So my CVO should be here mid May. I was talking to the service guy about changing bars and what not and I was asking about things that void warranty. He's not the service manager or anything but pretty much what he said is as long as they do the work everything is fine but if I do the work warranty is void. While I kind of understand this as I work for a CAT dealer I got pretty pissed that he even included servicing the bike. I'm plenty capable of changing fluids myself. I'm not sure what a dealer charges for oil changes. If it's less than a couple hundred than no problem. I'm perfectly fine with paying them for big services but the oil changes in between...come on!!!

 

Yeah they'll all tell you that, kind of ridiculous really. I suppose if you had an issue directly related to something you did like not changing the oil or using the wrong oil then they would have a case to not honour the warranty. If you have a sensor fail or a switch go bad are they really going to withold warranty service because you changed your own oil? If they did I'd be on the horn to someone over their heads pretty quick!

Sadly that's the attitude and mentality of some of the dealerships out there.

 

Asking a service guy/mechanic about a warranty question is the wrong person to talk to. You dont know what kind of answer you will get. Their job is to fix your bike. They know jack **** about your warranty. They just know how to fix bikes.

 

The only thing that will void your warranty is any change you make that causes the damage of failure. Sounds simple it is.
You are not required to have HD do any services, you are not required to use or buy any HD product.
I have never in many years ever had a single issue with a warranty claim for any reason. Only person I know that did was doing burn outs with a sporty in the HD parking lot the minute he drive it out the door . Month latter when he blew it up they told him to take a hike.

 

...... and sometimes even that's questionable.

 

You are only covered by the dealer who did the work. If you go to a different dealer they can and most likely will deny your claim. If something aftermarket causes damage your dealer may cover it but if you are out of town it could get costly.

 

Warranty is a mine field, most dealer personnel don't even understand all the twist and turns it can take. There are many or customers who are running around with builds and modifications which will void the warranty, the trick is not to have a dealer question them or contact Harley Davidson about them. A person can change their oil till the cows come home, just save all your receipts and keep detailed records of what was done and when.

It gets dicey when making modifications. On a good many Harley products you will see fine print which states a part or modification doesn't void the Harley Davidson warranty as long as the part is installed by an authorized Harley Davidson dealer. That is their get out of jail free card for not covering something a consumer or Indy has installed. It also makes a difference whether or not it is covered under the 2 year unlimited mileage warranty.

Some parts when installed at the dealer within I believe it is 60 days of delivery, are covered under the 2 year unlimited mileage warranty. After that period or installed by the consumer or Indy, the warranty period is only 90 days on the parts.

When you start getting into exhaust, cams, tuners, heads and engine displacement changes, you're navigating some treacherous waters. Harley has tried to keep things kind of easy for the consumer. In the SE catalog you will see the Traffic light, or as they call it, The Go Light. You will also see an up raised hand or Stop Hand. All go light items have no impact on your warranty. All stop hand items can void the warranty as they are meant for off road competition.

When you start using aftermarket parts things get even more confusing. As far as I know 100% of the aftermarket parts such as tuners, cams, displacement kit's and heads, will void the warranty for the power train. You might have a cool dealer who looks the other way and covers something that went wrong. You could also run into a dealer who will run to the mother ship and tattle on you, thus hosing your warranty.

Then there is the Magnuson Moss warranty act, some folks wave it like a shield, fortunately they haven't had to try that shield they are waving. More or less the MM act protects you when you do your own service work and also replace some parts with items that meet or exceed the manufacturer specifications. The MM act does not protect you when you make modifications which render the vehicle illegal for street use. Those items are certain exhaust, tuners, cams, heads, pretty much anything that makes the vehicle non compliant in either noise or air emissions.

 

So if that is true then they must supply all materiel's and labor for free. Look up Moss-Magnuson

 

Hope this helps!

"Tie-In Sales" Provisions

Generally, tie-in sales provisions aren’t allowed. That’s a provision that requires a consumer to buy an item or service from a particular company to keep their warranty coverage. Here is an example of prohibited tie-in sales provisions.

To keep your new Plenum Brand Vacuum Cleaner warranty in effect, you must use genuine Plenum Brand Filter Bags. Failure to have scheduled maintenance performed, at your expense, by the Great American Maintenance Company, Inc., voids this warranty.

However, a warrantor can require a consumer to use select items or service if they’re provided FREE OF CHARGE under the warranty.

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/busi...l-warranty-law

 

Nothing you do will void your warranty. A dealer (or The Mothership) may refuse to warranty a non-Harley part, or a failure due to a non-Harley part. If you break something trying to fix it, or screw something up while you're servicing your bike, a dealer (or The Mothership) may refuse to warranty the damage you've done.

Your warranty for the bike will still be intact though.