Don't blame the techs, Every manufacture puts out what is known as a Flat Rate Guide and all authorized dealers are required by there dealer contract to use and follow it. The manufacture requires this so if you go to anyone of there dealerships the service price for the same work should be very near the same.

Routinley the techs don't get paid by the hour. The get paid by the flat rate manual and the job. If they take longer than the flat rate guide states they only get paid for the time that the flat rate manual allows. On the other hand if they finish in less time than the flat rate manual they get a performance bonus.

It is not uncommon for GOOD TECH to show 12 to 14 hours for a eight hour day.

On another note, The Service Department is usually responsible for a larger portion of the company overhead. This makes the Sale Department look more profitable and the company looks better on paper.

Why do they do this? Most companies don't own what's sitting on there show room floor. The inventory is owned by a bank, also known as a floor plan. They pay interest on the stock till it sales. The better the company looks on paper the better the interest rate they get and the more inventory they can have.

 

Looking good! I would recommend, tape, tape, tape. Also, use small drill bits on slow speed and take your time. You may also want to place a piece of rubber up the drill bit, against the chuck just for those 'o ****' mishaps.
I have a tourpak for my RG, that Im about to strip down and paint. Plans are to build some recessed speaker pods to hold 6.5. If you decide you want to add some speakers back there, let me know.

 

great advice on the drill bit. if u don't have rubber, take some black electrical tape and wrap it around the drill bit at the chuck and make a big ball out of it!

 

Regardless of what you say, which I know and understand, it is still a rip-off to be charged two hours of labor for a half hour job.

 

I used hard rubber automotive bushings sandwiched between thin stainless washers to raise the tour pak 3/4" - 1" to provide clearance for the saddlebag lids to open.

It probably only takes 1/2 hour to install the premium tour pak hinges, but this tour pak also needs the lanyard and the brackets for the lanyard, latches, lock and lid gasket installed.

Good luck with the hardware installation.

 

I used the "rubber mounts" for a while, but id idn't care for the amount of bounce they afforded when going down the road. Eventually i ordered some 3/4" chrome spacers and permanently mounted it that way.

 

Can you buy just the lid and will it fit a stock tourpak?

Who sells them?

 

That paint looks great.

 

Thanks for all the advice. I'm off to Home Depot tomorrow to buy some supplies. I'm not in any rush, I will just take my time..

@Pingman, you rised your T/P from the bracket instead of on the saddlebags brackets? if so, sounds like an easier mod.

@HDRider2002, where did you order the spacers (to extend the saddlebags out) from?

@Teqsand, I think the lid can be brought from the seller, but there is another seller as well on ebay that sell the T/P whole or in seperate.

 

I agree that the time that they would charge is way to high, My point was not to blame the techs. There just working class stiffs like us.

I spoke to the manufacture and the stated the the top would fit a sandard tour pack bottom.