Yup, I paid the $106. BAR complaint filed, let's see if they get me that $106 plus the other $75 I was overcharged from the first invoice back, as well as maybe a new clutch.

Honestly I don't even care who pays for the repair at this point, whether it's me, the warranty company or the dealer. I just want a solid diagnosis done so I can know that whatever parts need to be bought can be bought. I'm 99.9% sure it's the clutch, it has ~28k on it. I had an almost identical issue with my old Kawi GPz1100, these things happen. I just don't like be raked over the coals for this kinda crap. I don't treat my customers/clients this way, I don't expect to be treated like this. I'd tear into it and diag it myself but with this BAR complaint pending I don't want to touch that primary cover until this situation is resolved.


So, for now it's the waiting game to see if/what BAR can do for me. Stay tuned...

 

Ya. You should have definitely asked for the service manager right away. I don't know how big that dealership is, but the guy at Glendale where I go is in the shop all the time. I actually deal with him primarily, because he seems to be the one consistent guy there.

You did the right thing filing the complaint. Though, I'd offer mild advice from the cheap seats: A better sequence might have been to ask for the service manager, see if he could set it right. If he didn't, email a regional boss and tell them you will be forced to file the bureau complaint if it's not made right.

Anyway, either way, you are right to be proactive and demand better service. Good luck. Maybe you can document the problem with a video?

Not sure if that's possible though on the move.

 

Minor update - took the bike to Folsom HD on the recommendation from the BAR rep to have a different dealer take a look at it; so I dropped it off last friday late afternoon.

I got the call from them this morning; I'm not crazy! They actually duplicated, consistently, my concern with 5th gear. They opened up the primary, the fluid does not smell burnt or look contaminated, the clutch adjustment was verified to be in spec, and the primary chain good. They are thinking it's not a clutch issue, but is an internal transmission problem; maybe the 5th gear shift fork or bearing on the 5th gear rail.

So at this point I've authorized them to R&I the trans and tear into it to diagnose the root cause of this issue. Harley ESP will cover this since it's not a 'wear item' like the friction plates of the clutch. Woot!

I wouldn't be surprised if the BAR has Sac HD pay Folsom HD for this repair instead of having the ESP cover it; but that's not my concern at this point. I still just want to know what failed, then I'll worry about who is paying for the repairs.



As an aside, Folsom HD also noticed on their road tests that my front end wobble was pretty bad (~30-55mph) and did a quick adjustment on the head bearings and that seems to have cured it! I'm amazed, to be honest. Sac HD re-trued my front wheel and rebalanced the front tire in an effort to cure this woe months ago, chalking it up as "wobbling is what these bikes do normally". So...yet one more reason not to go back to Sac HD [for Service work] in my opinion.

 

Just like most all shops, not all wrenches are equal.

After Son and I got our new bikes together back in 07, one thing we did after some issues at my 1k service, We found out who was the Best they had in the back-end.

Since then we don't let anyone work on our bikes except him and have had nothing but excellent service when needed which is not often anymore as we do most of the work our self's now.





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Official word from Folsom HD - 5th gear shift fork and synchro is what's borked. BAR rep went down there yesterday, talked with the tech working on my bike and the service manager, also looked at the bike and what's been done. He concluded Sac HD was not responsible for this happening, and is chalking it up as coincidental that it started acting up after I picked it up. Apparently the 5th gear shift forks are "razor thin" and bend easier than a kid in the Matrix can bend spoons. My bike wasn't the only one at Folsom HD with this problem yesterday when the BAR rep stopped by.

Harley ESP is covering the repairs to the transmission.

I did request my $106 back for the diagnostic that Sac HD was too incompetent to achieve; the BAR rep said he'll try but no promises since he can't force them to repay any monies at this point. Such is life. He's still going to give them a visit to discuss their documentation & communication practices, so at least one good thing will come of this hopefully.


Fingers crossed I'll have my bike back and all fixed up before next weekend! Would be nice to take my girlfriend up to Tahoe on her birthday, on the bike.

 

Glad you were able to come to a resolution on this. Unfortunate that you had to go to so much trouble because of incompetence/indifference on that one dealer's part.

 

wow thats a headache. i couldn't have delt with all of that i would have flipped my lid. i spin most of my own wrenches and glad i do now. I am glad it all got fixed and you get the bike back. sucks that you had to pay for crapy service. crazy story and alot of good information.