Something to be said for pre-ride inspection. Glad you found that before your trip!!!

 

Thats insane...

Thanks for taking the time to post pics and report

 

...and that right there is why it's SO important to do pre-trip inspections. That would've made for a huge nightmare 800 miles from home.

 

Just had my 10k done and all is fine...for now anyway you know how is goes.

Good catch keep the rubber side down

 

It's a good thing you found the damage however,by you not taking it back to the selling dealership before someone else did the repair,I think you lost any recourse with them.

 

ERIE HARLEY DAVIDSON sold me a Used DEALER Rental with a BENT front Wheel. having never road a Dresser before, I just figured the fairing caused the wobble. After changing front tire, fork oil, tightening bearing nut, replacing fairing brackets, getting stereo fixed. I discovered the front wheel was bent. Replaced Wheel and now I am going to replace the rotors.

Buyer Beware.

Even after I took it back the owner said, "Oh yeah, everything is ok with this bike"

 

first and foremost....glad you found this problem.....loosing that ground while your bike is in motion at night would be a big time safty issue....in NYC...flying down the highway in stealth mode would get me hit.


certainly something to put on the master touring bike checklist

now...about dealer attitude...for the service centers....its all about milking the extended warrenty...if your bike is under warranty....your a cash cow...if not...your a pain in the ***. 24 hours after buying my 2007 (3+ years used at the time), I went back and tried to buy the various items folks recommended for the heat demon and 6th gear klank, and was told, once it was determine that my bike was out of warranty, to get off the property or I would be escorted by the cops. Mind you...I wasn't expecting the dealer to pay for anything...just wanted the parts on my dime....they did not agree that the 07 has a heat problem or 6th gear klank.

 

The unfortunate thing is that you had the work done some where else other the then the selling dlr. The thing is with you presented a bill for $650 to them after the fact, it is a hard lose of $650. If they did the work at their cost it would have been much less. Plus they did not get a chance to evaluate it in person. The other questions that I'm sure will come up are; had you modified the bike after the purchase, and were you offered an extended warranty at the time of purchase and did you buy it. I only say these things so that you are prepared, real drag man good luck

 

Glad you found it before your trip and all you can count on at this point is lesson learned. The belt is something I check every time I clean my bike, which is way too often....