I think we're getting a little off topic here, I know at times it does happen and I'm just as guilty as the next for doing it. I side with Zook, he's right on the money.
It does get a little stale to have someone come into almost every cam, engine build or tuning thread and offer nothing more than opinion on the merits of riding a stock trike and letting a dealer perform all service work. These threads are someone either seeking advice, or information about their particular problem, or sharing some good how to information so others who are like minded can do it them selves also.
Here is a truth. When I first got started riding Harley's, I never had any intentions on wrenching on them, figured that was what the dealer is for. Well after a spell I grew tired of being raped, come on $300 for a 5,000 mile service which only cost about $70 in parts, and not all the work which should have been performed was performed. So I started doing the service work on my dads and my bikes. Then as one thing lead to another I decided I wanted to do my own engine work, not much of a leap for me since I've wrenched on some pretty expensive race cars over the years. With engine work came the need to learn tuning, also not a far stretch since I was pretty good at tuning a blown and injected dragster.
As time went on I learned a good deal about the product and how to properly work on it. The sickness grew even more since I decided a whole new top, mid and bottom tool chest was needed just for specialized and motorcycle specific tools, this also then fueled the desire for a table lift since working off the floor sucks.
Funny thing happened as my knowledge grew, I found a good many of the different dealers mechanics are nothing more than parts changers. They do a damn fine job opening those boxes and swapping parts. There are dealers out there who don't have a single good trouble shooter, on the flip side there are some dealers with quality people. The problem is the game of Russian Roulette your going to play trying to weed out the bad from the good. I want to control my own destiny, I don't want to bring a bike home from the dealer and find loose bolts, only half the work on the service performed, a ding in a fender or scratch on the tank.
So with this being said, if you don't wish to tune, wrench, or make modifications, maybe you should steer clear of these threads. By all means read them if you want, never know you might pick something helpful up, but please don't be a broken record and constantly rain on a thread with the same dogma about how great they are stock, my dealer does it better, I have no need to dragrace, etc. There are those of use who expect more, and are willing to get our hands dirty to achieve that goal, or at least know when we're being hosed by a parts changer.
Now my hands hurt from all this typing and I have a trike with a fresh top end, ported heads and cams which I built, that needs tuned by me. Something about the satisfaction of just doing it your self.
