So I went out for a long ride today to put some miles on for my 1k service tomorrow. Towards the end of my ride I was fueling up and noticed that the left side battery cover is completely missing. I'm guessing it must have somehow vibrated loose. I'm pretty upset about this and can't really go looking for it since I rode about 200 miles.

I'm wondering if this is something covered under warranty? I also just got the seat that I ordered and I want to put it on but I'm afraid that they'll try to say it happened because I switched seats. Any advice is greatly appreciated. I still can't believe it just fell off somewhere

 

Surely they will cover flying off part in the first 1000 mile. I would put off mods until they fixed it. Perception means a lot and if somehow they thought you had it off, you really cannot expect them to fix it. I took a broken part in that they failed to fix three time because they missed it. They told me the motor company would not even honor the extended warranty if the owner had taken bike apart.

 

So I guess I should hold off on that seat install. I was really looking forward to that but I'd rather have them replace the part than be comfortable for the next 70 miles. Thanks for the advice. I really hope they cover it...

 

The seat has nothing to do with the side cover. The dealership can attempt to run the warranty, there is a slim chance that they can try to argue that the clips that are meant to hold the side cover in place failed and obviously caused your side cover to come flying off.
Did you have the cover off for any reason? Cause if not then the last person that touched the side cover was the technician at the dealership while they were testing the battery or installing the battery tender harness. In which case the fault would be on the dealership and not you.

 

I have not messed with anything since I got the bike from the dealership last Friday. I haven't tried removing anything or changing anything. If I can install the seat I'd be happy but like I said, I'm afraid they'll blame it on that. Will I be okay to install the seat?

 

The only bad thing that can happen is that your dealer can say no...


I think they will replace it and am hoping for the best.


Its your home based dealer and not like your passing thru so they know they will have a good relationship w/ you for years to come...

 

Pre-ride inspections can go a long way to avoiding these sorts of issues, you should start to make it a habit of checking out your scoot before a ride, I come from the Shovelhead era where anything that can will fall off, give your ride a once over before you head out and you can catch most problems before they get expensive.

I think this is going to be a hundred dollar learning experience

 

In case if they were to say no, any idea how much the part costs?

 

I did look over the bike and I just never thought to look at that piece. I guess I figured it was something that couldn't come off since it seemed so secure. Well, that's the last time I make that mistake. I noticed it fell off because I do a quick inspection every time I fill up for gas or leave the house.

 

I'm surely not trying to give you a hard time, I'm glad to hear you're doing a pre-ride inspection, so many don't even bother to check out their bike until something goes wrong. I do hope the dealership will warranty the cover but if they won't you'll be able to snag one for under a hundred, you can look up the parts and get some real world prices here: http://partsfinder.onlinemicrofiche.....asp?make=hdmc