BS Dealer Service Rant
Road Master
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 779
Likes: 4
From: Upstate New York
Dealer mechanics have to be trained, tested and certified in and on everything they do. If you customize outside of what they have been exactly trained to work on don't take it to a dealer. It's their lawyers that are responsible for this. Indy's usually don't have lawyers.
Club Member
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 11,483
Likes: 39
From: Passaic County, NJ
Dealer mechanics have to be trained, tested and certified in and on everything they do. If you customize outside of what they have been exactly trained to work on don't take it to a dealer. It's their lawyers that are responsible for this. Indy's usually don't have lawyers.
Does the Moco train the techs on "how not to scratch the HD Fang wheels 101"?
Why can an Indy not scratch custom wheels, but a dealer *might* so they'll refuse to work on bikes with custom wheels? Like I said...Do they turn away EVERY bike that comes in with custom wheels? That'd be a lot of lost business/revenue for them.
3rd Gear
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
From: NY
Jspace, I had a similar experience at Spitzies early last summer. I bought a new road king from them. I knew I wanted to change the handlebars but I wanted to wait til I hit the 1K service so I could ride it a bit first to see what I wanted. I decided on 16" apes and went to see the parts manager about it. He showed me the Harley 16" apes which have a really ugly riser and I didn't like them. So I looked in the Fatbook which was on their parts counter and asked about another set. Parts manager started to get a bit of an attitude with me and said that he didn't think they would install anything but HD handlebars since HD didnt make them it was a saftey concern. He said he would have to check with the service manager who wasn't in. So I asked him for a price quote. Again the attitude like I was really being a pain in his ***. He wrote $1400 on a business card and said he'd check with the service manager and call me. I asked if he could print the parts list out, more attitude he said its about 1400 and he'd call me. So after about a week with no call, I called him and asked about the bars from the Fatbook, service manager said no unsafe since Harley didn't make them.
So I said ok I just bought a $20K bike, with Dunlop tires and brembo brakes but I can't put aftermarket bars on my bike because HD didnt make them so it was unsafe. Then I told him that Harley probably didnt even make their own handlebars.
Anyway I bought the service manual, gaskets, etc. from Brunswick. Then ordered Carlini 1.5" bars and magnum shielding cables and brake lines. Installed myself for less $$. I think I am done there.
So I said ok I just bought a $20K bike, with Dunlop tires and brembo brakes but I can't put aftermarket bars on my bike because HD didnt make them so it was unsafe. Then I told him that Harley probably didnt even make their own handlebars.
Anyway I bought the service manual, gaskets, etc. from Brunswick. Then ordered Carlini 1.5" bars and magnum shielding cables and brake lines. Installed myself for less $$. I think I am done there.
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Tourer
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 440
Likes: 0
America is just full of *** clowns these days. not working on aftermarket wheels is just as ridiculous as 90% of the questions asked on this forum.......which is very ridiculous. Iv'e yet to pay for something on my bike and be 100% satisfied with the work. people these days just dont give a f*ck its all about money. i dont buy anything HD and i will never buy another harley after the **** ive went through with dealerships. sorry you had to even listen to that load of sh*t they threw at you. this is why decent people go to jail for knocking out retards.
Road Master
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,122
Likes: 1
From: St Louis, MO
America is just full of *** clowns these days. not working on aftermarket wheels is just as ridiculous as 90% of the questions asked on this forum.......which is very ridiculous. Iv'e yet to pay for something on my bike and be 100% satisfied with the work. people these days just dont give a f*ck its all about money. i dont buy anything HD and i will never buy another harley after the **** ive went through with dealerships. sorry you had to even listen to that load of sh*t they threw at you. this is why decent people go to jail for knocking out retards.
The only money a dealer will get from me again is the price of a new bike-hopefully not for a few years. Other than that, I will spend my money on parts elsewhere and if for some reason I need someone to do anything to the bike itself, I will go to an indy.
Most dealerships run on what I think is borderline extortion-trying to say you have to spend all your money with them or you are ****ed.