Two of the easiest things I've done to my bike - and a story about lame *** HD Techs.
#11
02-03-2009, 07:40 PM
Road Captain
Hellfish, I bought my Rocker from that same dealership in Carrolton. I live in Waco so I havnt taken it back to em to do any service. Had a bad experience at the Waco dealership, had them replace a rear tire that was under warranty and the tech put the belt guard on wrong and it grooved my pulley, which they replaced on their dime. Bottom line is gotta be carefull who you let work on your bike, I just did the 5000 mile service on mine myself and it wasnt that bad at all. At least I know that I took pride in doing the work. I told the service guy pretty much the same thing you did, I asked him if I bought a 20,000 dollar moped or was my bike a Harley, pretty bad when they screw it up and dont even wipe the grease off the wheel and fender when they bring it out. Sorry for the rant, just my 2 cents worth.
#12
02-03-2009, 07:53 PM
Join Date: Jul 2008
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Hellfish, I bought my Rocker from that same dealership in Carrolton. I live in Waco so I havnt taken it back to em to do any service. Had a bad experience at the Waco dealership, had them replace a rear tire that was under warranty and the tech put the belt guard on wrong and it grooved my pulley, which they replaced on their dime. Bottom line is gotta be carefull who you let work on your bike, I just did the 5000 mile service on mine myself and it wasnt that bad at all. At least I know that I took pride in doing the work. I told the service guy pretty much the same thing you did, I asked him if I bought a 20,000 dollar moped or was my bike a Harley, pretty bad when they screw it up and dont even wipe the grease off the wheel and fender when they bring it out. Sorry for the rant, just my 2 cents worth.
#14
02-03-2009, 08:28 PM
hellfish, I bought my bike in Bedford, and don't even get me started on those guys. I will never set foot back in that place. I took my bike into Corinth due to a hole in my fuel pick up hose under warranty (I even told the dude what was wrong), he then put his ear to the tank and said, it's okay, just ride it. I rode it straight to Longhorn HD in Grand Prairie and they had if fixed in 2 hours (the problem was exaclty what I told the guy). Anyway, I am not overly impressed with any dealers in DFW. I do most of my own work, but am looking for a good local Indy to handle certain things. American Motorcycle Trading Company in Arlington installed my frontend and seem to be stand up guys.
#15
02-03-2009, 08:49 PM
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hellfish, I have the same exact bike and installed all my own extras and you are right saving money on easy installs feels good. On my last Harley the clutch was never the same after the 1000 mile service. I took it back and they fixed it. I am due in two weeks for the 1000 service on this new bike and might ask them to keep the friction point the same. I will remember your adjustment advice. Salem Harley here in Oregon bends over backward though to keep us happy. I am buying the book too. Once it is off warranty I want to be able to do the work myself.
#16
02-03-2009, 09:18 PM
#17
02-03-2009, 11:05 PM
#18
02-03-2009, 11:38 PM
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Sorry about that experience hellfish, been there. There is a HD dealer right by my work so it is very convinient for me. The service writers are awesome and they treated me very well but the techs, dont get me started on those idiots!!! First of all, your right, these rockers cost alot of money and we should get very good treatment reguardless. When I bought my harley the salesman told me to get my brake in service at an HD service facility cause if I didnt it would void my warranty, they charged me $380 for that and I got stiffed cause I later learned that its false, you dont get your warranty voided if you go somewhere else for serviced, I got ripped of and it really hurt. Also, recently i noticed my oil tank was cracked, i was riding one day and heard a loud snapping noise but never found what it was. The other day i was cleaning my bike and i noticed a crack on the oil tank, surprisingly it was not leaking so i drove over to the Hd guys and showed them, the tech inspected it, and said it was a scratch, he said "thats a scratch, you scratched it." He was an ahole, cocky little bastard, he must of been about 20 years old. So i told him that it was a crack and got into it with him and sure enough, it was a crack, it was cracked all the way through and you can see it on the inner side. So yea they are going to replace it, i told the kid he had alot to learn before he ran his mouth as a moto tech.
#19
02-03-2009, 11:42 PM
Road Warrior
#20
02-04-2009, 12:17 AM
Road Master
Two of the easiest things I've done to my bike - and a story about lame *** HD Techs
1. Adjusting my clutch
2. Installing the Aux Running lights
Two of the easiest fixes I've done to my bike ...and a story about lame HD Techs
(keep in mind I'm just learning - new bike)
The running lights were almost too easy, plug and play adapter and two red turn signals in the back. I can hardly brag about doing that, but I was surpised how easy it was to pop on.
The clutch comes with a story about how lame HD Techs can be ...
I took my bike in for the 1K service (was quoted $275 and they charged me $350) When I rode off I notice that my clutch was REALLY hard to squeeze, was opened wider that it was when I brought it in, and my friction zone had been reduced to the last 1/4' of a wide open clutch. I didnt know what had changed so I took it back to HD. They said it was adjusted right and that I just needed to get used to it. (and was a total sarcastic d1ckhead about it)
I took them at their word and rode off, clutch still bugged me so I started looking up how to adjust clutch on teh internet (service book is my next purchase, I couldn't afford on right now) I found out what I needed to know and it turns out that the techs and tightened my clutch cable all the way in and then some. There was no gap at all between the level and the housing and was overly tight. I read that the service manual says to keep a 1/8" gap between the lever ..or the size of a dime. I adjusted my cable to my liking (witch was VERY easy to do) ... the gap is about 2 nickles wide. Now my friction zone is more towards a full gripped clutch and its MUCH easier to pull.
Long story short, I pay 20K for a bike, I get the extended service plan, I get over charged for my 1K service, they over tighten the clutch, I take the bike in and descibe my issue (because at the time I didnt know what was wrong with it) ...and they dont give a ****. I had to look it up and fix it myself!! WTF am I paying for here?
I'm glad I did that because I'll be doing more of my own work on the bike from now on but man, HD Techs really suck sometimes.
2. Installing the Aux Running lights
Two of the easiest fixes I've done to my bike ...and a story about lame HD Techs
(keep in mind I'm just learning - new bike)
The running lights were almost too easy, plug and play adapter and two red turn signals in the back. I can hardly brag about doing that, but I was surpised how easy it was to pop on.
The clutch comes with a story about how lame HD Techs can be ...
I took my bike in for the 1K service (was quoted $275 and they charged me $350) When I rode off I notice that my clutch was REALLY hard to squeeze, was opened wider that it was when I brought it in, and my friction zone had been reduced to the last 1/4' of a wide open clutch. I didnt know what had changed so I took it back to HD. They said it was adjusted right and that I just needed to get used to it. (and was a total sarcastic d1ckhead about it)
I took them at their word and rode off, clutch still bugged me so I started looking up how to adjust clutch on teh internet (service book is my next purchase, I couldn't afford on right now) I found out what I needed to know and it turns out that the techs and tightened my clutch cable all the way in and then some. There was no gap at all between the level and the housing and was overly tight. I read that the service manual says to keep a 1/8" gap between the lever ..or the size of a dime. I adjusted my cable to my liking (witch was VERY easy to do) ... the gap is about 2 nickles wide. Now my friction zone is more towards a full gripped clutch and its MUCH easier to pull.
Long story short, I pay 20K for a bike, I get the extended service plan, I get over charged for my 1K service, they over tighten the clutch, I take the bike in and descibe my issue (because at the time I didnt know what was wrong with it) ...and they dont give a ****. I had to look it up and fix it myself!! WTF am I paying for here?
I'm glad I did that because I'll be doing more of my own work on the bike from now on but man, HD Techs really suck sometimes.
HELLFISH:
The Only Thing I Go To The Dealer For Is To Use My Chrome Points That I Get With My Harley Visa Card.
Get The Fac Repair Book On E-bay, I Do All My Own Work On My Bike I Let The Dealer DO NOTHING TO MY BIKE,, ALL They Will Do To It Is F&&&k It Up On You, They Can't Fix CHIT.
If You Can Drink BEER You Can Fix Your Own Bike, A Motorcycle Is The Easiest Thing To Work On, Remember When You Was A Kid Working On Your Bicycle How Easy It Was , Well
The Motorcycle Is The Same Thing,, No BIGGIE
Your Question WTF Am I Paying For Here Was, Well I'LL Tell You, It's To Keep Them Shad Tree So called Motorcycle Mechanics In A Job.
And Your Right They Get An Attitude F&&K Them, Do All Your Own Work.
Tell Me Was It A Miami Dealer ??? Lot Of Dick Heads There With Attitudes.
Just Stick With Us Here At The H-D Forum And We Will Put You On The Right Road.
HellFish Just Chalk That Dealer Up To Experience.
Remember This Ok You Can Do Better Work On Your Owm Bike Then Anyone Else Can And Have Fun Doing It Also.
Have Fun And Ride Safe
Harley03joe
P. S. Lame Was The Right Word For Them