Just to be devil's advocate, If dumbazz the wrench at the dealership messes something up, they will have to eat the cost of the fix. If I do something stupid, out comes the cash.

 

1/2 right...maybe 3/8 who knows. 07 its the Magnusson-Moss act. Put in place in the mid 70's when ALL dealers were saying.."must return to dealer or warranty is void" Theres still that stigma out there and heres why. Those of you that do your own work..Great, Fantastic and I really do envy you. I don't have those skills so I DO have a reputable dealer and there it goes. Now, having said that you change the pipes and there is a exhaust related problem, or a lean burn problem or some other problem.. is the warranty void now? Well maybe yes, maybe no. The problem here is the "Dealer" or as many of my brothers here say "stealer" denies the claim....who has the bigger wallet to fight this? Reputable delar...he fixes it. Non reputable dealer, tells you to %^& off!
Just my .02

 

doing your own service is one thing, putting on aftermarket pipes and damaging your engine because you're running lean and didn't do something about fuel management is another thing entirely. I'm not saying you don't have a point, but we're talking about different things.

Despite the negativity I exhibit toward dealers' service departments, if I had what I thought was a reputable and knowledgable dealer anywhere near me, I'd use them for any services that I need done. What I don't like is paying an outrageous amount of money for a glorified oil change.

 

I won't trust anyone but myself, do my own maintenance, ***** the dealer lol.
Yes, you need a good service manual.

 

"He can buy the parts, keep his receipts and do the service. Keep in mind it is a service, not just an oil change. He has to go by the service intervals in the service manual. People are so negative, I guess they think they sound like Billy Bad ***. I wrench at a dealer and treat a customers' bike better than my own. I would not want to risk someone's life because I screwed up. I do not like to be embarrassed by comebacks. I usually have customers raving about my work weeks fter I worked on their bike. Not every wrench is an idiot. You do not know how many customers screw up their own bike doing their own service. I just had a customer with 15,000 miles on his bike. Apparently he never tightened his spokes (he stated he doesn't have a spoke wrench) he now has to buy himself a new wheel. It also pulls really bad to the left, because he never adjusted the steering head.
A "service" is not just an oil change. Let your "Old Man", S.O, Hubby, Spouse or even your Dad do the service properly using a service manual. LOL"

I'm not against anyone competently working on their own bikes. I am against lumping all dealerships into one package, "dealer slamming", and blaming the "MoCo" they're supposedly "loyal" to when something goes wrong with the bike they have taken the service responsibility over. I refer to the above: "Keep in mind it is a service, not just an oil change." And I add that what's in the service interval is the minimum required service you will get for the price at a reputable dealership. If the tech is worth his salt, he wants you to be happy with the service as a source of pride AND that you will come back for them again, which is money in his pocket: it's their livelyhood. Does your old man have a digital tech, dyno, service, electrical diagnostics, and parts manuals, and all the special tools to do the maintenance and repairs, or access to manual updates, service bulletins, or tech tips for the most current, up-to-date information? Does he know what constitutes a "critical fastener"? Look through this site and you'll see plenty of people who screw up their maintenance and can't figure out why their bike is puking oil into the filter or can't access the WOW function or even know what it is, or run out and buy unnecessary parts that do not accomplish the repairs and are tearing their engine apart or putting cams in and don't even have a service manual!

 

I Have a good mechanic at my local dealer that does all the work on my Harley( use the same one all the time ) ,It is not because I can't it is because I wanted a bike just to ride , I have over 10 other bikes in my garage that i have to wrench on and I just wanted something I could just put gas in and ride .I personally get more satisfaction riding them than wrenching on them.It is like a treat to me not having to work on the bike.I have plenty others that get my wrenching time.

 

I agree with what you say with "Not every wrench is an idiot"...I will say this..It takes a long time for anyone to find a mechanic they trust with their car, and I have yet to find one that I truly trust with my motorcycle..I have taken my HD to Harley 3 times so far, and they have messed 4 things up, including me losing rear brakes on the way home cause the "newer guy" installed the brake junction box backwards (for 3 inch extension kit) and the "pipes heated it up" and cause brake fluid to leak out and not reach the rear brake.

Also I have a NT, when I got it back after my 5K Maint., they installed a chrome oil filter which looks way out of wack...A few other minor things I had to adjust, which I feel is just ridiculuous between the costs of the 1K/5K and installation of 3 inch extensions. After those experiences, i have done the exhaust/air/pciii myself and found it rewarding and will do it all myself for now on.

So i went to my good buddy, who got his bike at another dealership in our state, he had a nice experience for service..Went it for oil change, picked up the bike, they forgot to put oil back in the bike after draining. I wouldnt normally believe anyone on that claim, but I was there to drop him off in the car and went into the dealer to look around (two years before i owned a HD)..

There is nothing better than finding a great mechanic for your car, and must be a great feeling for the motorcycle to.