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Dealers You Wouldn't Recommend.

TNT Action Sports/Harley Davidson in Quincy, IL. They get there bikes in, add a whole lot of accessories on them and mark the price up through the roof. There attitude is buy what we have or go someplace else. I went in to look at a 1200C. MSRP 9999.99. Of the ones they had on the floor the cheapest one was $11500.00. The attitude of the sales staff was they didn't care if they got my business or not. The dealer I bought my bike from was 200 miles away.
 
Went in to Yeagers HD in Sedalia Missouri yesterday. I've heard great things about the place, and the guy i bought the bike from said he had them re-jet the carb, put the pipes on, and install torque cones. Also they claimed they put it on a dyno to fine tune it. Well when i got the bike i knew it wasn't running right, it was only getting 35mpg. So me and a friend went through the carb and made it right. It was horribly rich. The so called "torque cones" they put in the exhaust were cut off baffle ends bolted inside the pipes to increase back pressure. I've never seen the dyno report they supposedly did... But i know it feels like it has a ton more HP after we personally went through the carb. I wouldn't reccomend taking your bike to Yeagers to have your carb work done.
 
Re: bad dealers tell us what happen

Libery Harley, Rahway NJ. The folks have a 30 day return policy sign posted. However, bought a 2007 ultra classic for high book. The bike aparently just came in. The rims were pitted, the services was not done. On the way home I got 2nd degree burns on my left leg. The bike also shook, rattled, whined pretty bad going thru gears. For those who know the deal with the 2007's...yeah...prime example. Anyway within a week tried to trade up to a new bike, but the dealership wanted me to take a 3500 dollar hit to trade up. I decied to do some reserach and found that there was a Harley fix for the drive train problems....the IDS kit...an item that is standard on 2008 and 2009 models. Decided to do the upgrade. Went down to buy the part....the service department tried to talk me out of it. The service manager wanted me to buy a service plan so that he could bill the service plan for the install, instead of me doing the work. There was also a matter of a bearing that needed to be pressed into one of the parts in the kit. Most Harley dealerships were doing this for free or 10 bucks. This particular dealership wanted 50 bucks to press the bearing in. I did not agree to the pricing model and left the service department and went to the front counter and asked to speak to the store manager. I was told that the store manager was enroute to another store, and when he arrived, he would call me. I waited at the front of the store. Minutes later the service manager came out an called me outside. He indicated that the store manager had spoken to him and that nothing is going to change...the rates are what they are. I told the service manager that I did not need him to speak to the owner on my behalf...I could do that myslef. The service manager told me to get off the property or he would call the police. I indicated that I wanted the IDS kit that I came down for and would be willign to pay for it. The service manager indicated he would not sell me anything and motioned for his cell phone and threatened me again to leave the property. I went to my car and called the other store where the owner was and explain the details. The owner asked me to report to another employee directly and go ahead and obtain the part that I wanted. of course, after paying 18K plus tax on a used bike at this dealership, this hole thing was a shocking experience for me.

When i got home I put the bearing in the freezer. I left the pully/sproket out in the sun for 30 mintues. I then tapped the bearing into the sproket with 3 taps of a rubber mallet.....it took me a whole 2 minutes. For this the service manager wanted 50 bucks.

Needless to say...if you do not have a service plan....even if you want to buy your own parts and do the work yourself...this dealership is not the place to go.
 
What ever any of you do.....DO NOT go to HD of Macon,Georgia.

I've got a book on their service department on what they did and didn't do to screw my `91 Fat Boy up. Had to get Mother Harley (Thanks Cindy!) on their (EDIT) to get it squared away. Still having problems that I find on every wrench I lay on it.

You'll be better off trailering apast them further south to Albany, southwest to Columbus or north to Willow Creek south of Atlanta.

I buy parts there ONLY and that's if I can't get my local Indy (Jugheads in Byron) to pick them up within a day or two from Chattahochee in Columbus.

IF you've got a flat, go to Jugheads. If it's engine related, stay away from everyone in the Macon area.

Nothing good to say about HD of Macon. Be forwarned. You'll regret it even when you walk in their door. Pompous (EDIT) couldn't change a light bulb without screwing that up.

Coaster...................Out!

A Friendly Reminder - Harley Davidson Community

 
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Pradise Harley Tigard Orygun. I bought my Bike from them a year ago and i haven't been back but twice and every time i go into that place i feel like i have been abused.Once they sucker you in with bogus web deals they look you over to make sure your credit is super good and try to sell you th most expensive stuff.

If your in the PDX area Latus motors is the best place to go

Team Latus Harley-Davidson | Home
 
American Eagle Harley Davidson - Corinth, TX

I drove 60 miles out of my way to inspect a used bike. I called first to verify they still had it in stock after viewing it on their website. I asked questions about the bike to verify it was what I was looking for and was as advertised. After the long drive I arrived to discover the bike was a different color then what they told me on the phone as well as what was listed on their site. The bike had too many miles for 2 years old to which they proceeded to tell me that if I didn’t like the odometer being so high I could push the reset button or change the view to a trip meter. What the heck is that? I asked; how is it possible to get such high mileage (36k 2007) in only 2 years? His response was that somebody loved that bike and so would I. Which would I rather have, was his question? A bike that has been sitting in the garage or one that was so well loved? One that’s been sitting in the garage was my response to him. How silly is that? I even went so far as to make an offer on the bike, but they refused to budge on their price which was about 3k more than fair value in my opinion. I could go on, but I think you get the point. There are better dealers that will treat you much better in the DFW metroplex.
 
Central Texas HD in Austin/Round Rock -- bought a used 2004 Sportster 1200C from a man who kept all his paperwork and gave it to me when I bought it. Looking at the receipts, I saw CTHD had done the 5K mi fluid change. I just changed all the fluids at 8K mi. When I pulled the clutch cover, someone had coated the gasket with clear silicon. I looked at the receipt and the previous owner was charged for a new clutch cover gasket. So one of 3 things happened... they put silicon on a new gasket ( don't think so ), they charged the preivous owner for parts they didn't use ( apparently ), or they didn't change the Primary/Trans fluid at all ( jury still out )....
 
Republic Harley-Davidson, Houston TX

Posted this the other day under "General Off Topic" and felt compelled to post again here once I was remined of this thread, I hope y'all forgive me for getting this off my chest...

I got a call (at work) Thursday from our local dealer in Southwest Houston (Republic Harley Davidson) informing me their biggest event of the year was coming up this weekend and why didn't I come on out for the festivities. It was called Tattoo, Burnout, & Bikini. I have to admit, several trips to this dealer over the last year have left me feeling like I didn't measure up to their standards but I thought, what the heck, I'll give them another look-see and perhaps I'll run into some fellow riders from the area.

Fool me once, shame on you.....I pulled in and parked and was in a state of confusion from then on (although there was a decent band playing on an elevated stage at the end of the (small) parking lot). There were 30-40 guys in cheap orange T-shirts (staff & temporary sales tools). I saw all of the dealerships inventory parked in tents behind the building, along with a few orange shirts dodging the sun. There were food and drink vendors along the front of the building charging ridiculous prices for fried something plates or a small beer. Went inside and the whole dealership was converted into stalls with tattoo artists. No one to say welcome, no one to say here is my dealership, thanks for coming out? Not a wiff of any discounted merchandise (not even an old T-shirt). There were more orange shirted salesmen (??) than visitors.

It has been extremely hot in Southeast Texas for several months now and I could sure have used a drink of water, when I asked one of the orange shirts if they had any bottled water they pointed me to the water fountain. When I asked around at what was the attraction I just got a blank stare, when I tried to meet the owner and/or manager I was asked why? The final straw came when one of the orange shirts asked me if I wanted to enter the burnout contest and I told him I couldn't afford it. He said "What are you scared of" (in a mocking tone)? I said the cost of a new tire and whatever other abuse this would cause to my beloved EGC.

In contrast I could only hearken back to my trip to GOE Harley Davidson in Angelton, TX on the 4th of July. I was looking for a dealership that I could form a relationship with and they were recommended. So I took a ride down there (50 miles one way). They had parking for "bikes only" all set up. When I parked my bike a nice older lady came up and told me thanks for coming, complimented my bike, and told me to grab a bottle of ice cold bottled water out of a huge ice chest (one of many spread all around). Found out later the lady was the owners Mom. In a field on the side they had tents and picnic tables, cookers cooking chicken, hot dogs and hamburgers and a nice Country & Western band. Food & drink was free, they had people to sew on patches, pinstripers, and just a festive atmosphere. I walked inside and was given another greeting, asked where I rode in from, given a couple of raffle tickets (for door prizes and such), and a goody bag which included a shopping bag that I could use to get 20% off anything that would fit in it, as many times as I wanted. There were about 100 visitors spread out everywhere, and everyone was chatting about their ride there and you could just tell, this was their dealer of choice.

I went to the service department and told the manager that I was looking for a dealer that I could depend on. He made me feel like I was the only customer he had that day, although they were moderately busy. He asked what I needed and then cut me a deal to do a spot visual inspection for $34.95. I was floored! I had just had a 20,000 mile inspection done at an indy (again, recommended), but I was suspicious of the quality of work I had paid for. They put my bike up on the jack, lubricated everything (including cables), checked the fluids, checked the primary tensioner (didn't charge for the new gasket) replaced the rubber stop on the jimmy stand (no charge), replaced a nut on the exhaust mount (no charge), checked any (common) loose bolts, then told me the air filter needed to be replaced (torn rubber seal, gave me 20% off listed price) and that if I just had a 20,000 mile this should have been pointed out. Then they had a kid completely wipe down and polish my ride, and check my tire and shock air pressure. The service manager said this was standard.

Now keep in mind, Angelton is a small town and Sugar Land is affluent, but for customer relations should that matter? After this weekend and that experience I just had to get this off my chest. Thank you to this forum for giving me the platform, and for y'alls patience. I'm certain I will never pull into Republic Harley Davidson again, but hey that's just me. I'm very careful with my (riding) funds, and treat my ride as something that took a lifetime of savings to aquire.
 
Treasure Coast HD, Stuart Florida.....Here's my tale.....

Here’s my story:
I have a 07 RKC that I just love. (~7500 miles). A few hundred miles ago, all of a sudden I noticed a bad “buzzing” type vibration in the floorboards and handlebars. At first I thought it was just my imagination, but became aware it was not. I used to have to press hard on the floorboards with my feet to feel any vibes at all, no more. It’s there at any speed or rpm now. That was one of the things that attracted me to this bike, was how incredibly smooth it was, so I just had to add one to my growing stable of bikes.
So, as my warranty is going to run out in a matter of days, I figured I better get this to the dealer to get looked at. Because of this forum, I am fully aware of the problem with the crank “spinning” because of it’s pressed together construction. Yesterday afternoon, I take it to my local dealer to get it looked at. I explained the symtoms to both a sales person, then the service person. I did notice that both said it sounded like a motor mount and sort of got quite when I started on the crank problem. At any rate, they take the bike out back to “evaluate” it….and they were going to charge me $40 just to take a look !! (shop labor for ½ hour)..which didn’t make me real happy, but I want to get to the bottom of this. Shop guy comes out and say’s, sure enough, bad front motor mount. (I’m thinking “in 7500 miles??”). About $150 for the mount and installation. OK, go a head and do it I say, thinking they must be onto something here, they DID say it was a common problem.
Again, in 7500 miles??
Along with some other stuff I had them do, the bill came to $198. They ride the bike around, and by this time it’s about 5:15, a bit after quitting time. I pay the bill and go on my way, thinking all would be baby smooth again. WRONG WRONG WRONG.
After 5 minutes on the road I realize that NOTHING has changed, and the only thing different was my wallet was $200 lighter. I would have gone right back but knew the service guys were already one their way home.
I had about a 30 mile ride home on back roads, just a couple of stops, so I had some time to think this over. I decided that if I had just not paid the bill, I would not have known anything had changed.
After I was home for 30 minutes or so, I gave a call to the dealer to express my concern. Of course, at that time, I had to talk to a sales manager. His only real comment was that he would find out in the morning what was going on. ( I did ask them if the shop was in the habit of just “guessing” at a problem to fix it ) I explained to him also that I was aware of the crank “problems” on these bikes, with no comment from him.
…..I have noticed that whenever I bring up that subject, everyone either plays dumb or changes the subject……
As soon as I got of the phone with him, I called the credit card company and deleted the charges from my account. That may seem harsh to some, but I know that will get the dealers attention. I won’t pay for parts and installation for parts I didn’t need.
It’s now 9:15 EDT, and I’m expecting a call from them soon. I believe they open at 9, so after coffee and maybe a morning meeting, they’ll give me a call.
I think I’m going to have to insist that they check the crank runout, and do something about that.
I’ll keep you all posted.
Jer

Oh, I forgot to say, the mount was not covered under the warranty, because it is a "comsumable". .....same as clutch and brakes I was told.....What the heck??

update:
2:15 PM Friday
Finally, after playing phone tag with the general manager since 12, I got to speak to him. I was very calm and stated simply that the service dept did not fix the problem, nor did I see them take it for a ride either before or after taking the bike. I started to talk about the crank problem with these bikes and (lo and behold!!) he immediatly started to play dumb, "I'm not a service guy", " I'd need to find out about that" etc, etc. We were sort of getting no where, as in he really didn't seem to want to take the time to properly diagnos the problem, of which I told him I would be more than happy to pay for AFTER it was fixed. I had to explain to him just how to check the crank, both sides, and gave him my estimate of the time involved. He was really good at playing like he'd NEVER HEARD of this before. We agreed for me to take it up Sat morning for someone to look at AGAIN. It was at this point that I told him I had put a hold on the charges from last night. Well, that just changed his entire feeling. After going 'round a bit about him not knowing if I was going to take the charges off again after they fixed the bike, and me wondering if they COULD fix the bike and saying again I would be more than happy to pay for everything AFTER they fixed the bike. his final words to me was that they would refund the charges to my credit card, and I would be better off going somewhere else.
OK, but I could have done that in the first place, if all I wanted was free service, but I want the bike right.
SHEESH
 
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