I found an indy shop 10 minurtes from my house that I never knew existed. I went over on Sat and spoke to the guy. He has been in business there since the late 70's. 90% work done on Harleys. he is an Amsoil dealer and will use amsoil on services. He is very fairly priced. Almost half the dealer per hour. Really cool guy. Anyway, my old indy screwed up my bike at various times. Nothing major just forgot to put bolts back, scratched the sh*t out of chrome. Stuff like that.

What should I ask or look for when choosing an indy shop?

Thanks

 

If he's been around that long, he's got to have a rep, good or bad...ask around about him...ask him who a few of his satisfied customers are...I can go into about any shop around, and in a few minutes of conversation find out we know some of the same people...

 

Maybe it's unfair, but when I check out an indy shop and the service area looks like some chit hole from a 3rd world country, I go elsewhere. My take is if they don't even take care of their own place, what are the chances they'd treat my bike any better. But I'm doing more and more of my own maint, so this is less of an issue.

 

What's the shop name? I'm sure someone here knows him.

 

The name of the shop is Westchester Cycle Works in North Salem NY His shop looks good. Topns of parts in stock which surprised me. Everything from Chrome to gas tanks. I like the fact that he had a custom Chopper on the lift when I got there and had all the chrome partscovered in towels so not to scratch them. The old indy I used put my brand new exhaust system on the floor with nothing under it and scrtatched the crap out of it and many other parts. I also asked him if he follows the HD Service list so I can be in compliance with my Warranty and he said he does more than whats on the list. Like I said, he seemed to me to know what he was doing in the 30 minutes I spoke to him. I like to support the local guys more than the dealer anyway. Being less expensive is a bonus.

 

eddie from what you have seen of the guy and the way he respects his customers bikes / parts i,d say you have found a diamond.
As he,s been around since the 70,s he must have a good cutomer base to have lasted.
If it was me i,d give the guy some service and see, from what you have said about your previous "mechanic" its got to be worth a go.

 

thats what I figured too. I'll give him a shot and see what he does.