I totally agree with all these posts. First thing I do when getting a new (to me) bike is get the manual. Its kinda sad some of the questions people ask on here that are covered in the manual. Either people are too cheap to buy the manual or too lazy to look things up. There was a recent question asking how to remove the battery.....come on now.

I know most probably wont agree but I do think HD should just jack the price of a new bike up $100 and give a service and parts manual with every bike sold.

When I bought my 06 they told me I got 2 free $25 shirts with the bike. Instead of the shirts they allowed me to throw in a few extra bucks and get the service manual.

 

It's easy to get off track, though. HD isn't the only company that legally prints service manuals. But my experience has been that service manuals and rainsuits have one thing in common--cheaper means not as good. The first manual I ever bought was a Clymer. Later I bought the HD version, and when I compared the two it was like the Clymer had whole pages of info missing.