I initially swore I would never use a non H-D dealer to service/repair my bike as I feared the likelihood of them messing something up was higher than a H-D would. But I recall lucking out and by word of mouth finding and using a non Suzuki dealer for my previous bike (a Suzuki) and he did a phenomenal job at a reduced labor cost. Well I recently did some searching and found a motorcycle shop run by a former lead H-D tech with outstanding online reviews. I feel his shop may be exactly what I'm looking for.

What about you guys? Anyone here use a non H-D dealer for your bikes needs? Experiences?

 

I have never used a hd dealer for anything but tshirts and guess by this time I never will.

 

^^^^^ this^^^^

 

I love my indie shop. I've been going there almost 20 years now

 

A Dealer is good for one thing, buying a new bike and they can't do that right half the time. Find someone local who does work, they're usually not that far away.

 

Like many others my bike rarely sees a dealership. Since 2013 its been in twice.. once for the initial 1000 mile service since I was shipping the bike to Milwaukee through them anyway and once last year to have the brake fluid flushed since my indy didn't have the tools to do the ABS fluid flush. My guy took the Harley checklists for each interval while I was under warranty and signed dated and put a receipt on it in case there was a problem that required warranty work. If you can find a good guy I'd trust them more than an Harley dealer personally.. like you said a lot are former HD guys anyway.

 

Only thing I've used a HD Dealer for was to get a replacement Key Fob, ignition switch and a few other small parts that I bought because they had them in stock and I didn't want to wait for an online order to arrive.

Last time I was at the parts counter the parts guy ran my name through their system and brought up all my orders, I had spent more money on keys and the ignition switch than all other purchases combined.

 

I wouldn't let a dealership mechanic put air in my tires....

 

I use a multi line Japanese bike dealer to mount my tires I buy online because they're the only ones around me that will do it. Luckily the guys are great and seem to know enough about harleys to at least get a tire going on the rim the correct way lol. Even the sales guy was funny to talk to about our days gone by riding crotch rockets while I waited for my wheel to get mounted. I bought the service guys a dozen donuts when I bought the tire in and they did it right away and they only charged me 20 bucks...10 to mount and 10 for the dyna beads. I'd trust them to actually mount the wheels on the bike if I didn't want to do it one of these times.

 

If I need work done I can't do myself, I take it to the best mechanic in town. Sometimes it has been an "Indie", but usually not. I find that often they are well intentioned amateurs. Some used to be HD techs, but have not kept up with the latest changes, so it could take much longer for a repair than a dealer could do, plus a dealer has to stand behind their work, which sometimes an "Indie" can't or won't do.