Another thing they do at allot of dealerships is to pressure the sales staff to sell at least $2,000.00 worth of parts and accessories to each person purchasing a new bike. They offer them a discount on the parts and accessories and make the money on the installation.

On top of that if the purchaser doesn't ask for the stock parts back that were removed from his/her bike they sell them on ebay. If I was having a bunch of chit put on at a dealer and didn't want it back I would at least ask for some type of credit towards the bill for the install.

I've got nothing against the dealer making all they can but think that people should be aware of what's up when they are buying a new bike. You get all excited at the prospect of having a new Scooter and don't think about this kind of stuff.

 

heard anywhere from $190 -$480.
I've paid 160- 240-depending on what was done..

 

I had my 5K service done yesterday, at a shop about 65 miles from my house, since my independent wrench couldn't get to it in time, I tend to wait til the last minute. We have 2 stealers, owned by same crook, 20 miles away and their rate for the 5k service was $235, the dealer I went to, 45 miles farther away only charged me $175, he quoted me $185 on the phone. I was talking with the parts counter crew about winter upgrades to give my 09 Electra Glide Classic more out of the hole power, and he asked if this was my first time to visit the place. I said no, but it was the first time there for service so he procedes to take me back to the shop, show me the dyno tune area, storage facility, parts room, and the rest of the shop all the while talking about the different upgrades I can do and the associated costs. That kind of customer service will make me ride farther for future purchases. I didn't get the nickle tour of the stealer I bought the bike from until they were sure I was going to buy the bike from them. There were a few other "issues" that occured with this 2 shop stealer that have made me vow to never spend another penny in either one of their shops even if it means I have to ride 45 miles farther.

 

I know I can handle the oil changes easy enough, I was just more concerned about keeping the bike 'Harley' serviced to maintain 'resale' value down the road. Although with that being said, I plan on keeping this one for a very long time and I would still would have bought it from the original owner even if he had gotten it serviced by an independent shop anyway!!!
I've also considered have the bike dealership 'serviced' every 10k miles and doing oil changes myself every 5k.....(Synthetic fluids)

 

I think that very often as a "seller" we tend to think that certain things will add value to a bike that a buyer really isn't concerned about. I think that most independent Harley shops are operated by Harley Factory trained Tech's that started out working at Dealerships and decided that they could do better on their own. Granted they don't get the factory update training that the guys in the dealerships do but I think they still do a good job of staying on top of things.

 

I'll have to do some asking' around to find out about any shop's close to the Evansville, In area that service Harley's and are 'trustworthy'...!!!!

 

Your bike doesn't have to be "Harley serviced" if you keep good service records.