What size is the nut that is on the steer head?

Is it really as easy as taking the nut off, replacing the washer, and then tightening nut back to 70 ft lbs of torque?

 

I guess I'm lucky ... my 08 Fat Bob has a tight front end (no clunk) and although my rear break requires a little pressure I can and on one occasion have locked up the rear break.
This is my 1st Harley and I love it but you have to wonder WTF is up with these stealers. I've been riding for over 15 years and have owned a lot of "rice" cruisers and sport touring bikes. All costing half of what my HD cost and NONE ever had a single issue. And they all had great breaks!! They didn't have the awesome looks and sound of a HD but they were cheap and bullet proof!

HD has the attitude and style and again i LOVE my Fat Bob but HD has to get their head out of their butts and realize if they don't take care of their customers they'll lose them!!! Especially in todays marketplace where more and more young riders are buying rice sport bikes anyway!!! If they want the younger generation to keep the MOCO alive they have to supply a consistant high quality product. Look what happened to the American car companies!!! If they want to be the top cruiser manufacturer in years to come they better wake up!

 

FatBobRay...

I have to agree with you...WTF is up with these stealers? There is a local H-D dealership near me (Coopersburg, PA)and I won't step foot into it. When I first bought my sporty, I went into the stealership looking at bikes. I stood around for over half and hour waiting for someone to wait on me...and the store was empty-no other customers. Then the guy refused to take me seriously about buying one. He kind of brushed me off as not being serious....then a guy came in who looked like he hadn't bathed in a month and was driving a held-together-with-bailing-wire-car (ok maybe i shouldn't critisize his car) and three salesmen jumped on him...he sat on a few Softtails and then left... I had check in hand waiting and wanting to buy and they blew a sale.

I think H-D built their reputation on the "bad-as*" image of owning a H-D. I remember reading an article where Peter Fonda was interviewed and he said they used to call them "hardleys" because they would hardly start or run...you spent more time pushing it than riding it. Remember the AMF years...total crap produced by H-D. They feel that they have a corner in the market..I could have gone metric and gotten a bike 2 to 3 times MORE bike loaded with bags, windshield, etc...for HALF the cost of the FB.

I think it is supply and demand...people want H-Ds and therefore H-D doesn't have to be nice or even turn out a quality product, they will sell bikes regardless of the quality and issues. I told a friend (a non-H-D owner) and she thought H-D customers were treated like gold. I can't even get a hello from the stealership I bought TWO bikes at in the last year. I have come to discover that there is no such thing as treating a loyal customer well...the extent of their appreciation is shown at deal time when they try to squeeze you for every cent they can and then after the sale refuse to honor the warranty..or make it difficult to get any warranty work. The last time I had the bike in they had it for over 2 weeks to check the items in my original post....

The younger generation is buying metric crotch rockets..I wonder how H-D respods to that?

 

HD paints the motors silver in a lame *** attempt to appeal to the younger crowd. That's how they respond to it. (At least that was what the salesman at the dealership I bought my bike from told me when I asked why they started doing it.)

 

Phlsphyguy

go up the road to Schaeffers HD in orwigsberg, it a bit of a ride, but I have had much better service there.

I try never to use reading, even though its closest, and I have been in crossroads a few times, and never gotten good service.

I took the TSb to reading and they loked at me like i had 3 heads, I even check the parts guy and they didnt have it in stock, so they told me to bring it in... Like I have weeks to wait on them when i can show them what the issue was...

I rode it up to schaeffers, the service manager looked at the tsb, said yep we have it in stock, and can do it wile you wait... I bought 2 bikes there, but not this one, and still treated me good.

 

Not all dealers are created equal. Yep, there are some that have the old school attitude and todays economic situation may weed some of them out. Unfortunately, it will, and has, taken out some good dealerships like Santa Cruz HD. MY experiences with MY local dealer (HD of West Virginia in South Charleston) are just the opposite of what you've experienced. I'm nobody special and have only purchased one bike from them (so far). When I come in I'm often recognized and greeted by name. I've asked a lot of questions of the sales dept, parts dept AND the service department. Each and every one was answered honestly and to my satisfaction. This is a dealership that knows where it's bread is buttered.

I'm sure that a great many of us have had similar experiences. There really are good dealers out there but we tend to hear about and focus only on those that are the exception rather than the rule.

 

I don't know what the "exception" and the "Rule" is in regard to good dealers VS bad dealers but I agree that it's not really fair to paint them all with the same brush. My comments about things I feel HD needs to do to keep strong in the market has just as much to do about quality control of units going out of their factory as it does customer service. I doubt you will ever see a new Harley with a scratch on it in a show room but how many horror stories do we read about machnical problems in the 1st few thousand miles? This is something I think HD needs to address. I love my Fat Bob ... I'm a fan and a Harley rider but I've had electrical problems and my bike is still basically new! In less then 2000 miles I've almost been stranded twice due to electrical issues. In my Opinion the MOCO and their dealers have to wake up and smell the coffee. Their customers want more then history and attitude, they demand quality, value and customer service. .................. I keep thinking about the healthy import car market in the US and the fact our big 3 need the tax payers to bail them out or their going under. That should be a wake up call to ALL manufacturers. If they don't give us quality, function, and value we'll find it someplace else.

 

Goddahavit,

When I called H-D about my issues, the woman suggested I take it to Schaeffers. I know of many HOG members in the club sponsored by Blockers (where I bought mine) that go to Schaeffers for service. I have a friend who worked at the "Classic" H-D stealership in Reading and decided to buy a bike there...they totally ripped him off..and he was an employee! Crossroads: My ex-wife's niece works there and I still get attitude and the " you should be lucky we are here" attitude. This is the stealership whereby I had check in hand wanting to buy a H-D and they blew me off.

I don't want to label all dealerships the same. I know there are some good ones...but, after working for a car dealership (Porsche/ Audi) in service, I can attest to the fact that if it came down to doing what is right or doing what makes the most money (even if larcenous), the dealership will always go with the latter. So, I have this distrust of dealerships from the get-go.

I have to agree with FatBobRay that H-D needs to be concerned with quality and not just "attitude and history" to sell bikes. I have a family member who deals with the Lemon LAw and breech of warranty claims and he told me that there is a VERY HIGH number of claims against H-D for breech of warranty (compared to other MC companies), since the Lemon Law does not apply to MCs in PA.

I wonder how the "recession" will impact sales..and their attitude..

 

I'm sorry to hear about your dealer horror stories. I cant say enough positive things about mine. The Parts and Service people are fantastic, helpful and treat you like you're special. When I email my service writter, I get either a call back or email response that same day. I have Kury and will have V&H parts on my bike, and they give me 10% off those parts and dont try to talk me into or out of anything.... they suggest, but the final decision is mine. I called my tech back in JUNE about the TSB ...and he made sure it was was taken care of before I went on vacation.
It might be because there are 5 or 6 HD dealers in the Detroit Metro area, the economy is beyond bad, and they have to fight for every customer dollar, but no matter which dealership we go into, they seem to fall over themselves trying to assist you.

As for bikes, I understand HD have models in Europe that they dont have here in the states.....and I think they're going to start pushing the Buell more to the younger folks, then stear them to the bigger HOGS as they get older and want long haul comfort. They do need to do something.....but there will always exist that HD Mystic and sound in the mind of bikers. In Europe & down under, they still want to own a H-D over any other model. Even the BMW's.

 

Also, do i need to jack the bike up, or can i just do it with the bike just on it's stand? Sorry if this is a dumb question...but i don't know, and that's why i'm askin. Thanks.