I hear ya. I'll be 70 in a few months, and lucky to be in pretty good shape for the age (and mileage!), but with a little arthritis it is more difficult to bend and twist and to turn wrenches than it used to be.

So, when the swingarm on my 2000 SERG cracked, I decided to have the local dealer do a conversion to the later, stronger swingarm and put on a new belt while it was apart, since it had nearly 100,000 miles on it. New bushings, new rear motor mounts, etc., might as well while it was apart.

Got it back, something didn't feel right on the ride home. Found the rear tire had 8 PSI in it. No e-clip in the slot on the axle either. Motor alignment was way off, causing the new belt to rub hard against the side of the rear pulley.

Went back to the dealer, service manager says bring it in, we'll take care of it. Just told them no thanks, I wouldn't trust them to clean a bug off my windshield.

Might take me a little longer these days, along with a Motrin or two, but at least I know the job is done right when I do it.

 

Here's a picture of my front axle pinch bolt after the dealer replaced wheel bearings under warranty and I rode the bike 4 miles home, normally I do all of my own work, but I couldn't just take them the wheel they said the whole bike had to come in.

I also found the 12point 10mm caliper bolts which torque to a max 28ft/lbs cranked down to well over 60ft/lbs.

I believe God was looking out for me when I got that flat tire due to a bad o-ring on my valve stem.

 

The shop called me back about the shock issue and stated that they have new bushings on the way and will do whatever it takes to solve the problem. In essence I wish there had not been so many problems with this job but at least I admire the fact that they're stepping up to get me squared away.


But you can believe I'll be standing right there when the work gets done.

 

always do my own work. would n't be able to sleep at night if i knew someone else was screwing with my bike. even when i buy a new bike , it comes home and gets a going over, every bolt and nut. not trusting my life to someone who my have stayed out until closing time the night before or maybe simply don't know or care what they are doing.

 

These shops should have Delboy's Garage running on constant loop.

 

When I put air shocks on my 1200 last year, I let my 7 year old grandson put one on. If a 7 year old can do it...

Only took one pic, when he put it on upside down so it would be easy to pump the oil out (just push the back end down a few times, empties it quick). I put the new oil in, that's too tedious for a 7 year old.

 

Uhm,, there's something missing from the story,,
What's up with the 3 different pairs?
If I had to install a 3rd pair of shocks just because the guy is experimenting,,
So be it,,
But then have the SOB come back and complain about labor costs and the last set installed?
I think I'd happily change them,, then add a teaspoon of salt to his crankcase.

 

There, there now. I never complained about the cost. In fact, I think $500 for a new set of Progressive shocks installed is pretty reasonable. What I do take issue with is the fact that the job has been going on for almost three months and it still isn't right. But then, You must be a shop owner/worker due to your quickness to blame the customer for being hard to please and therefore at fault. Well, There's always a back story.

First set of shocks (a no-name brand) were on back order and took about three weeks to come in. They were installed but the spring retainer inside the can broke loose with the mechanic on the test ride. Old shocks had to be put back on. Probably not the shop's fault.

After repeated assurances by the shop and the shock company that this was a freak incident some replacement shocks came a week or so later. They were put on and survived the test ride. My only concern was that they had to be adjusted to the maximum preload and still seemed a bit light. After riding them for a couple of days they felt like they were all spring bounce and provided almost no dampening. Any dip in the road at 35 mph or faster provided some interesting handling characteristics. Old shocks were put back on again and I told the shop folks to stop messing with el-cheapo shocks and just get the Progressives.

The Progressives came in about a week and a half later, were installed and adjusted. I got on the bike and my 260lbs. couldn't get any travel out of the swing arm. They were adjusted again and still almost no movement.

That day the bike went up on the lift at 9:30am. During the course of the day the shocks were adjusted four times and removed and installed a total of three times. This is were I think the rubber bushing got trashed. I finally left the shop at almost 2:30pm. And that dear fans bring us to where we are now.

This line in your quote was funny though - "I think I'd happily change them,, then add a teaspoon of salt to his crankcase." Nobody would really do that, would they? Because doing stuff like that to the wrong person could be fodder for a segment on "Unsolved Mysteries!"

 

Yup conventional shocks are a piece of cake. But Softail shocks being "hidden" underneath the bike are a little more work intensive.

 

Yep, I was a careless reader and missed that. Should've noticed from the photo. I've had a metric monoshock out, bit more complicated...