How long to carry out 1st service?

[grbrown]

Originally Posted by Roy

Graham

Out of interest, if you buy the factory service manual and bits and then service the bike yourself in the warranty period, is your warranty affected?

Instinctively I would say it is, however remember a discussion with the grey dealer who used to service my bike that you just needed to prove you'd used the right bits. Sounds like tosh, would appreciate a qualified view

Cheers, Roy

Roy,

With each bike I bought new I have always gone back to the supplying dealer. In earlier times that first service was part of the sale and was not transferable, although these days things are more flexible.

I cannot give you a definitive answer to your question. My instinct tells me that, despite owning new bikes for forty years, I am not as well placed as a dealer to know if after an initial break-in it is fully OK.

A simple example is my previous Buell. I took it in for a service (may not have been the first one, but was during its warranty period) and was told the rear disc was cracked. I couldn't see the crack, but subsequently took the bike back for a free replacement. In other words, the dealer knew to check and what to look for. I would not have been able to do that.

So while it may well be possible to service a bike one's self I have never done so and will continue to have mine serviced while under warranty. There have been other bikes in the past where work I didn't know was needed was identified and put right. Its why mechanics exist and factories maintain dealers and train them!

It is common place to knock Harley and their dealers, even though we all plainly depend on them both. This is even more prevelant in the US. There are a few UK dealers who I will have nothing to do with, but a couple I am actually fond of and use regularly.

I do my own servicing out of warranty, indeed will do checks and adjustments during it, but before going on a major expedition (like our recent trip to Slovakia) I always have my bike serviced by a dealer or specialist. It routinely comes back feeling better! So I regard my own servicing as being intermediate rather than definitive.