Bergen County H-D in New Jersey has a customer lounge area with windows overlooking most of the shop. Can't see every bay and they'll pull the shades every once in a while if there's something in there like a nasty wreck. Otherwise it's a cool idea and it's facinating to watch even if you couldn't or wouldn't do the work yourself.
Some people don't believe that the shop does every item on the checklist and this allows you to watch if you feel the need.

 

You may not wanna watch. Let me relate an experience that happened to me. About 20 years ago, in fact it was on the exact same day that Stevie Ray Vaughn got killed in the helicopter crash, I brought my brand new '90 Softail Custom to a Dealership to have one of those skid plates installed under the motor. At one point while waiting, I just went for a walk outside & happened to pass the service department around back. They had a big leather strap around my bike & it was hoisted about 8 feet in the air while the mechanic was installing the skid plate. Almost defecated on the spot!! As I was freaking out, the service manager came over to me & said that was SOP for working on the undercarriage of a bike. Ruined my whole day. It would've been better had I not seen that. Plus, when I got my bike back, there was evidence that it had fallen over while they had it back there (scrapes on timer cover,footpeg, and lever ball end;all on the same side.) And this was the dealership in NY that refused to do warranty work on my bike because the dealer I bought it from was a couple miles less less than 50 from my house. Needless to say, I never darkened THEIR doors again!

 

That's good stuff.

More than once I have handed my tattoo machine to somebody who was crowding me while I worked on their friend. The look on their face was priceless when you say "You're right there, might as well finish it for me".

 

I'll tell you now from a tech's point of view people like you are a royal pain in the *** in a shop , you tend to find fault in everything and second guess us to death including that mysterious buddy that is always telling you we can't do something the way we did .

Get out of the shop quit being a nervous nelly or learn to do your own work , only way your personality type is ever going to be satisfied .

 

I agree 100% whether it's working on my bike or on my computer there is nothing more annoying than someone over your shoulder.

 

Most dealers won't let you in the shop area because of insurance and safety reasons. My dealer's shop might as well be a bank vault. Even the employees have to enter their code in the door to enter. So it boils down to trust. I've got confidence in my dealer. I know that's unusual, but they've never let me down. So the rinky-dink stuff I can do myself, the dealer does warranty and any drivetrain related work, and I have a good indy that does the rest.

 

That would be great for someone like me who does know what they are doing but age and arthritis has forced them to have someone else do the work.
Let me clarify, I would liek to watch from afar, not be a PIA and in the way of the mechanic.

 

Very good explanation.

Most people just can't do their best work if someone is watching over their shoulder.
Two or three good friends at their home shop/garage is much different than having a total stranger watch your every move, just waiting for what they think is a screw-up.

 

Yes get a shop manual. It's bitter sweet when the warranty runs out and you can do some or most of your own wrenching. There are a lot of things you can do that don't require 30K in Harley shop tools. And when you do need a special tool (bearing pullers/installers, etc.) pick it up or borrow it. The first tool you should get (IMO) is a good jack. Recommend JS Jacks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkxEQ...yer_detailpage

Get some friends that are more mechanically inclined and solicit their help. Indy's around here always seem to be trying to prove their worth over HD Dealerships. Many of them have. They have run successful shops for a decade or more as the personnel in local HD shops has turned over 10 fold. And they are not biased toward HD parts. Mine will give you ref's that might be running a particular cam, bearing, exhaust, tuner, set up for example and have 100k miles or more on the bike.

I could ramble on for pages but you get the idea. Harley engines and components are fairly simple and very accessible. Sort of like the Colt 1911 of motors. You can learn a lot by doing your own maintenance.

 

I agree with him (a) learn to do it yourself and you'll know what gets done and (b) if you don't know what's going on, watching won't mean much.

I honestly can't imagine anything on a Harley I wouldn't try to fix myself and I'd most likely succeed. I'm not a mechanic by a longshot, but a Harley is pretty simple.