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Stealership "quality" tech(s)...

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Old Jul 25, 2020 | 06:33 PM
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Angry Stealership "quality" tech(s)...

Back in 2014, I installed a Barnett Kevlar extra plate clutch pack into Reaper. Part of that install was removing the stock dampening spring and seat, along with all the stock friction and steel plates.

Fast forward to 2017. After having my local dealer install a new drive belt and sprockets, the belt broke, after only a few thousand miles. After inspecting it later, it was obvious that due to they over tightened it on install (which they never copped to, of course... ) Of course, it happened as I was getting ready to leave on a weekender down to my friend's wedding in PA (About 300 miles each way). Also, of course, it was a Friday afternoon,and they didn't have another belt in stock... I wound up having them come pick Reaper up and rented an Ultra Limited for the weekend ride to my bro's wedding. I assumed they would just replace the belt, and I'd be on my way when I got back.

So, I get home, and go to drop off the rental the next day. After dropping off the rental, I went into the service area, expecting to pick Reaper up and ride home. I walk in only to see Reaper still on a table with her primary completely removed. I'm not happy, to say the least. They tell me there's a bunch of damage on the crank output shaft splines, and that the inner primary bearing (which I had replaced with a one piece Baker unit after having the inner race walk in and take out the transmission mainshaft seal) was spinning on the transmission mainshaft, and the shaft needed to be replaced, along with the IPB which they said had failed as well. They blamed the IPB failure on the Hayden M6 auto chain tensioner I had installed at the same time as the Barnett clutch pack

So, I took a look at the "damage", and yes, there were dings on the crank shaft splines, because these geniuses hadn't either torqued correctly or put red locktite on the comp nut, and it had backed off trashing a bunch of parts in the primary a few years earlier. But the "damage" was nothing. The Hayden looked just fine. As for the transmission, I couldn't see a mark on the output shaft. So, I told them to just put the belt on, I bought another Baker IPB for them to install, and brought them my original primary chain tensioner,, and get me back on the road ASAP. The "tech" got offended ,and told me I should "defer to my 25 years of experience". I told him "I'm not buying a new transmission. Just put the bike together so I can get out of here, and I want my old parts back". At this point, I was no longer being friendly.

So, a few days later I get the call that Reaper is ready to go. Go pick her up, and get my old parts. Checked out the Baker IPB, and it was in perfectly fine working order! For me, that was the last straw. I have always done most of my own work, but sometimes a repair requires special tools/equipment I don't have access to, and it's only those times I would bring Reaper to the dealer, or if it was a real time crunch emergency. After this experience, I stopped bringing Reaper there for ANYTHING, including winter storage.

Ok, so what has this all got to do with today? Well... I'm in the process of replacing Reaper's cams and doing a top end rebuild, and since I'm forced wait for parts to arrive, I've been doing other small things in the meantime. Lately I've been having weird clutch performance. Odd noises,and uneven engagement, that felt like something was warped. I figured the likely culprit was the stock pressure plate which has over 177,000 miles on it, so I decided to buy a Barnett clutch spring conversion kit, that comes with a new pressure plate, and converts from the diaphragm spring to 6 coil springs. So, I pull the SE diaphragm spring I had installed, the stock pressure plate,and of course, I pulled the clutch discs to inspect them, and the basket. The picture below (with one of the Barnett friction's for comparison) is what I found as the first (closest to the transmission) friction plate: a broken stock HD thin disc that the spring and seat fit into!!! I actually kept my old stock clutch pack, so I went and checked and sure enough that small friction is in the box with the rest of the stock plates. The last time the clutch pack was out of the bike was the last time the stealer "tech" had her apart. So, that means this mental midget took one of the Barnett plates, and replaced it with this godammned thing! Either the guy was totally incompetent (which he was), or he did this on purpose, because he was butthurt that I disagreed with his "25 years of experience" (which is what I believe)! Either way, I had to order another plate kit from Barnett, because they don't sell the friction plates separately, and I need this quickly... Thankfully, there doesn't seem to be any damage to the clutch basket or any other primary parts. The broken disc stayed captured in the clutch pack, but who know what could have happened if I'd gone much longer with this situation!




This **** pisses me off to no end, and since it's been a few years since these monkeys had her in their clutches (no pun intended ), I have zero recourse with the stealership.

This got to be a bit long-winded, heheh... Thanks for reading, and allowing me to vent!

Cheers!
 

Last edited by Clammy; Jul 25, 2020 at 09:29 PM.
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Old Jul 25, 2020 | 06:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Clammy
They tell me there's a bunch of damage on the crank output shaft splines, and that the inner primary bearing (which I had replaced with a one piece Baker unit after having the inner race walk in and take out the transmission mainshaft seal) was spinning on the transmission output shaft, and the shaft needed to be replaced, along with the IPB which they said had failed as well.
Doesn't the inner primary bearing (IPB) ride on the transmission input shaft? Does a HD transmission have an output shaft? I know they have a main drive gear.
 
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Old Jul 25, 2020 | 06:57 PM
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Originally Posted by LQQK_OUT
Doesn't the inner primary bearing (IPB) ride on the transmission input shaft? Does a HD transmission have an output shaft? I know they have a main drive gear.
Whoops! My bad. It's the mainshaft, actually. I used the wrong term. Thanks for pointing out my error.

Cheers!
 

Last edited by Clammy; Jul 25, 2020 at 07:00 PM.
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Old Jul 25, 2020 | 07:41 PM
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I’m very lucky to have a top notch wrench at my dealer.
 
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Old Jul 25, 2020 | 07:54 PM
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Originally Posted by TracerBullet
I’m very lucky to have a top notch wrench at my dealer.
Yes, you are.

I used to have one at mine, but a few years ago they amalgamated 2 local dealerships,and a lot of the good people bailed, including my regular guy.

Cheers!
 
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Old Jul 25, 2020 | 08:03 PM
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I have always worked on my own stuff and I will always work on my own stuff.
Just from watching those around me who rely on 'techs' to work on their stuff, probably a good 90% of shops employ morons and pretty much 100% of them are nothing but 'parts changers'. Finding a competent mechanic who can accurately diagnose problems, fix things CORRECTLY, and is honest and has integrity is about on par with finding a Sasquatch riding a unicorn.
I've been utterly disgusted at time when friends would bring vehicles to me practically in the midst of a panic attack because they took it to a shop and got a several thousand dollar estimate, only to find their actual problem was something simple and inexpensive; it's happened many times over the years.
I actually had one where a shop had told a friend she needed something like $1200 in work done because a noise under her car. She brought it to me out of desperation (she didn't have that much cash) and I agreed to look at it. A heat shield had come lose and was creating a wierd clatter underneath. I literally fixed it for nothing and there were no other problems. She's been driving it ever since.
 
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Old Jul 25, 2020 | 08:39 PM
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Originally Posted by Captain Chaos
I have always worked on my own stuff and I will always work on my own stuff.
Just from watching those around me who rely on 'techs' to work on their stuff, probably a good 90% of shops employ morons and pretty much 100% of them are nothing but 'parts changers'. Finding a competent mechanic who can accurately diagnose problems, fix things CORRECTLY, and is honest and has integrity is about on par with finding a Sasquatch riding a unicorn.
I've been utterly disgusted at time when friends would bring vehicles to me practically in the midst of a panic attack because they took it to a shop and got a several thousand dollar estimate, only to find their actual problem was something simple and inexpensive; it's happened many times over the years.
I actually had one where a shop had told a friend she needed something like $1200 in work done because a noise under her car. She brought it to me out of desperation (she didn't have that much cash) and I agreed to look at it. A heat shield had come lose and was creating a wierd clatter underneath. I literally fixed it for nothing and there were no other problems. She's been driving it ever since.

Im the same way. I dont take something into a shop unless I dont have (and cant reasonably get) the special tools to do a job. I will learn how to do new stuff (and take the chance of screwing it up) before I take it in. I have severe trust issues with shops, and usually within a few minutes I can tell if someone is full of ****, or knows what they are talking about with regards to working on things. This isnt to say that I havent screwed up before, I certainly have, but then I am only out the time and cost of the parts that I broke in the first place. Now, in the OP's situation, he took it to the shop in the heat of the moment, so ddnt have much choice. I can forgive that. However, once the tech started bullshitting me, the bike would have been loaded on a trailer in pieces before I let that ******* finish what he had started. My take is that he was gonna slap it back together with what was there, and just a bullshit story about changing all of it, pocketing a shitload of the OP's $$$ in the process. When the OP didnt bite, he got pissy at someone who knew better, and therefore slapped together a time bomb. People that pull **** like this should be taken out and kneecapped, as they give those that actually give a **** a bad name.
 
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Old Jul 25, 2020 | 09:24 PM
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That’s a joke right clammy? A quality tech at a dealer,few a far between.
 
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Old Jul 25, 2020 | 09:28 PM
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Originally Posted by ScottinAZ
Im the same way. I dont take something into a shop unless I dont have (and cant reasonably get) the special tools to do a job. I will learn how to do new stuff (and take the chance of screwing it up) before I take it in. I have severe trust issues with shops, and usually within a few minutes I can tell if someone is full of ****, or knows what they are talking about with regards to working on things. This isnt to say that I havent screwed up before, I certainly have, but then I am only out the time and cost of the parts that I broke in the first place. Now, in the OP's situation, he took it to the shop in the heat of the moment, so ddnt have much choice. I can forgive that. However, once the tech started bullshitting me, the bike would have been loaded on a trailer in pieces before I let that ******* finish what he had started. My take is that he was gonna slap it back together with what was there, and just a bullshit story about changing all of it, pocketing a shitload of the OP's $$$ in the process. When the OP didnt bite, he got pissy at someone who knew better, and therefore slapped together a time bomb. People that pull **** like this should be taken out and kneecapped, as they give those that actually give a **** a bad name.
Agreed, and trust me, if it had been possible to take Reaper the same day, I would have. I was stuck in a **** situation.

Cheers!
 
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Old Jul 25, 2020 | 10:51 PM
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Why didn’t you take to an indie instead of the dealer?
 
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