I live near San Jose and there is no way that I would go to the closest dealership in Morgan Hill (House of Thunder).

I used to know the owner of what is now known as Lanesplitter H-D in San Jose when they were San Jose H-D. They always took care of me and got to know the service manager and some good staff.

Now with the ownership change one by one everyone is leaving, even those that said they'd stay.

The next closest shop is in Livermore which is maybe 20 miles further away and is owned by the guy that used to own San Jose H-D so I feel good going there but if Lanesplitter is okay I'd just as soon go there.

Can anyone tell me how the new ownership is doing and if their huge service shop is still a safe place to go?

Thanks.


Chonk

 

The new owner & his management have had a negative effect on the morale for the folks working in the service department. That is why that there is a high turnover of employees. I have friends that work there & they tell me that the management is completely out of touch with how to run a dealership & treat their employees.
The best shop in the South Bay is RE Engineering. I suggest you have your work done there, Chonk.
https://local.yahoo.com/info-2160417...ering-san-jose

 

I don't have much experience with the service departments at either dealership, because I do all of my own wrenching. I only go to the dealers to use the Digital Technician to cycle the ABS module to be doubly sure I don't have any air bubbles in the brake lines after bleeding/flushing. I do buy small parts from Lane Splitter, and working with the Parts Department has been as good or better than when it was San Jose HD. No issues there. (Maybe it's because the newer employees are more eager to please customers due to the freshness of the job.)

By the way, why won't you go to House of Thunder for service? Just curious.

 

It's like an employee migration at dealerships in the Bay area. If you go to Livermore HD, the guy & girl manning the service desk quit Eagle's Nest recently & went there.

I've never quite seen anything like it outside of the HD world.

__________________________________________________ ____
For ROCKOUT information & purchasing please click the LINKS below...

 

I seems I waited a long time at the parts counter waiting to be helped, there were parts guys standing around not doing much. The guy that helped me says his app is updated and he's ready to leave that place. I'll be riding to Morgan Hill from now on.

 

I have a friend who lives in San Jose and has over 100,000 miles on his 2011 Softail. All his servicing has been done at San Jose/Lanesplitter HD.

He has said the new owners told all the employees to be there by 9 AM on the first day of their ownership. What the new owners did was to lock the doors at exactly 9 AM and anyone who did not get there on time was fired. They also changed the HOG chapter a bit. First they suspended the chapter for awhile and now they are back to sponsoring it but as a dealer sponsored chapter which I believe means no dues, etc. They cover all that.

My friend has also had his bike serviced there several times since the new owners took over and said there was no problem with the service.

 

This is quite common in the automotive dealers ship world too. Owner and/or (especially ) service managers changes generally mean a new/modified crew. When a dealership changes service managers it's because things aren't up to the owners expectations. Hence the change and the reason that the new service manager is successful is generally attributable to his hand picked ( and loyal ) crew. The sharper, quicker and more efficient crew means more money in his ( service managers ) pocket. It's just the way it's been for years.

 

I don't know this to be true, but I think they have been having problems installing Brake lines...Sometin' about covering the steering lock

 

Also to Bikeagraman,

The shop I recently had a problem with was the House of Thunder, that's why I'm not going back, besides I have been banned so I couldn't even if I wanted and I have plenty of reasons not to but there are some good folks there.

Here is the link to my thread about my issues at HOT.

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/dyna-...f-thunder.html

My concern is really about the service side of the business at Lanesplitter.

Coming up on a service but my suspicion is that it might not be routine since I have just been getting some slipping of the clutch in the higher gears and it sure feels like the steering head bearings might be loose.

Thanks for the comments everyone, please add more with some recent experiences if possible.


Chonk

 

Why even go to the dealer, their hourly rate is too high plus many other issues i won't even start on. You need to find a good indy with a solid mechanic and honest owner. HK cycles in Livermore was recently purchased by a new owner, who is honest and straight forward, their mechanics are great and its the only place i go now.