I amazed at some of the stuff guys around here pay the dealer to do. Most of it being relatively simple. If your gonna let the dealers rape ya, you might as well at least try to do it yourself first. Most things you cant screw up to awful bad and if you do, then take in to them. Hell, its gotta be at least worth a try.

 

To the OP. Thankfully I'll never be stuck in your predicament because like some others on here I do all my own work.

But the question I have to ask is why would you even take the bike in for these relatively minor tasks before they even have the parts in stock to do it?

 

I do not get mad at a dealer because of the prices. I would get mad at myself for paying too much!

My dealer labor rate is only $55/hr which is the lowest that I have heard off.

But, I refuse to be stupid enough to pay that rate for a service.

I have always done my own and will continue to do so until they plant me.

I have been riding and working on bikes since 1956. The amount of money that I save has more than paid for a Harley or two.

Here is a shot of the Ultra coming down on the lift from an oil cooler install.

 

Totally unacceptable! I'd be real po'd by now.

 

i agree! there not complicated machines! i had a oil leak a month back,workshop manager said it was probably inner primary seal, i asked how much? $100 for gasket set and 4-5 hours labour @ $90 an hour!! wow! i did it myself, i had to buy one larger socket i didnt have 1 1/2" and 1/4" torque wrench, just under $100 and i get to keep them! dont mind buyin tools!
so the gasket set and tools under $200, saving of $300+ and didnt have to get the stories of why it wasnt done!
changing a seat is one screw? a detachable sissy bar is detachable! why a dealer? theres a $100 labour right there

 

My friend took his bike in with 40,000 HARD miles on it to have a 103 done. The found that the crank was bad and the trans had a bad gear in it. The quoted 2300 bucks to fix everything and just when he was about to tell them to put it in a box and he would pick it up they told him they had called HD and since there were reported problems with some of the 06's they would cover the cost less 240.00 for some upgraded parts he wanted.

I'd say that's pretty good service. They are installing my cams for me this week, good service departments are really hard to find and well worth supporting. Just my .02

 

I learned the hard way, I first took my bike in to have the 1K mile service done. When I picked it up it was dirty...I mean oil hand prints all over it. When I asked the service guy why they didnt at least clean up the oil off he replied " our guy that washes the bikes was not in today so you will have to bring it back some other day for a free wash". My responce was "your bathroom was out of order when I went to use it...how bout I tke a sh*t on your service counter". Need less to say that didnt go to well. Next my fork was leaking fork oil, i removed the fork leg dropped it off to have the fork seal replaced and left out off town for a few days. Needless to say a week later when I went to pick it up it was not done. They told me to come back the next day and I refused, so they replaced it while I waited. After installing the fork on my bike the damm thing was still leaking. Shame on me.....After that I bought myself a shop manual and do all the work myself, and with that said I have a piece of mind that everything is torqed to specs and I take pride in everything I do to my bike cuz its mine and my life depends on it. The only thing HD stealership employees are good for is to sell over priced tee shirts...Thats just my 2 cents. I'll get off my soap box now...Next.....

 

geez thats terrible, my dealer actualy is really good but expensive!!they did my cams and big bore, bike all clean, the shop manager tells me the loopholes etc when i say i will do it myself,there pretty good
just cant afford a couple of hundred for a relatively easy task

 

Thats great to hear kiwi... I dont mind paying fo good service at all. One of the problems with my local dealer is that they are the only dealer in town and they are also the same dealer in the next larger city near by so you can say that they have the market cornered in our area. Im sure not all dealerships are bad.

 

Like a lot of people here, I prefer to do all my own work but I have one buddy that refuses to touch a wrench to his bike and takes it to the dealer for everything. A couple years ago I did a beautiful candy flame paintjob on it for him...the next time he has a service done, he walks in to pick it up and sees a young kid "washing" his bike with Windex and paper towels. I asked him why he would expect anything different? He still takes it back, though, so I guess it didn't bother him too much...