I've used Chicago H-D since '98. At that time I even had them set up a set of heads for me as my local dealers were not capable of doing anything right. Never met them but I always received excellent service and wouldn't consider the waiting time excessive. Lots of $$$ saved over the years.

 

I bought a 105th sweatshirt from them at 50% off.

I found it funny that they had to special order it, have it shipped to Chicago from Franklin, WI (15 minutes from my house) then ship it back up to me.

 

You know what's worse than waiting 5-10 days for an internet order? Going into your local stealer for a cam cover gasket and having them tell you it'll have to be ordered. Really? A cam cover gasket? 10-14 days for a cam cover gasket? The parts guy then tells me my order will be secondary to any bikes in the service dept waiting for that gasket, as some customers are having work done and they want their bikes ready for Daytona. WTF?

 

i had a small order that i needed to make. i don't have the luxury of having an hd shop anywhere near me. so i figured that i would go ahead and suck up the postage. zanotti's (my usual) is high on postage for 1 or 2 items, so i thought i would give chicago a try. i ordered 4 electrical connectors, and 7 well nuts (those rubber things that hold the headlight bucket in on the road king). shipping would be 6 bucks. fairly common items, both the hd shops around here had them in stock (i say around here, but the closer one is 60 miles one way, the other is 120 miles). chicago said they had to order them. one week 2 now, and no word on shipping yet.

paying the extra money for shipping for zanotti's would still have been cheaper than gas, but thought i would give chd a try (been years since i ordered from them). will probably be years before i order from them again.

 

+1 on Zanotti's as well. Go to there website and click on the "live help" link and you can chat with someone at the store who can tell you if they have the parts in stock before you order. You can even place your order with them at the same time.

Their prices are even more than 20% off on some items.

I compare the prices of the two and availability, before I buy.

 

when I order from C-Harley I alway expect to wait....I order during the winter also. So, I NEVER want anything in a hurry.....

And, it has been several occasions when they've said 6-8 weeks, and I got my things in 2-4 weeks..........so I'm happy with them.....


But, if you're in a hurry, it's not for you!!!!!!!

 

I was told some time back that Chicago HD's internet parts was a completely separate operation from the store and even if the store had the part, if it was ordered online it had to be ordered from HD. I don't know how much truth there is to it but it sure makes sense when you have to wait so long for common items.

I've since switched to Tri-County Harley http://www.tri-countyharleydavidson.com/ Ask for Jenni, she'll take good care of you.

Rick

 

I don't think so. I've ordered stuff and they had it in stock.

 

Do they offer 20% off purchases?

 

Like convenience stores that charge more, there will always be those who will pay more for the convenience factor. I gauge where I buy based on need, as if I'm not in a hurry I'll go ahead and buy on-line. On purchases less than about $50 I usually buy from my local store simply because the shipping costs usually overwhelm the discount, even considering sales tax charged locally.

You might want to start checking Zanotti's. My understanding is that Chicago HD keeps no inventory for internet sales, but Zanotti's does and the list is available on their website. Go to the parts section and download the PDF which lists all parts in inventory by part number. Zanotti uses a cost-plus basis for pricing while Chicago is MSRP - 20%, and who is cheaper on a given item varies from part to part. For example, at Zanotti's an IDS for an '07 FLH is about 35% off, but on a single controller for heated clothing it costs 5% more than MSRP. This is because the mark-up on that item is such that the cost-plus percentage exceeds their profit margin. When I order on-line I check both and usually buy from the least-expensive quote after shipping charges are added. Sometimes Zanotti's is cheaper, sometimes not. In the past 10 years I've ordered almost double the dollar amount from Zanotti's as Chicago based strictly on my cost.