As many of you know, I've been having some wired issues, bike stalling occasionally, loss of idle, blown headlamps and spot lights. The bike has been to ***'s on 5 different occasions, obviously if you know anything about ***'s you already know that the excessive turn over has created a minor problem turn into a big deal, seems every time I bring the bike in a different guy works on it and starts at the same point, they never seem to get any further than step three in the flow chart. I called HD corporate and explained the two codes the bike keeps throwing are u1064 and u1097, HD said the dealer told them that the current code which came up on our first ride in Ocean City was a historic code, the dealer has previously cleared the code 4 times although they have not documented it, so when they called HD technical support the information given was not complete or accurate. Harley corporate states that there are 3 possible things wrong with the bike, ecm, spedo or turn signal module, they refuse to change all three as they claim the dealer needs to narrow down which one of them is bad, so until then I have to suffer, nice way to treat a customer. I have filed a complaint with the BBB (seems this works with them as they have resolved all complaints in a satisfactory manner) going to sent them the 10 day lemon law letter tomorrow (as required by SC law). Jared the service manager and Jody the op's manager are without a doubt in need of some good training in how business works, It's my recommendation that you deal with one of the many other local dealers in the area.

 

up to the top

 

I have purchased a few accessories at ***. The parts people were pleasant to deal with. I can not say anything about their service department. All of my service has been done at HD of Charlotte. I am very pleased with the work from that location. That being said, we all get pissed at a business, or a particular department. ***, like all dealerships, should realize that the money we spend for our HDs comes from our limited discretionary budget. With today's economy, losing a customer will come back and bite them eventually. There are too many dealerships close enough to ***, and it would be easy, and a nice ride, to give another dealership the dollars. You should check with Steve or Chuck at HD of Charlotte. They will treat you right.

 

+1 on ***'s. Went today to get a screaming eagle coil for my evo Glide. Parts girl asked why I was riding an old bike like that, that they didn't like to stock parts for stuff over 10 years old unless it fits on new bikes too. Told her I ride something htat has been very reliable to me 146k miles so far and it's paid for costs me very little per mile. She said I ought to trade so I don't have problems. told her the only problems I have is getting parts from the closest dealer to me. I go there because its closer to me than going to charlotte, even though I am a chapter member at charlotte. ( Rock Hill HOG isn't nearly as active as charlotte HOG.)

Charlotte usually has what I need in stock and I like dealing with the same people all the time ( PArts, Michael and Avon) althought their service dept doesn't like to work on my bike. Charlotte folks are nicer than ***'s to me.

Bubba

 

Igot that bubba, if your local to them and need parts ir service you should be going to Billski's on Red Hook Rd, Bill is a great guy and he has some good mechanics, his parts selection is not like a dealers but he can get you whatever you want fast and he even orders and gets the correct parts the first time (go figure). What I really appreciate is that they have no issue lending you their ear and giving some good advice.

Ken in parts is the only person at ***'s who knows whats going on, so if you must buy from them, and I say DONT, talk to Ken.

 

Interesting. I only had a couple issues w/ mu 03 RKC over the summer, prior to it getting totaled a couple weeks ago...

One time, my kickstand spring came off, I couldn't find an image of what it was supposed to look like over the weekend, so I tried to put it on myself, but it wouldn't stay coz it was actually broken, but I had nothing to compare it to, so I wasn't sure if it was broken or not.

Called, HD Charlotte, they said I'd have to come in next week, they'd charge me 1/2 hr to look at it, and if needed, $8+ for the spring.

*** said to come by any day I wanted in the last hour of business, and someone would look at it, so I did. No charge, it was a broken spring, charged me $5 for the part, and put it on for free.

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Next time, was out in Rock Hill for a thing at DMV, leaving the DMV, bike didn't want to start. Since I was out that way, I stopped by the shop, late in day again, they pulled it in, took off the seat, discovered loose positive terminal, tightened it up, and put it back together. Granted they didn't charge it or do extensive tests, but they didnt' charge me for that quickie either.

This was an 03 bought used, not from them. I did buy some service and cleaning stuff from them, but they didn't even know that when I came in.

I also checked the price of a few procedures before, and *** was less expensive than Charlotte.

Don't get me wrong, I've had positive impressions of businesses only to be disappointed later, but so far they were good to me on those two little things. And I was just off the street, and in no way looking for a bike or anything, although I may be now, since mine is totaled.

Anyway, I'm sorry to hear about the OP's issues, and I hope they get resolved. I'll keep them in mind for the future, regardless of which dealer I'm working with. Sounds like it can be as challenging to deal w/ as car dealers. I had an issue that needed to be dealt with at a dealer for one of my vehicles, one place quoted me $1150, another $950. An indy shop quoted $800 but I was unsure of their experience in this area, went back to the $950 dealer and got it for $800 ish so it all worked out. I guess part of living these days is shopping around for service as well as price, and unfortunately it's tough to find perfect consistency anywhere...

Good luck and let us know how it goes...

 

I have always had a distrust for car service departments. Cars are needed to function in society. HDs are not needed things. At first, I dealt with Charlotte's service department with the same distrust....you know, how can you screw the customer....But, to my surprise, the service department at Charlotte has, by and large, done me right. I have lost my cool w/ them a couple of times, but these issues were quickly resolved....generally, the problem was me over-reacting to a situation (with the distrust thing entering my mind). I still do not trust car service departments, but, in my case, I trust HD of Charlotte's service department.

 

FKNdlx

Is Billski's in the old Carolina Biker shop? Do they have any of the old employees there?

Bubba

 

This does nothing more than re-enforce what my post is stating, a trained money can change a kickstand spring if you tell them it's broken, same with pulling the seat and tightening something, or to take it a little further, if you go in with a flat tire or needing an oil change I'm sure they can handle that, anyone with a little common sense and a few tools can also. When it comes to diagnosing the problem, you know what real mechanics do, they cannot handle it.

Picked my bike up Thursday from Charlotte HD, they took the following steps to correct and diagnose the problem, a tech rode the bike for a over 150 miles to attempt to diagnose the problem, the did some research in their internal data base to see if this issue had come up before, they decided to plug the bike in and see if there was any upgrade available for the stage 1 race download. They changed the speed sensor, upgraded the download to a newer version that was changed for bikes that have similar issues (something that ***'s should have found the first time they had my bike) after the 8+ hours and various supplies and etc they put into the bike they had the HD corp rep look at the bike and ride it, he made a few suggestions.

I told Chuck when I brough the bike in that I needed it back to go on a ride on Friday, at 7:40am an hour and 20 minutes before they are actually open, Chuck called and told me he had good news and better news, the good news was they feel the bike is fixed, the better news is that they decided to pay part of the bill out of some fund (forget what he called it) and they would negotiate with HD to pay the remainder, I paid $0.00.

With all of the rain our trip was postponed, I was able to ride it a bit today and it seems like it's possibly corrected, not sure if it's because I have not ridden it in a "normal" state for some time, but I feel like the bike has had some major changes, the only way I will know that it's corrected will be to ride the way I have been and see if the problem comes back, with all the idiots at ***'s put me through I have little confidence that the bike is 100%, I hope it is but we will see...

 

I hope it is resolved for you. Keep us posted. I certainly wasn't comparing my minor issues to your ongoing problems, by any means. I was just sharing my experience, for whatever it was worth. I think it's valuable to get honest feedback across all levels, so if any of us find ourselves in a similar situation, we may avoid, or more quickly resolve whatever our issues are. Thanks for posting.