Went to Grand Opening sale at HD of Cartersville GA yesterday. Having 15% off in-stock parts. Bought Nostalgic Floor boards - shifter pegs - brake pedal & some Harley gloss... about $150 with tax.

Brought all home and installed. No problems until the brake pedal. There's a rubber headed hex bolt that holds the whole assembly on with a few washers and an Acorn nut. Instructions say torque acorn nut to 25-29 ft. lbs. No problem. Well, I try to start the acorn nut by hand - hummm, ain't quite right. Make sure it's not cross threaded and, it's not... just a little tight - probably so it won't back off. No problem. Pull out the trusty torque wrench and start tightening. Get's about 3/4 way on and won't go any further as the rubber hex starts turning in it's slot and won't hold the bolt. Try to take it back off... won't come off either. PITA, but no biggie.

Leave it as is, take my box, instructions and receipt back up to dealer. Tell parts lady what's going on. She flags down Dave the technician and he says with a grin something like "oh yeah man, they're a pain, some of 'em get stuck and ya can't get it on or off" (Ahhhh, OK, thanks for the info.). Dave takes off on some more important mission. Trail of tears ride is leaving, lots going on, so I wait 'til after 12:00 when the riders are gone, the dealership is pretty much deserted, and go back and talk to them again... same parts lady now hooks me up with Tim the technician. Tim actually comes out to the bike and looks and tells me - it needs to be cut off... HUH!? So, I say, can ya cut it off for me? Sure, have 'em write up a service ticket. So, I go to do that with the service manager dude. I ask him, is this gonna cost me? He says something like "well yeah, I don't know many technicians who work for free!" <jab 1>. So, I tell him hold off on it and go track down the parts manager. He hooks me up with Tim the technician again.

Tim asks me if I ran a tap & die over the bolt and into the acorn nut. Well, no, I'm not in the habit of re-tapping nuts & bolts on parts I buy before I put on a friggin' nut. Tim responds, well we always recommend re-tapping chrome parts. I tell him it doesn't say anything in the instructions (that I'm holding in my hand) about re-tapping anything. Step 4 say "put the acorn nut on the bolt and tighten to 25-29 ft. lbs." So, evidently the Motor Co. doesn't recommend re-tapping. Then he gives me a lesson in metalurgy and chrome plating and such and tells me "that's why we recommend these be put on by a qualified technician" <jab 2>. Now I begin to pop.

Says me: Listen man, I just swapped out my entire paint set. Installed new turn signals, tail light & light bar. No problem. Are you a tellin' me I'm not qualified to put a friggin' 1/2 " nut on a friggin' BOLT!?! You expect me to pay top dollar for HD parts then wait 2 hours to pay a "minimum" labor charge for you to put the a friggin' 1/2" nut on a friggin' BOLT!?! Kiss my lilly white a$% and get your friggin' screwed up part off my mother-#$%^!in' BIKE and give me my money back... OK, maybe I really said something like "You're kidding me right?", (But I thought all that other stuff! [:@]). Tim says "nope" and walks away.

I go back into the showroom and stand there and fume being completely ignored... especially by the friendly parts lady. Instead of take it all to the next level I just waited until I was cool-headed enough not to drive my bike through the show room window, went outside, smoked a pack of cigs, then came back home. So, now here I sit with a brake pad that's loose. Good news is it won't fall off - that's for damn sure! But it's loose and rattles around. I can destroy the cutsie little rubber headed hex nut and get the thing off, but then the bastaads won't return the part. *sigh*.

All over a friggin' $35 (less 15%) part... I'll spend $500 not to spend another penny at that dealer or Earl Small's other dea

 

Man, I feel your pain!! The cost of goodwill at the dealerships sure seems high! If I was treated that way I'd never go back. I've always been treated good at Harley Davidson of Greenville in Greenville, South Carolina. Probably not too far from you. If you get a chance, check them out.

 

Prolly a China part anyway. Cut it off, wipe your *** with it and return it. Be priceless when they inspect the part anyway.

 

Update - In the time it took me to post that, do a couple other things, cool down. I went out to the garage and it took me all of 2 minutes to get the thing off. BUT, as expected, I had to destroy the rubber head on the bolt. Simply pulled the rubber off revealing a hex head underneath. Stuck a flat head screw driver down beside the metal hex head so it would hold in the slot and removed the acorn nut. Done. In hand and ready to go exchange - I won't be nice this time since Tim & Dave would have had at my bike with a sawz-all and charged me a premium to do it.

The rubber head actually has the bar & shield logo cut into it and is part of the trim as you look at the brake pedal. Looks like hell without it.

Dave

 

Yeah... I used to work in a plating plant. Parts that were critical tolerance had the thickness of the plating manufactured into them. Having to take a new part and 'rework it' means someone screwed up somewhere. Somehow the 'spec' didn't get checked. Or they just didn't 'get a ****. I've got a long story about a HD exhaust pipe that was 3/4" too long...Called The MoCo...Talked to some lady that probably didn't know her a$$ from the wall...Told her that the vendor or the factory was putting out bad parts. She wouldn't FAX me the print/specs to compare it...To which I asked her: Are you afraid I'll reproduce your lousy parts?....No comment from The MoCo.

Yeah...I like to support the 'locals' too...Until they start dry f*@king me. Then it's off to the internet....


Take a die grinder or Dremel tool...If you've got one (or go get one-they are life savers-trust me on this)...and cut the acorn nut...Take it easy with the cutoff wheel...Try and work perpendicular to the threads...It won't take long to 'crack' the nut open. If you're careful, you shouldn't even mar the threads on the stud.

Then, go to the local hardware store and get yourself a Stainless Steel one to replace it. A bit of Locktite and your in the wind.


Just read your post....Dry Fit it first....Run a Thread Chaser over the threads.

 

Make sure when you bring the part back to tell them that they've lost your future business due to the shabby way they treated you... after you get your money back!

Cheers!
[sm=icon_rock.gif][sm=icon_rock.gif][sm=icon_rock.gif]

 

man...you should PUNCH EM IN THE HEAD

 

Fu#@ the head, punch him in the *****. Probably won't feel a thing.

 

And us ol' farts whut has been werking on chrome-crap always duz the tap & die trick.

 

Just make damn sure you punch somebody and while your at it punch the bimbo behind the counter once for me!!!!!!! That will teach them!