All touring owners. Is the 10000 mile check a worthwile investment or is it something I can do myself? I have the capabilities to change all the fluids. Also I have a 2009 Road King that came with stock tires. The front seems to have a little wobble in it. I was told by two dealers down South that the 2009's had a defective front tire and Harley would replace it for free minus labor. I'm having a little dificulty in convincing my dealer of this. Any help and if any one has any suggestions on what tire to put on that would help. My back tire is getting near the end of its life as well. My bike has about 9700 miles on it. Thanks

 

You can do that service yourself. Get the manual for 60 bucks and go through the bike give yourself a few days. This allows you to get to know your machine better and will save you money, and will eliminate the possibility of a dealer charging you for something they did not do. As far as the tire is concerned the 407 front tire is defective and will be covered under warranty by the dealer. They may try to tell you otherwise but its a lie call corporate and have them send you a letter and dont settle for a prorated cost. They tried this with me I walked outta there with a free tire at no cost to me when i even mentioned calling corporate.

 

the dunlop 407F service bulletin can be found with a google search for service bulletin # M-1258

replacement depends on wear measured as outlined in the bulletin.

my nearest dealer ( Stubbs) DID NOT measure as per the bulletin- I showed the guy a copy and offered to help roll the bike so he could measure...
and he said tire was "too worn" it wasn't- he measured as the "cupped" area.

I found another dealer ( Arrowhead) who would measure properly and the tire was replaced at 100% P&L.
while there I bought a rear tire ( on sale) and spent about $500 on crap I needed anyway.

so that's the tire.

the 10000 service, you can find the schedule online or in your manual ( you have? if not, get one) it's not tough- fork oil I guess is the most fiddley--- maybe think about changing oil viscosity if you would like you forks to be a little different

also know that new specs for torquing the tranny end cover is 20-23 ft pounds, some of these have been backing out, esp. the exhaust mounting bracket is held by 2 of these and it vibrates- hard to get at, I uses a 1/4" screwdriver bit, butt end first, and turned it with a wrench

as specs change and service bulletins come out a "good" dealer with a "good" tech would know to do all this for you

in case of warranty concerns, keep rect's for supplies, date and record your work.

mike

 

Something to consider too:

You don't have to perform the whole service in one weekend. Get the List of Services for 10,000 miles, do what you understand, ask questions about what you don't during the week and finish your service the next weekend.Slow and easy wins!

 

The 1000 mile one I let my dealer do, for one.....it will help keep you out of trouble with them should any future problems arise. For two, good mechanics know alot of little things that aren't in the owners manual as well as problematic year issues they will automaticly check for.
Oupps.... I read it as 1000 not 10,000. In that case take your time and check it out yourself.

 

Hey thanks for the info. Hopefully it saves me some money.

 

I will have the dealer do the work. I can afford a $25,000 bike I sure can afford the $300 service charge every 5,000 miles. For me that is about every 9 months. No big deal.

 

For what's basically an oil change done by the most junior member in the shop for $300+, I would do it myself and document what I did to cover warranty issues.

 

Regarding the 10k service, take the money you would spend on the service, and buy a quality jack, and service manual. You can do it yourself, I just went through this very thought process.

Regarding the tire, my dealer changed it out for free including labor, and I was three weeks out of warrentee.

mikebaby

 

It's a big deal when the newby from the Tech School doesn't do it right.

Flat rate pay means rushed job.

And they don't give the service work to the experienced guys btw.

I do mine because I do a better job of it.