A very obvious difference of opinion. You agree with the current status quo, I feel that it would be a simple issue with current computers to account for this work between the dealerships and that in the interest of promoting the company, service and additional sales that the MOCO and in turn the dealers would work as a unified group. I would not have taken the bike to a dealer to tighten a loose turn signal, a little lock tight and a turn, but I also find it sad that the other dealer didn't just do the same thing. It's called servicing the customer, those that ignore that suffer, those that embrace it thrive.

Also the point of the original poster and in turn yours, is well made, that knowledge about a bike is critical to a riders safety. I would not, however agree that anyone and everyone should be tightening their own spokes or rebuilding their transmissions. These task take specific tools and knowledge to accomplish correctly.

To conclude, to be able to identify that your spoke is loose.... Good.
To fix this issue yourself if you are not confident of your mechanical abilities or lack the proper tools to insure your wheel stays true .....Bad.

Just my two cents, too.

 

The dealers are individually owned...again, one dealer standing behind another dealers work is not a matter of computer technology. It is a matter of dollars and cents. HD warrants the bike and the work they do...not extras you have your local do. If I take my GM or Ford car to a dealer and have them put on parts and accessories and they screw up the installation, is it reasonable to expect another Ford dealer to fix the problem and expect the factory to pay for it? This kind of thinking is unreasonable.

It's too easy to come on these forums and generalize things to the point of ranting and raving about big corporations and being screwed etc., without having all the facts or scrutinizing the details. I know its fashionable to bash large companies and successful business owners in our society. Somehow they have gotten there by stepping on and screwing the little guy. But come on...the turn signal CAME LOOSE. Its a friggin Harley...it shakes. I will concede this, not everyone should be working on their own bikes. They do require special tools and some mechanical aptitude. But some of the simpler tasks should be doable and everyone should be checking hardware tightness, air pressure, etc.

 

I just purchased a used bike a couple of months again that had a bit of aftermarket parts and work done on the bike at a dealership 2000 miles away. My dealership could instantly pull up a list of ALL the parts that any dealership had installed. Dont listen to thier crap, they know EXACTLY what other dealerships have done. If the work was done by a third party however, you are screwed, as honestly you should be.

 

Again, it is not an issue of knowing who has done what to the bike. It is an issue of warranty. HD only warrants the factory work. They do not warrant dealer work. The dealerships are individually owned and operated. They are free to set pricing and policies. If they choose to warrant their own work such as upgrades, etc. that has nothing to do with the factory warranty. Your dealer is under no obligation to honor work done by the other dealer 2000 miles away unless it is directly related to a warranty action against the factory.

Another reason they track that info is so the factory can legitimately authorize (or not) warranty actions. Remember, all warranty actions are paid from HD back to the dealer who did the work. If you have modified the bike, and the failure can be attributed to your mods, they may not authroize the warranty. For example, you pay your dealer to do a hot 103 build with 257 cams, heads, etc. and then you have a lifter fail, you are going to be screwed by the factory. Your local dealer may cover his work but otherwise you are screwed. Perhaps you could find a dealer 2000 miles away who is sucker enough to cover it

 

it seems like each harley steeler has his own way to rip us off if its not adding extra hours on a job its the same old cry baby story about warentee.

 

We all know HOW it is now. What we are saying is that there could be a better way. The MOCO will layout an entire cross country trip for you from their web site. They identify every Harley dealer on your route. We are encouraged by most dealers to stop in their shops when we are in town. Free Coffee, biker lounges even a food court in Las Vegas. It could be as simple as credit/debit into an account just like franchises do for gift cards at chain restaurants. But more than that you missed my point that for something as minor as this, the dealer could have done it and been done. Taken what is now a negitive issue for a customer and have made it a positive one.

Speaking of GM or Ford, I have a GM. I was on a trip last year and pulled into a dealer to get a brake light bulb. I fully intended on putting it in myself. Instead the parts manager asked me to pull my car into the service bay, he came out put the bulb in and didn't charge me for the install or the bulb. Now thats class and is why I will buy a GM again.

 

Well to follow up with what some have said, I think my point has been captured by some and dismissed by some others because one could just fix the problem on their own, which is besides the point. (I travel a lot and I often only have enough time to ride, much less do the work Id like to on my bike) Fact is, if I take my BMW down to the dealer and have them install DINAN performance parts out of the BMW of USA supplied parts catalog, and note the work being done at the officialBMW dealership, then they will warrant that work ANYWHERE in the US. If it fails under the warranty period it will be honored anywhere. PERIOD, end of discussion. This is just simply not the case here with our HD's. Additionally, someone made a comment about the clothes and accessories, I guess what Im looking for is some consistency here that could be added by simply pushing some MOCO 'umph' behind the initiative. How is it that I can order stuff off of the HD website and not return it locally???? I understand why mind you, that its the fact that these dealers are independent and are as such, allowed to markup and charge as they wish. This is the problem, it COSTS US AS CUSTOMERS IN CUSTOMER SERVICE. To me, as I said, its the most aggravating part of ownership.

 

Oh, one more aggravating fact: You cant get a gift card to ANY harley shop (one that you can use anywhere nation-wide), so much for those gifts for people who dont live in your state, unless you want to call down and do the dealership and get them to mail it (yeah right). This was a problem when I wanted a gift card so my dad could rent a bike one weekend when we were at the beach.

 

A couple of months ago I was hit and had to bring the bike in for repairs one of which was clutch cable replacement. I pick it up and am driving on the freeway when the cable goes out (in the case/not on the bars). L.A. traffic on the freeway was stop and go and not having a clutch wasn't very fun so I decide to go to a dealer ten miles down the freeway with only two lights, which I cruise through, to get by (as opposed to driving back 45 minutes to the original dealer). I get in and they put me ahead of others who had appointments, made the adjustments and sent me on my way with a "next time you need repairs come here" - no charge. Good experience. Also, I understand guys who like to wrench but I never really got a kick out of working on my cars/bikes and now thatI can afford it I let others do the work.

 

That's all I'm saying. Thanks for saying better than I did.

And I agree with the gift card thing. That's just stupid not to have a national gift card program. And I know how simple it is to set that up. I have done it for the company I work for, through Visa, in over 17 states coast to coast.