Yesterday the local HD dealership had a performance workshop. They had the finance guy come out and ramble on first talking about extended warranties etc... and the shop guys came out talking about the different engine stage kits that were available and that if you got a significant amount of engine work done you could actually add an additional warranty to cover up to 5 years.

There are 2 110 kits (named the Tire Shredder Kits) that just came out this year made for bikes built in 2014 or newer (don't quote me on those years but I'm 99% positive that's what he had said). The power numbers look great and put you right up in the Fuel Moto 107 area for hp and torque.... the torque curve on the one kit is great and stays steady through most of the rpm table. One kit is covered under warranty but the other kit is not. The kit that isn't covered uses a higher compression piston and Screaming Eagle heads.

Anyways... the one tech (green seal certified he claimed) comes out saying that this Tire Shredder kit is the bomb and he really likes it. So I wait till the workshop is over and I v-line it over to that guy and ask him about the kit as far as driveability and smoothness goes and he tells me they have never even installed any of the kits yet! I had a good chuckle and asked him how he could recommend them and say they were a great kit if he'd never even put one in or ridden on one? That's when the stuttering and stumbling started.

Another guy asked about putting aftermarket parts on a bike wether or not it would void the warranty. He got "That's a grey area." It's a yes or no answer.... if you put on some Custom Dynamics Led signal lights and your electrical failed or your canbus got fried.... I guarantee you that they would point the fingers at those lights and deny warranty. If you bought the bike new and decided to throw on your own exhaust, air cleaner and a programmer (that was not HD or installed by HD) and that bike had an engine failure.... I also guarantee they would not cover the repairs.

I'm after a big bore kit and that's the only reason I went to the silly workshop. Quite honestly, the dude had me pretty much talked into that one kit for $5,500.00 installed until I talked to parts counter guy and the technician and found out they had never even done one yet. Pricewise, it's a pretty good deal and I'm sure I could get it done for less than $5,000.00 as they are struggling to get work for the winter months here... the parts guy had told me this as well.

Are all dealerships like this? Seems like they aren't really riders and that they don't know much about what they sell.

 

I can't speak for all
Dealers, but mine has never declined warranty on the three bikes I bought from them. I do a lot of stuff to my bikes, but they haven't once questioned my mods.

The most notable being my 883 Sportster in which installed a 1250 kit (jugs and pistons.). During the heat cycles, right after installation, the oil-pump worm gear shattered. Not risking a repair and having loose metal in the motor, they replaced the entire motor under warranty.

I also had an ECM failure on my Dyna that had several electrical mods and spliced wires. They checked everything for integrity, found that it was all done correctly, then replaced the ECM under warrant.

I'm thinking the "You'll void your warranty" scare is mostly hype.

All the mechanics and parts people at my local dealership ride. Most of them daily. Maybe that's the difference.

 

It sounds like you went to a 'Sales Seminar' with all the Dealership staff trained what to say, nod and smile. Why would a finance guy be at a Performance workshop? unless it was to hopefully generate sales via HD financing.

 

Service/Dealers will tell you anything to generate business. Research and tell them what you want. They don't want to do it, walk away.

 

I got 2 quotes to do cam chain tension pads an a cam install with tuner an a indenpendant shop was about 4-500 cheaper than the HD dealership on parts an labor. I've never bought a new bike an do as much of my own work as possible. If I had a new/newer bike under warranty I'd look into paying to have a displacement kit installed if it kept all the new parts under warranty.

 

Torque > Andrws 48...wanna go a step father > S&S heads & a super tuner. HD will blow smoke up your butt but you can dyno it elsewhere or buy the tuner and map somewhere else. Couple of decent sponsors in here walk you thru it.

 

both quotes I got was for a canned tune so I could get it up an running then get a dyno tune later.

 

Here's a Youtube video of that new kit. The numbers look great..... just gotta find a dealership with a good crew to trust working in the shop.

 

If it was either of the dealers in Edmonton I wouldn't believe a word or give them another dollar.

 

Lol.... It was actually the southside location in Edmonton that held the workshop. Both Edmonton dealerships strike me as extremely crooked and slimy. So much so, I drove to Lethbridge in December last year to buy my new bike. Saved $3,000.00 for a 6 hour drive to deal with better people.

The workshop was mainly to confirm my suspicions about the dealership but the introduction to that one kit gave me some research to go after.