I'm anowner finally. What a long strange trip that was. I'll save the details for another day but I have a question about my 2004 Fatboy's warranty.

The bike I bought yesterday is a 2004 FLSTFI purchased new in April 2004. On the purchase order I find a line item for SERVICE CONTRACT. The amount paid was $995.00 above the price of the bike.

I know contracts vary and purchase contracts are negotiable like everything else but generally speaking, can anyone tell me what a standard warranty length was for 2004 and what an additional $995.00 would get you? The bike was purchased in California.

Arelated question has to do with oil. The bikehas 1200 miles on it and has never had a 1,000 mile service. (I took the bike stright tomy mechanicto have the service done). Mymechanic reccomends usingpetoleum based lubricants at least for the first 8-10k miles andthen IF I want (he seems to not like synthetics) switch. Any thoughts on this practice?

Thanks in Advance,

 

Hey congrats, and welcome to the Forum.

Normal HD warranty is two years from time of purchase on a new bike. Tires and batteries get pro-rated, but some dealerships ignor that. (They want you happy to spend lots more money).

$995 is a typical price for an extended warranty, usually for two aditional years. You get 2-years from the date you purchased the bike.

The original warranty on your 2004 is up, your new service contract is in force now.

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Now on synthetics, I put synthetic oils in all three holes (engine, tranny, and primary) after 800 miles on my new '08 Fatboy, when I turned it in to my indy shop for its first service.

I am a believer in synthetic oils and man-made molecular science. There is no need to "break-in" your motor for any period of time on dino juice. There is no advantage or disadvantage. Now that HD has their Syn-3 product line, believe me, Harley is pushing the praises of synthetic oils.

It's all about what you want to do. There is no "official" MoCo guidance on breaking-in with non-synthetic oils.

Personally, I like the expanded temp zones that synthetics offer as well as a less-violent viscosity breakdown as the oil ages. I change all three holes every 5000 miles.

Next tick on my clock is 8,000 miles and doing perfect.

 

How about some pics??

 

Yeah it does not matter which oil you put in but I subscribe to the theory that if you run syn then only run syn and if you run regular oil only run regular oil

 

I've got an 08 that came with SYN3.. Didn't talk to the HD Techs about it yet but HD Engineers know a heck of a lot more than me.

 

Hey, congrats man and welcome to the forum! 1200 miles????That thingisn't even broken in yet!

 

I thought I read somewhere that Syn was not recommended in the Primary. In fact, whenmy bike went to the stealer for it's 1000 mile, they putregular oil in the primary. They said the clutch works better when no soaked in syn...

I thought this was weird, but heck... what do I know... I've always used syn in all of my cages and in racing, but I'm not familiar with the mechanics or engineering of a wet clutch... I'd rather use syn if it's ok.

opinions?

 

One of the recent HogTails magazines has a whole Q&A and an interview with MoCo folks about their new Syn3. Harley puts it in all three holes.

My indy guy put the same flavor of AMSoil in all the holes. I thought they were NUTS! Same thoughts, thinking the wet clutch needed something different. But it don't.

Many, many guys swear by having a different viscosity for the tranny, and others (just as many) think their primaries run better with something different.

Bottom line for me is lubrication, dealing better than dino-oil with higher temps, and not breaking down (at a molecular level) as the oil ages. All of this is common sense to me from READING and research, not from greesy hands in the pit of real life. I change EVERYTHING at 5k intervals, so all my fluids are still somewhat in their prime when they get changed.

I intend to keep using synthetics for the life of my motor, and in all three holes. The opinions on how to change things up with different fluids & brands for each application are all over the place and I can't find a common enough trend. So I'll listen to MoCo and not try to re-design.

[sm=icon_cheers.gif]

 

I would ask your local dealer, but I know on cars the extended warranty does not transfer with the vehicle. The warranty is for the owner. When you buy an extended warranty on a new car and you sell the car two years later you can get a prorated refund on the remaining time. I would think extended warranties on bikes are the same way.
My dealer and I have a friend who helps me out on services, who is a certified Harley tech, both recommend syn in all three holes. I have syn 3 in everything now because I just dont want any arguments if something happens. I know other brands dont void the warranty but it is just easier not to argue. This summer when I service it, I will change to what I think is a better oil mobil 1 v twin, and there gear lube 75W90 in the tranny.

 

When I was looking at my '08, one sales guy told me Harley only covered the running gear (engine & trans), nothing else on a new bike. Guess that was HIS way of getting me to buy the warranty. I paid about $1600, but that was for 5 years. As I understand, it coincides with the 2 year warranty from Harley. Doesn't make sense to me, but I guess that is the way Harley runs their business. On my Honda, I added 4 years for $399. That was added to the END of the already 3 year, unlimited mileage, giving me a total of 7 years.