Below are the letters that I wrote to the General Manager and Owner concerning the 1000 mile service on my '07 Road King Custom. The bike purchase was made at this store, so I figured that I would do all of my service business there. I did actually meet with the owner, he came up with a few excuses but never really addressed the problem. I'm pretty bummed about the whole thing, I really wanted to have my bike worked on at the dealership I bought it at...

Maybe I'm being a little picky, but my bike is just about the most important thing in my life. Hell, it IS my life!!! Come to think of it, I never did get a straight answer as to why my lights weren't working...


Dan,

Good morning, my name is Rick Burkemper and I have
concerns and issues with your service department. So
that you will be up to speed I have attached an email
that I sent to the General Manager two days ago. At
this time I haven't heard back from him, so I thought
that I would send you a note explaining my situation.

This morning I received a phone call that my bike was
finished and ready for pickup. Unfortunately that
wasn't the case. If you have read the attached
document you will remember that an improperly
installed heat-shield is an issue that I had with my
bike initially. There is still a gap between the
heat-shield and the exhaust pipe, which had been fixed
but now it is back. I'm slightly confused as to how
this happened, all I know is that it isn't acceptable
and I asked to have it fixed. I also noticed that the
reflector on the right side saddle bag (same side as
the improperly installed heat-shield) had some
scuffs/dirt on it. I tried to remove the dirt and
noticed that it was embedded into the reflector. I
opened the saddlebag to further inspect it and noticed
that it had been re-attached. The whole assembly had
a milky, pasty look to it with a generous amount of
dried glue/epoxy. Honestly, it looked like somone
super-glued it back on. This is also unacceptable, so I
asked for that to be taken care of as well. The icing
on the cake is that my bike is filthy, which is to be
expected since it has been in your shop for two weeks
now. I would have thought that someone would have at
least taken the time to wipe it down and remove the
dirt and smudges.

It all boils down to this; I want my bike back and I
want it to be right. I'm counting on you to help me
with this, thank you in advance for your time and
effort. By the way, if I don't receive a response
from you in the near future I'll assume that you
didn't receive this email. If that happens I will
send copies of this correspondence and my
documentation to you via certified mail.

Sincerely,


Rick Burkmper



Dear Sir,

I have some service department concerns that you need
to be made aware of. My 2007 Road King, VIN
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, will have been in your shop for
almost two weeks tomorrow, 6/21. That my bike is in
your shop isn't the issue, the issue is how long and
why.

Everything started 6/7/07 when I brought my bike out
to Big Barn for the 1000 mile service. Along with the
1st service they were to adjust one of the exhaust
pipes (improperly installed initially by the service
department) and tighten a bolt on the other exhaust
pipe mounting bracket.

When I came to pick up my bike that afternoon I
noticed that in the process of adjusting the muffler
they damaged the corresponding heat-shield. It was
fairly obvious damage, and frankly I was shocked that
the technician and service writer let it pass. Not
only was my heat-shield damaged, they neglected to
adjust the bolt on the other mounting bracket. When I
pointed these things out they agreed to replace the
heat-shield and adjust the bolt.

Two and a half hours later they presented my bike to
me, and everything seemed in

 

[:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@]

 

That is very will written. It will be interesting to see how they respond.

 

Welcome to the family of Harleyhood. Be prepared to be disappointed by dealer service (all aspects) very, very often. Sort of goes with the whole brand image, ya know. You know why Harley riders are all a bunch of pissed off looking bad asses? It's because of Harley service!

 

Man... that sucks. Might be time to file a claim under the Federal Lemon Laws... that shoul get the Dealership motivated to fix the problem. You might also consider sending acopy of these notes o the local offices of your Better Business Bureau. I wonder if the service writer would have been chuckling if the floorboard fell off while you were doing 50mph and wrecked the bike. I have no patience for this kind of crap. Does your local news station have an investigative division for consumer complaints?

This is totally messed up...

 

Hey Rick
Sorry to hear about the trouble with the service department.
Hope you get things resolved to your satification.
I had a bad experience with myservice dept.also.
I found out that the tech that lowered my front forks was in training.
Things gotmessed-up and nothing said. My windshield came loose on the trip home.
The outboard nut-serts were pulled out of the fairing, glad the center fastener was holding a bit.
More than moderate scratches on my right bag, windshield, and not to forget all the greasy fingerprints.
I didn't notice any problems when I picked up my bike. I was looking forward to the ride home.
This was my first time to use a HD certified service dept towork on my bike, maybe my last.
I usually do all the work myself. However getting older andsomewhat lazy,decited to put out the duckets
for someone else to do it.
The MoCo has a program to place want-to-be HD techs into stealerships. I guess everyone needs a start.
From now on, as in the past; I'll do the work myself, if something isn't right I'll know it.
Might be best for you to do the same?
Bob

 

Are you sure that you did not go to my dealership?

 

Wow this place sounds as bad as capital harley in michigan
the owner is a real PR$CK

 

I had the same fuse issue with my ultra. If you have chrome switch housings, it a biatch to get the wires thru the handlebar clamp without pinching. They didn't cut, they were just tight enough to blow the fuse. Loosen the clamps and see if the fuse blows.

 

I bought my FLHTC at the dealer. The only thing I asked them to do was puty on a set of highway pegs.. that they sold me at an exorbitant price.. they couldn't do it.. I ended up taking them off and putting them on properly the next day. I can't imagine how frustrated you must be just trying to get your bike running properly and having it get damaged. That's just wrong!

Since then I decided my dealer wasn't going to get $286 dollars for the 1000 mile service, which is essentially a oil change and "walk-around". That's highway robbery.

I've found an Independent that has a super reputation and he is going to do all the work I don't care to tackle myself. He's doing my PCIII package from FuelMoto and dynoing it next week. I'll also have him to the 5000K service.

Getting poor service is bad enough, but getting poor service at exorbitant prices is just wrong.

Find a good Indie that is responsive to your needs and feel good about paying him a good price for quality work. Learn to do the basic stuff yourself. Screw the dealer.