I do my own service on all my vehicles.
Once while having a rear wheel replaced under tire and wheel coverage, I asked a mechanic at the dealer I trust to do a critical fastener check. He found a couple of small things and we discussed it, as well as His recommendations on things to look out for. I found that very helpful.
I actually look forward to ALL my 5K services. And, do your best on Pre Ride Checks, and ride with confidence!

 

All of my bikes have never returned to a dealer for service until I bought the Harley. With the way things started off, every scheduled check was a trip to the dealer and every suggestion with the exception of me purchasing a SERT so they could tune the bike was followed. I even went as far as having a statement added to the settlement doc stating the my warranty would not be voided by using a SERT. H-D (MoCo) has a full compliment of lawyers and they used several against me.

The bike is now out of warranty and I service it myself.

 

My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools. I can fix it.

 

ASE master tech., A&P, own a shop and have over $100k in tools-- yep. I do my own maintenance and mods. And I either buy or make my own special tools in order to do it correctly. I do use the dealer when warranty is involved. If you don't know what you are doing though, let someone who does, do it. Screw-ups can get very costly.

 

As time goes on HD is adding more and more stuff that requires the Digital Technician diagnostic system to service or check out. That needs to change. HD needs to provide owner access to that system for normal maintenance procedures like changing brake fluid on a bike with ABS brakes. It could easily be done via a PC and cable.

 

The newer bikes have very little "adjustments" available so the 1,000 mile service is basically changing of the fluids for $500.00. If we are talking about "basic" service then if you feel you do not possess the skills or don't mind spending hundreds of dollars for an fluid change then I would make an appointment with your dealership for your next service.

 

I have always done all the servicing and most of the repairs on all my vehicles with the exception of tire mounting and A/C work. If you do it yourself you are more likely to keep your bike properly serviced and save a lot of $$$

 

Perfectly said!

 

Always do all of the maintenance myself, I keep a log book of all work and save my receipts. Only time I use the dealer is for warranty repairs, never have a problem with the dealer refusing to do the work because I did the service work.

 

I take mine to the Dealership for any warranty issues, and a local indy shop for tires.

By all means, you can service your bike. I'm not the most mechanically inclined(which is why i'm a Corpsman). With tools and the Service Manual you will be good to go. Youtube, and these forums are really good.