The starter went out on my 2007 Street Glide and the dealer quoted me $520 to have it replaced. I found the part online for $149 new. So I have 2 questions:

1) Am I crazy, or does $520 sound like a lot?
2) Does anyone know of any indy shops in the St. Louis area that will do it cheaper?

I'm not very mechanically inclined so I would not try to do this myself. Thanks for the input.

 

Has the dealer looked at the bike or was this an "over the phone guesstimate" be aware that the service writer at the dealer is a commission position and could be quoting complete replacement

you should find a shop that will diagnose the problem.

it is rare that a starter motor will burn out, it could be the solenoid switch or the starter gear ( "bendix"), which are inexpensive the repair or replace

it is ok not to do it your self, you can benefit from the experience of a tech.

Mike

 

It's at the shop right now. They picked it up for me yesterday and just called with the estimate.

 

If you dont wrench on your bike then you are at the mercy of those who do. If I were you either make relations with a good indy or pick up some tools and get some "fix my hog" video's. As far as starters go 90% of the time it can easly be fixed for a fraction of the price of the whole unit.

 

Its this kind of bullshit that makes me feel better about my Extended Warranty and how much it cost me......I will be happy if I never have a claim, but then again, if I do.......

 

Get a Buddy to help you...
Disconnect your battery...
Sometimes you can get away without removing the exhaust..it's easier if you do.
You will need new gaskets for the head pipe(cheap)
Remove 2 wires from the starter.. 2 bolts hold on the starter
You will need a 1/4" ball head allen for the starter bolts
You should be able to do this in an hour..hour and a half..

 

A lot of the cost is based on the hourly rate at the shop and the flat rate manual for the job. 4 years ago when the starter on my Superglide went, the bill was over $600.00 at the local dealer. All is cost me was the $50.00 co-pay under the Extended Warranty. If I did not have the warranty,, a an hour or two in the garage and I'd have done it myself. Not that difficult really.

The only extra step on my '04 was that the primary had to come off to remove the jackshaft bolt which you could only get to from inside the primary. Other than that, 2 bolts and the starter was out.

 

Mine went out 2 months ago. I had a local indy pick it up and he pulled the starter, had it rebuilt and reinstalled it all for $320.00 including him picking it up with a trailer. Can't beat that with a stick!

 

My starter motor did burn out, and the cost was around $300 with my Indy doing the installation. I thought that was a lot. But $520...$600 yikes!

 

That's what i'm looking for, but I don't know any indy shops around here. Internet searches come up with bubkus.