I just got off the phone with the dealer for my first 1000 mile service, and WOW $300.

I do all the work on my car (cheaper and done better if I do say so myself), but don't know the first thing about these bikes.

I was looking into getting the DVD, but I am a little worried that it may not properly cover the new 07 Sportsters.

If anybody can help me out, you'd be saving me some bucks. Do I really need to have the pro do it? I'm guessing I should buy the service manual too. Does it have good instructions related to maintenance?

Thanks a ton.

 

Wow, 3 bills is a ton for the 1,000. Didn't notice what state you are in but you might shop around.

This may be total BS (but I bought it), the dealer explained that the first 1,000 is kinda their last shot a catching any obvious factory problems. Done right, they are supposed to check it over completely. Again, I was probably fed a major line. All in '06 my Sportster 1K cost $199 and the Ultra 1K was $239. Different dealers. A LOT of the people on this forum do the work themselves. Good luck.

 

Do the work yourself...I haven't seen the video, but i hear it is quite good...

 

Im like you, I always do the work myself and there is without a doubt the sense of gratification knowing exactly what was done and done right. Get a manual,it will save you a lot of aggravation. Do what you can, but sometimes it will pay to go to a dealer to get the not so easy things done.Just my 2 cents.

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The DVD is good, but only covers carb model Sporty's. Other than that, the maintenance information is good and I've found the DVD helpful. They were offering free shipping to HD Forum members via a post in the Vendor for Sale Classifieds section.

 

highly recommend the video. For a mechanical dunce like me it gave me some great visual guidance. I

t's a real hands on type video. If u don't have a friends who can show u how to do stuff like this, it's the next best thing. While repair manuals are also recommended, they don't show someone like me exactly how it was done, the video pretty much does it.

 

Get the service manual for sure. So far, that's been all that I've needed. I'm not a big time wrench by any stretch, but my Dad and brother are, so I guess some of their wrenching rubbed off over the years.

 

Ok, so what exactly is the Dealer Prep charge supposed to cover? I don't begrudge the dealers for charging money to provide a service, after all it's their "business"... but damn, that sounds like the biggest line of BS I've heard this (pick one) Day, Week, Month, Year... If they're catching FACTORY PROBLEMS why are YOU paying for it? HMMMMMM? Ask your service manager that question "next time".

Buy the shop manual(s) at a minimum. I've got the extended warranty and maintenance agreements on all 3 of the scoots in my garage, but if something breaks I can at least know what it's going to take to get it fixed.

Oh, and don't forget the MoCo's P&A catalog, the Custom Chrome CD (catalog is just too damn heavy), J&P Cycles, and Dennis Kirk - just to get things going of course. There are plenty more where those come from.

 

I have the 'Fix My Hog' DVD and find it to be excellent. I'm not a wrench by any means like a lot of the others here are and I don't learn very well by reading a book, I need to see what to do and watching the DVD "shows" the how-to-do-it so I can understand the procedures better.
I think the DVD is a good investment.

 

I find the DVD's from them to be very generic and basic. A good service manual is worth the price and more technical.