HD dealer says No bikes over 10 yrs old.

[noliners]

My local dealer service dept has a sign that reads "No bikes over 10 years old".   

[JohnCA58]

if they are anything like our local Stealership,  they got rid of the experience tech and replace them with new grads right outta school for cheaper labor,   nothing but comeback city there.   They use to be the best.  never heard a bad thing about them before...   now all you hear is I had to take it back three or four times or mostly I will never go back again. 

[Princess Butt]

One indy shop near me turns down work on older bikes, especially if the bike has been sitting for a while. I was there when some guy came in, he had a late 80's Evo Sportster he wanted them to service and fix up. He said it had been sitting outside, under a tarp in a carport for 5 years.

He also managed to let slip during the conversation he had to scrape $2500 together to buy it, and his budget to do all this work, parts and labor, was about $300.

I don't blame the indy for turning him away. He had so many bikes in there already, you couldn't walk in the place.

Now, if you have been using a shop for years, and your bike is now 10 years old and they won't work on it anymore, see if the MECHANIC who has been working on it all these years is still there, or if he went to another shop. Find him, and you'll have someone who will gladly work on your bike.

BnEUC

[ceduby]

The service manager  at the local H-D dealer told me he wouldn't bring an evo in there to get worked on. And he owns 2 evo's.
Better off to find an Indy somewhere for the stuff you can't do yourself. 

[Rider57]

This is the trend at many shops. Most started this idea about 4 years ago. Too bad. There is a local indy shop her that still works on WL's and later. He's doing well, very, very well.

[tdrglide]

They probably just don't want to work on Evo's. 

[HV]

At our store we work on anything... ( I have a shovel ) ...lol...but there are a lot going to the 10 Year Rule.... a lot of the newer techs have never seen anything other then a TC any way...

[TLMitchell]

At our store we work on anything... ( I have a shovel ) ...lol...but there are a lot going to the 10 Year Rule.... a lot of the newer techs have never seen anything other then a TC any way...

I'm fortunate in that I have 2 dealers within 15 miles that have techs that've been there 20 years or more. Both family run businesses that treat you right and if it isn't right they make it so. At one the female Service Manager knows her way around, over, under and inside the bikes! The techs are generous with their time and advice and are happy to share their experience. I've even had 'em walk over to their toolboxes to pick out some small doo-dad I needed and hand it to me gratis! They mount rubber bought elsewhere at shop rate with no problem.

On the rare occasion I farm out a chore I don't feel like doing myself I tip or drop of a token of my appreciation if I know what they drink. This is a rarity these days and I know I'm lucky not having to deal with some of the "Potty mouth"heels some of you have to contend with.

TL

[dunbarton]

Where's all that talk about 'loyalty' gone?
Not so long ago, the dealers around me were moaning about customers going elsewhere and on-line buying which affected their rice bowl. When they loose, or in this case, chase away a long time customer, it costs a lot to get them back if they ever do.

[hotroadking]

ya can't take it personally
it's a business decision

3 million tc's on the road in the past 9 years
700K evos

The odds of a TC coming in for work are three times that of the evo, just from a volume of production.

Stocking parts is expensive, so to keep costs down and keep the books right, you just can't stock stuff for every bike for every year...

Evo stuff sounds like the shovel guys when the evo was out 10 years...

[JohnCA58]

Stocking parts is really bad nowadays,   they just dont stock anything anymore,  I dont blame them with taxes you have to pay for having them in the warehouse.   but sheesh just today I needed a spring housing for the push tube,   that same part is in use from the 30's with the knuckhead thru the Twin Cam,  you would think they would keep a 7 dollar part around?  nope  went to a Indy half a mile away, gave me one... he said he couldnt charge me for it, gave him a 5 anyways.

[CraigArizona85248]

ya can't take it personally
it's a business decision

3 million tc's on the road in the past 9 years
700K evos

The odds of a TC coming in for work are three times that of the evo, just from a volume of production.

...

That's the best advice right there.  "ya can't take it personally"  I realize it might be frustrating.  Look at it as an opportunity to build a relationship with a shop that will work on your older bike.  OR... and this is my preference... set your sights on becoming as close to 100% self sufficient as you can.  My daily rider is a 1949 panhead so I have had to become as self sufficient as possible.  I still send out my welding and machine work.  But I can do just about anything else myself.  There is a lot satisfaction in that.

-Craig

[Hybredhog]

    Expirence of curent techs, and their ability to make money doing it is probably the big decider for dealerships, but so is the customer's crying to make gold out of "Potty mouth" for nothing. I had to stop taking in cast iron sportsters over 10 yrs. ago, because it became financially impractical to work on them, putting $3000 into a $1000 bike, and then have to sit on the thing for a year + to get paid for it, and I get parts $ up front. I still work on one or two a year, but only because I know the bike & the owner that takes care of it. Some people buy bikes & have no clue that its a big commitment to take care of it, and then run it into the dirt, and aren't ready or capable to pay the piper.  

[bogiediver]

Just a thought---

If you know a good shop (Indy or Dealer) that's still working on the older rides - why not post their contact info - sure they wouldn't mind the plug and it might help someone in your area find a good wrench...

-bogie

[Little Al]

I'm in on that one:

Lombardi's HD, Staten Island, NY. family owned since they opened back in 1905. grandson of founder works there every day. they have competent mechanics there and will work on anything made by HD. I'm there at least a few times a month. it's not unusual to see Pans, Shovels, even an occasional Knuckle being worked on in the shop and they are customer's bikes. When I was rebuilding my '83 Shovel a few years ago, they had to order less parts for me then when they did a repair (warranty) on my 2000 EG.

good people, good reputation, great service.

[hardonthemerch]

Whats an EVO? (dripping with sarcasm) is that some kind of yamaha?   -  Thats what I heard a shovel guy tell someone at the bar one time! - lol

[Biscuit]

Mine's a 2000 and

[Bladesmith]

A few years back,I was living on the East Coast and needed someone to work on my Ironhead,,a guy at work gave me the number of a mechanic who could fix any Harley....Turned out he was Prez of the local HA Chapter....The most honest and competent mechanic I ever met.

[L-]

Doing the maintenance on a '99 EVO constantly for a lady and a '95 Sportster for another lady. The Sportster sat for 10 years and it runs great.  The old EVO runs great also.  Dated but I have spare CV carbs, ignitions etc for it.  So, it will run for a while. Right most techs have not seen EVO's.  My '01 is getting close to 9 years old so I guess I need to go shopping ?

L-

[stroker800]

The truth is ,,,that I have no real use for the HD service departments.....Or the dealerships...I have never bought a "NEW" bike and never will..I guess they're great places if you need a T shirt or something shiny....I couldn't get an oil pump for my evo in 03,,,said it was obsolete...I haven't ventured into a dealership since...
Dave

[96flhpi]

The truth is ,,,that I have no real use for the HD service departments.....Or the dealerships...I have never bought a "NEW" bike and never will..I guess they're great places if you need a T shirt or something shiny....I couldn't get an oil pump for my evo in 03,,,said it was obsolete...I haven't ventured into a dealership since...
Dave

Ditto that, man!!!

BTW, the Twin Cam came out in '99 which was, um, 1,2,3, I don't know, how many years ago? 

All you early Twinkie dudes welcome to the good ol world of "screw you, buy a new bike already."  The only HD world I've ever known and probably ever will know (went from a mid 90's RK to a Shovel). 

The MoCo has no use for me and vice versa.

[JohnS_Rosamond]

It's frustrating for many a rider to go to a dealership and see a sign that discriminates against your beloved (the ride, not the wife).  But the truth is that many a time, you get someone with an older bike and the thing has been severely abused and the owner will say, "It's been treated with ever-loving care," when in fact the bike is a basket case on wheels.  I've been personally messed over three times by "I just want you to look at this one thing," only to find that the whole bike was a safety hazard.  So, from a business perspective, it can be a losing proposition.  However, for those of us who take care of our rides (again, the bike not the wife) you may not want to take it in to a teenage (or 20-something) technician who's never seen a tapered shaft clutch and who may break it while working on it and then not tell you about it.  "No, it was like that when you broght it in," - right?  That's what makes HTT so cool.  "You have questions, we've got answers" - about your specific bike and maybe even your specific problem.  Not like the dealsership guy who told the customer that to get to the starter on a Softail, you had to turn the bike upside down, and the guy went home and tried to get his Softail handlebars down.

[Rags722]

Don't forget, by the time that 10 year old bike makes it back to the dealer or Indy for the first service other than a couple of guys with a beer and no clue, it isn't a pretty sight.  Oh, the bike may be nice and shiny, but the guy spinning wrenches for a living gets to deal with wrong bolts, stripped bolts, ham fisted fixes, wiring that looks like it was soldered by Ray Charles and inspected by Stevie Wonder, and 5 years of twisting screws just to see what they do.

Then, when presented with the bill, the customer goes into shock because he can't believe that "little tick" would cost so much to fix and wants to play the Montego Bay haggle game.   And that is all AFTER he came in the shop 4 times picking your brain to get tips on how to fix it himself.

I agree it's not pretty when your dealership tells you that as of XXX they will not be working on your year bike any longer, but the fact is they are a business, driven by profit and loss, and a 10 year old bike has the potential to wind up in the red column.

[Ultrashovel]

By law they only have to retain spare parts for machinesd 10 years old or newer. If you have an older bike, it really pays to work on it yourself anyway.

As mentioned above, it's unlikely that there are any technicians (they used to call them mechanics, LOL)  who know much about the older bikes anymore.

It's no big deal. The dealers I know stopped working on older bikes like Shovelheads 15 years ago. They have no parts anyway so no repairs.

[Little Al]

actually a lot of you guys may be shocked by just how many parts are still available for older bikes at the dealership counter. I got plenty of parts for my Shovel AND even my Pan at the dealer