never had an issue with my bike going thru my dealer. I know they're not all like mine. Like I said, I guess I'm one of the fortunate ones.

 

Cars, boats, motorcycles or anything mechanical; when you find a mechanic you like, ask for them, treat them well, tip them, thank them.

Or do it yourself.

 

Or find a little shop that's full of highly experienced people. They aren't Harley certified but do an awesome job every time. I use Moto Mondo in Boca Raton Floriday. The little italian guy, Pete Maggio, is the smartest guy I ever met when it comes to any job on any vehicle and he'll do any custom job I can think of. If anyone is ever in this area, He is the guy to know.

 

What a coincidence.... I just changed dealer service departments / stores after the 3rd less than satisfactory customer experience. Sometimes I think H-D stores forget what business they're in; it's the customer experience business...