Paid it off and traded it in.

 

Haven't been able to ride this week due to the smoke from all the fires here in the bay area. Smoke wasn't too bad today so decided to go on a little ride.

 

I agree about the cheap insurance for a safe ride. I'm always pro-active about maintenance and safety. That's why I didn't let this slide because my brakes still work fine -- for now. That's also why I'm getting the dealership do it for me instead of an experienced "shadetree mechanic" (nothing against them as long as I know their limitations). I figure the dealership has experience and parts on hand for this job and my bike won't be sitting in someone else's garage for days or weeks waiting for parts. My goal is to ride it to the dealer (almost 2 hours away) and then ride it back. If not, my wife is "on call" for a ride home if the bike has to stay awhile.

 

You would hope brake components are parts on hand at a dealers.

If it weren't for handirifle's experience with his brake caliper I would of thought it was quite straight forward to refurbish the piston and seals.

 

I did see a neat tool on another website not concerning to motorcycles that showed a small tool ideal for compressing the pistons. It looked sort of like a something in between the clutch plate removal/install tool and a steering wheel puller. I like unique tools.

 

Perhaps something like this?

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/BK_7769093

T.

 

Here's hoping your dealer mechanic does a better job than mine did. Not only did they drastically overcharge me for everything that I asked them to do, but they skipped tasks that were requested (ie: cleaning it up after winter storage), and managed to screw up a primary fluid change. *I* even did a better job with that than they did.

There's definitely things that I'm not comfortable trying to do myself. But I've got to find a better mechanic for that stuff than my local dealer. Too much overcharging and too many screw-ups for my comfort.

 

LOL
I used to think so too. Although I have not gotten into too many mechanical jobs, over the years, that I could not finish, there have been a few. And I am not too proud to say "give" when it comes to that. That one had me scratching my head a lot.
I hope the dealer gets him done up quickly and correctly.

 

Now fog is something you guys are used to, but the smoke mixed in gets nasty. The winds shifted back today. Coming from the north, bringing smoke back our way, so maybe you will get a reprieve.
Thats a nice view of the bridge. Funny thing was I NEVER see toll roads, so fortunately I had enough cash on me on our ride to Ft. Bragg last summer. Just got through reading a book about a racer chick that visited 49 states on her FZ07 "adventure" bike, and she was shocked at how many toll roads she ran into in the north east US. Said that was the most expensive leg of the entire trip.
When I came home from that trip I came the 101 and got to practice lane splitting, a lot, in Oakland, lol. Someone needs to remind them freeways are not parking lots.

 

Got the bike back from the dealership where the labor charge is $100/hr. The job took 6 hours and required a new caliper, pads and master cylinder, plus unfreezing the pistons in both calipers. Because I had to wait so long, they only charged for 3 hours of labor plus parts which totaled $432 and change. They didn't finish the job before I had to leave for an appointment and knowing that I live 2 hours away, they gave me a loaner with a full tank of gas.
This is the only Harley dealership I've dealt with and I have no complaints, so far. They're in Roanoke, VA.