Okay, took my Ultra in for the first major tune up (10k). Total bill was $504.00 !! They charged me $100 an hour for 3 hours, the rest was oil, gasket, air cleaner (at $60!). I have heard that these guys rip you off and would like to know what others have paid?

Oh, and when I picked the bike up they informed me that my back brake pads only have 15% left and I should "maybe" replace the tire. Needless to say I am a bit pissed as they could have called me and my wife could have brought over a new set of tires that I have in the garage and I could have got all the work done in one day. They want $100 to replace each tire ($200) + $75 per set of brake pads (I guess I need three sets?). This puts the price of the first tune up at close to a $1,000 !!!!

Comments welcome!.

 

I did my 10k myself, as I think the prices they charge are ridiculously high. I don't know what extra they might do on an Ultra Classic, but the 10k service is not difficult to do if you have the manual. I'd pull the tire myself and take the wheel and new tire to an indy or place that sells motorcycle tires and have them mount and balance. Typically, I've only paid $15 per tire for mount and balance. Brake pads are easy to replace, especially if the tire is already off the bike.

 

This is why a lot of us buy a service manual and do this ourselves. Had you done it yourself, you could have saved those 3 hours labor and depending on the oil, saved a little on parts. Doing a service on your bike isn't as hard as you might think.

 

I think they charge too much. That is why I do most of my work myself. You will learn.

 

How much was the KY before they stuck it in, or they even offer you any?

 

Whether car or bike, service departments are expensive. The prices you quoted aren't out of line imo and at 10k your rear tire and brakes probably were close to needing replacement. I have 12 on mine and I figure w/i next 1k the wear bars will be showing.

I do as much of my own work as I can. I had plans to install the tire and brakes myself but too busy right now to deal with it. Maybe next time. FYI, the dealer quoted me a price of over $400 which comes to about $200 for labor.

 

The labor rate at $100 sounds right,it is the same around here.
What does not sound right is $75 each for HD brake pads.I just bought some rear pads at a dealer for about $42-45.

Have you actually inspected the brake pads for wear?Sounds early to be replacing all three unless you are hard on the brakes.

The tires can be done for a lot less if you remove them and take them to a indy or mc accessory store.

 

OUCH! Ya gotta get the price up front and shop around that's for sure. Like others have said, the 10,000 mi. service is no big deal. Just an oil change and lube some parts. Maybe adjust the clutch. Get a service manual and just use common sense. For example,Walmart sells oil a lot cheaper than the dealers. Dealers around here are $70 and hour for labor but there is a lot of competition, so anyway......

 

Get yourself a bible and do all of the work yourself. It's really a lot easier than you might think.

 

Sounds close to what the dealers want to charge around here. Only difference is the local shop rates are running $80 to $85 an hour.

Make sure you get a quote, in writing, before dropping the bike off for service.

I normally do all my own service but lately the local shops have been offering some better deals to try and bring in business. As an example, one of the local dealers wanted $120 to do an oil change (4 qts HD dino oil and a filter). Another local will do it for $49 if you bring it in on a Monday. I did it myself with Mobil 1 and an HD filter but $49 is only a little more than I paid for materials. If I didn't have the time or a place to do my own oil changes the $49 would look pretty good. They will also do tire mounts at $40 each if you carry in the rim and tire or $20 if you carry in the rim and buy the tire from them. Oddly they have been matching carry in tire prices lately. That never happened in the past and they wouldn't have wanted to mount a carry in tire.

Times are hard right now and dealers around here are more willing to work with you if you ask them. Of course I'm sure they'd stick it way in if you just walk in and say fix my bike.