They're working their way towards charging admission just to enter the dealership...................and we'll be happy to pay it because it wasn't that much....

Glad you made it home and make the repairs.

 

They had a Tequila Sunrise SG on the floor last weekend. It's gone as are the 2 Switchbacks they got in this week-sold them before they were out of the crates according to the parts guy. A woman bought the 2nd one-she was picking it up while I was there. They made a friend a good deal on an Ultra a few months ago. The sales guys are friendly without being pushy. I would probably buy a bike there if I could afford a new one.

 

You mentioned heim joint. Did you really have a heim joint on your shifter? They normally don't break and this is not what HD uses. HD uses a crappy ball joint which is pressed and it is notorious for breaking. Don't ask me how I know. Mine broke at 8,000 miles on a 09 Ultra and the same thing happened to dozens of owners.
I replaced mine by a heim joint but HD doesn't carry them, AFAIK. I bought mine from Fastenal and it was less than $10 and it's chrome.
If you bought a ball joint you should seriously consider a heim joint.

 

I am old compared to most in here and I've seen price's and cost sky rocket. But compared to cost of an hiring an Elc, Plummer, or having Ur car worked on at Auto dealers or what other MC dealers and repairs shops charge I don't think Harley dealers are out of line with their labor prices.
Is it more than I'd like to pay, Yes, but most all shops charge around here charge $65-$85 @ hr labor.

I can say I've never called any HD dealer a Stealership or felt like they were. I've had work done a 4 different dealers and have had nothing but GOOD experiences with all four of them.
Just this summer while on a ridding vacation and 500 miles away from home I developed a pinhole in my gas line inside the tank. every 60 miles I had to fill up just to keep her running. Finally stopped at CHARLY"S in WV. He had the parts and in two hrs I was back on the road.
When Ur away from home and need them, believe me U won't give-em a bad rap when they fix U up and get U going again.

Everytime I have had a dealer do work for me I've never felt that I got screwed.
Nor have I ever felt that the prices of the parts/mods I've bought are out of line.
I will add every bit of chrome and all the parts I've added are IMO, top quality and I've never had one piece that did't fit.

IMO our HD dealer is as good as most and better than some of the other business's that provide repair service's.
I'll pay to have some things done and fixed, but I do expect them to be done right the first time with the right parts when I do.

Actually the most expensive experience I've had that caught me by surprise lately was at our Car dealer. I wanted the brakes bleed and (1) one new brake line installed on the wifes car.
Thinking maybe a couple $100 for the job, it ended up being $490. Now IMO that was expensive for a brake line and some fluid. AT least they did a good job.

 

I am old compared to most in here and I've seen price's and cost sky rocket. But compared to cost of an hiring an Elc, Plummer, or having Ur car worked on at Auto dealers or what other MC dealers and repairs shops charge I don't think Harley dealers are out of line with their labor prices.
Is it more than I'd like to pay, Yes, but most all shops charge around here charge $65-$85 @ hr labor.

I can say I've never called any HD dealer a Stealership or felt like they were. I've had work done a 4 different dealers and have had nothing but GOOD experiences with all four of them.
Just this summer while on a ridding vacation and 500 miles away from home I developed a pinhole in my gas line inside the tank. every 60 miles I had to fill up just to keep her running. Finally stopped at CHARLY"S in WV. He had the parts and in two hrs I was back on the road.
When Ur away from home and need them, believe me U won't give-em a bad rap when they fix U up and get U going again.

Everytime I have had a dealer do work for me I've never felt that I got screwed.
Nor have I ever felt that the prices of the parts/mods I've bought are out of line.
I will add every bit of chrome and all the parts I've added are IMO, top quality and I've never had one piece that did't fit.

IMO our HD dealer is as good as most and better than some of the other business's that provide repair service's.
I'll pay to have some things done and fixed, but I do expect them to be done right the first time with the right parts when I do.

Actually the most expensive experience I've had that caught me by surprise lately was at our Car dealer. I wanted the brakes flushed and re-bleed and (1) one new brake line installed on the wifes car.
Thinking maybe a couple $100 for the job, it ended up being $490. Now IMO that was expensive for a brake line and some fluid. AT least they did a good job.

 

Yep, the stock shift linkages use that crappy ball joint.
Surprisingly, H-D does sell replacement heim joints (part # 33871-85B). They are about $10 each.

 

You are right. It is the ball/socket type not a heim joint. It's all one piece on mine-the ends are not separate from the shaft. I could have made something up but it was cheap enough and simpler for me to go with OE. The first one lasted 18 years and 80k miles so this one should be ok for as long as I'll need it. If it does break again then I will do something like you did.

 

Thanks for the update. Glad to see that HD carries heim joints now. I wonder why they don't mount them on their bikes though. Must be for the same reason they use flimsy TourPak hinges, even on their CVO bikes.