Dealer visit = good news and bad news

[DK Custom Products]

I took my TG in last week for the warranty work on the reverse motor and the pan hard rod.

Picked it up today.

Reverse works

New pan hard rod is nice and snug...no more slop.

Good news is that instead of $1795.00 for the pars/labor, it was only $50 for ESP deductible.

Bad news is, per usual, they messed some stuff up.

Lost a couple rubber plugs..I was hoping that was all...no biggie, I will get some more at Home Depot.

On the way home I noticed my voltmeter never went past 13 volts. Unfortunately they were already closed, or I would have taken it back.

I have a feeling that they drained the battery down really bad when they were working on the reverse motor replacement.

I figured I would go ahead and plug it into the battery tender and see if it would come back...if not, then it will be a bit difficult to get them to replace it...after first 2 years it is viewed as a wear item and not covered. I got home and plugged the battery tender in...It's not connected to the battery!

In the last 6-7 years I cannot remember one time that I have had a bike into the dealership where they haven't screwed something up. The two worst times were sending me on my way with a dry transmission, the other time was sending me on my way with the front axle loose.

It wasn't always that way. They used to have actual mechanics working at the dealerships instead of these parts-changers that don't even understand what they are doing half the time.

I will probably hook the tender pigtail to the battery myself, lest they screw something else up trying to do that. Hopefully the battery will come back.

Kevin

[msocko3]

Sounds like the parts changers at the dealer my dad and I used to do business with, they could mess up a wet dream.

[427dave]

I wrote a 3 page letter to Harley about the service, or lack of it, that my former dealer did on my trike. I had taken it in for the same reason, reverse motor not working. It took them 2 weeks to repair and then they screwed all kinds of things up. I also copied the dealer. I got a answer from Harley but nothing from the dealer. They had a lot of their mechanics quit and most were new. I had them change oil, they put 75-140 gear oil in primary, 10-40 in tranny, and that was just one thing.

[Ozarkryder]

Granted, my Harely is 23 years old and not under any warrantee, but I have usually gone with the philosophy that it's not really yours if you don't wrench it yourself. With the stuff I don't have the tools or expertise to do myself, I get out the factory manual and make sure I know what needs doing no matter what vehicle goes in for service. For example, I can rebuild the tranny on the HD - on the Goldwing? No siree Bob. That takes pulling the engine, which is more complicated that a lot of cars, and very special tools. What ever needs to go in for service I reasearch - seems they pay more attention when the customer knows what is going on. Also doesn't hurt I usually have a box or 2 of Krispy Kremes bungied to the back seat with a note "For the Shop" on it.

[Brentwood Bob]

Wow Kevin that really gives one a lot of confidence when taking a bike or trike in for service. I have taken my cars in and never had any trouble. What is it with bike/trike repair people?

[tbear]

Gentlemen,
If you don't have it under warranty anymore, ya gotta find a good mechanic you can trust!
Most of the Harley or Honda Dealerships hire kids right out of school or the Dealerships are too crowded with work to slow down and do it right!! Finding a Good,Trusting mechanic is essential in this world !! Kinda like finding a Doctor that's not just looking for more money...... just my two cents-thank you.

[Ozarkryder]

Gentlemen,
If you don't have it under warranty anymore, ya gotta find a good mechanic you can trust!
Most of the Harley or Honda Dealerships hire kids right out of school or the Dealerships are too crowded with work to slow down and do it right!! Finding a Good,Trusting mechanic is essential in this world !! Kinda like finding a Doctor that's not just looking for more money...... just my two cents-thank you.

Agreed on that. The advice on knowing what needs to be done and the little "Thanks in advance" works wonders in an independant shop too. Also gettinig your safety chrome, oil and such there. Some stuff may be cheaper on the web, but the goodwill recieved from buying where you have your ride worked on will pay dividends. According to a shop owner I know in Blooming Prarie Minnesota, one of the best ways to get bad service is to take in a tire you got on line for mounting. Takes up time and the dealer makes next to nothing on the job. I have asked other indie owners about this, and they most all agree.

[DK Custom Products]

Yeah, I used to tip the mechanics...but there are no mechanics left at the dealerships in my area.

I ONLY take the bike to a dealership for warranty work. I do the rest myself...we do have some ok Indys in the area if I get pressed for time or over my head.

Many years ago we had a local Indy that was authorized to do warranty work...that was nice. But that no longer is the case.

[captdanwh]

i agree with you guys about there being a lot of parts changers at the Harley dealers shops, but there are some good mechanics also. if i have to take my bike there i will only let the most experienced mechanics work on it and if he is not available right then i will wait until he is even if it takes a few more days. the other thing is that i have taken my trike to independent shops that were supposed to be great, another costly mistake as they not only know very little about a trike but they make their money selling you parts you do not need also. what we need is to get a national list from you guys out ( and ladies ) as to where a rider can take his bike and feel totally confident that it will be done right the first time at a reasonable price not by people changing parts until they finally get it right. i cannot start this topic as i have yet to find a good place to get my bike fixed by someone i can depend on. i know of a great tuner (DOC'S Performance) but not a great mechanic. get this going and i think we can all benefit from it.

[bikerbillone]

Now there's a good idea.

[DK Custom Products]

Went out to the TG today and all I got was a click. I still have not taken it in for them to replace the battery they cooked. I have spoken to them, and they said no problem, just bring it in....I just have not taken the time to do so.

Anyway, just a click today. So I rode my Softail to my appointment in 37* temps. A bit chilly.

Got home and fixed the battery tender. Hopefully it will be charged up in the morning. I need to get it in for that battery replacement!

Kevin

[DK Custom Products]

Turned out the battery was ok. It was the stator. It's been replaced under ESP warranty. They also installed the new SE Compensator at the same time, also under warranty.

Kevin

[FRR]

I have purchased several Harley Ultras from my local dealer and would not let them service anything I owned. I think the attitude Harley has is that they are Harley Davidson, they are special, and that folks will continue to do business with them no matter how bad service is or how much service their products need. I have never understood why so many other brands can produce bikes that perform well with little need for service major repairs, but Harley owners, especially on this site always talk about the need for extended warranties that now cost a small fortune. The ESP cost so much because Harley bikes seem to have things go wrong with them at a high rate of failure. Keep in mind, from about 1990 and for about 15 yrs thereafter Harley was in the drivers seat and folks paid a premium, or went on lists, or bribed their local sales manager to have the "honor" of buying a bike.

In the last several years, those days are over. HD needs to concentrate on producing a product that is reliable. Now they are doing the same thing Honda did several years ago with the Goldwing; raising the price and deleting items that were standard in the past, ie; CB radio. It has hurt the sale of the Wing, and if HD doesn't watch out it could end up being counter productive for them. I realize the Triglide is very popular, especially as the riding public age and many of us still love the HD. A great company and business model such as HD can produce a more reliable product, and they need to do so.

[larry j]

sorry to hear about your troubles

[vw driver]

Reminds me of the AMF years.

[rap47]

Reminds me of the AMF years.

Ahh, not hardly.

[Phu Cat]

There's an easier way to conect a charger to your bike and not have to worry about some rookie having had reconected it to the battery.

From the right hand side of the bike, look for the right hand end of the starter motor with a black rubber boot with a wire connected to a stud held on with a 1/2" nut. This wire is connected directly to the battery. Connecting the battery chargers positive post here is a breeze. Then connect the remaining black cable to any good ground and you're set. This eliminates one thing the rookie at the HD shop can screw up.

PC

[rhino 2]

I just run a Pig- tail on all my bike's even I couldn't screw that up...
They ONLY plug in one way.. Like a wall socket.

[bayoudave]

Back in 07 I bought a 92 gl1500. The owner had a service agreement with the local Honda shop to do routine maintenance. He paid the $50 and had the service agreement (had 2 years left) swapped over to me. I took it in several times for oil change. At about 58,000 miles I took it in and asked them about doing the 60,000 mile maintenance and the service manager said to wait cause it didn't have 60,000 miles. I took it back in at about 61,000 miles and asked them to do the 60,000 mile maintenance and get this he said it was past the 60,000 miles and I had voided the agreement because it said to bring it in for service at required intervals and I missed it. How crazy is that. Never been back and have told everyone I know and see not to buy there. I bet they lost more $$$$ from me than they saved and I hope some others heeded my advice and they lost their $$$$ too.

My dad was in business for himself for over 40 years and he always told me a happy customer is a repeat customer and a repeat customer is the best advertisement you can buy. Makes sense to me but I guess not to a lot of folks.