Experts,

I'm going to be picking up my first Harley FLHTC (EG Classic) in a few weeks. What should I have the service department do to the bike before I take delivery? Any fluids to replace with higher viscocity or synthetic? Are there adjustments available in the bars, floorboards, and tourpak that I should have the dealer make to fit me before I leave? What about the EFI programming? I don't care about improving performance but we run on reformulated crappy ethanol gas in Milwaukee. Should I have them do anything to prevent lean / hot running?

Are there problems I can avoid or improvements I can make with a little foresight?

Thanks,
Eric, the Harley Rookie

 

Don't have them do a thing.
you will have no shortage of time to do stuff later. start by getting a factory accessory book, jp cycles, drag fat book, dennis kirk,and a couple others put them on the crapper tank and like they say the rest will come to you. trust me there will never again come a time when you are asking others what you can put on your scoot. a couple months from now you will be cursing the HDF for ever existing.

enjoy!

 

I just picked up my new Street Glide and had the dealer do the Stage 1 103' Kit. For 995 bucks (everything included except Slip on's). This was the screamin' eagle air box setup, an EFI map download for the 103, A/C, etc, all labor, gaskets, and shop supplies...

This was a great move, in my opinion... and it's all covered under the factory 2 year warranty rather than the standard 90 day.

I thought about going to the stage 2 (adds cams) -- but the extra 1k for cams was pretty unjustifiable...

Best 1k I've spent so far... the break in process puts a grin from ear to ear on me...

 

NOTHING!

get on it and ride it out of there! as fast as you can

change and add things later when YOU decide it needs done. Avoid the dealer except for warranty and gifts. find a nice local shop you trust with your baby or wrench it yourself and save a bundle and be assured its getting done right.

 

I am lucky I guess in that I have a good friend that can help me and answer things when i get stuck and he is affilliated with a shop here i would trust it with. But I plan on being a sponge and learning as much as i can during the next year or so and eventually be comfy doing my own work on it. Luckily the shop will let me babysit it and do some of my ownwhile there too - so thats nice.

 

Grinner,

If there’s one thing I regret not informing the dealership, it’s that I would have wanted all of the factory instruction sheets for the add-ons I had them install prior to delivery.

Every optional I item I have purchased and installed since delivery has came withinstruction sheets and I keep them in plastic sheet covers in a dedicated notebook. The notebook also has receipts and other paperwork.

The instruction sheets have part numbers for future reference and can be an added plus to a potential buyer if I ever decide to sell and purchase a new model.

 

Congrats Grinner, you have chosen Harley's best deal, ask me how I know. Most bike for the money. If I was U I would put 1000.00 miles on it to get to know the bike, and then I would bring it in for it's check up and have a stage 1 done. That way you will know what a HUGE difference in performance a stage 1 makes compared to stock,....start thinkin about what pipes you want now..Joe Mac

 

Ride first, then you'll know better how to spend the $$$. Plus you'll really appreciate the upgrades, if they're performance.

 

About the only thing you should have the dealer do for you right off the bat is order a service manual, if they don't have one on the shelf. Even if you don't use it to wrench on the bike yourself, you can at least read the procedures and understand what a shop is actually doing to your bike. If anything pops up later, you can better attribute it to either service that was done or factory delivery.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I'm excited about this bike. Sounds like I can just take it as-is and ride it. Here's my add-on list:

Tour-pak rack as place to strap workout duffel bag
Finned headbolt bridge for looks
EZ-Brake and EZ-Shift (Kuryakynversion so dealer can order it from distributor, same price as EZ-Brake.com)
Narrow Band billet grips,footboards all around, brake pad, shift pegs
Chrome passenger footboard pan and mounting bracket

Anything stand out as a bad plan? $1412 for parts, $360 labor. Laborseems reasonable, given the critical nature of shift/brake and drilling into tour-pak lid to mount the rack. Scary stuff for me.

Thanks everyone,
Eric