I am on my 3rd Harley now and since the 10,000 mile check on my 1st bike I have been doing all my own periodic maintenance checks. guess I just got tired of paying $175 for an oil change only! Now my specific question is am I required to take the bike into the dealership for its 1K check or not? I don't think I am as I have been told you must just document that you were the person who performed the work and that it was done completely. Is there someone out there who can tell me what it is that the dealership will do for my 1K check that I can't or shouldn't do myself or how it is critical that I have them do it? I can pour oil into a can and spin on a filter just as well as the highly trained HD mechanic. Is looking for evidence of metal in the oil something that only a HD trained mechanic can see? I intend to have any 1st time "warranty work" performed at a later date as last time I incorporated warranty work into the 1st oil change and believe they charged me for labor doing the warranty work. Warranty should all be no charge. If anybody has an opinion on this, please post it. Pork.
First and most importantly, you are
not required to have the first service performed by a dealer. If you doubt my word, do an internet search on "Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975". That is a bit of Federal law that spells out requirements for warranties, and one of the things of interest is a section that basically says a manufacturer can only tie warranty coverage to having routine maintenance done by them IF they provide the maintenance (parts and labor) free of charge. Last time I looked, H-D was way too cheap to provide anything free of charge.
Get yourself a copy of the shop manual for your bike and look through all the items on the checklist for the various service intervals. While it's very likely that many/most dealerships only do the fluid change portion of the checklist, it would be a good idea to actually do all the checks. H-D doesn't exactly set the world on fire with their initial quality, and dealer prep tends to be a joke, so even though it isn't necessary to recheck torque on bolts and perform various adjustments on most vehicles at 1000 miles these days, it's a good idea to do so on a Harley. If you have basic tools and a torque wrench, I can't think of anything on the list that a reasonably handy person couldn't do. The only thing I can think of that requires any sort of special tool might be the belt tension, and you can buy one of those tools online or use a "calibrated" finger to apply the ten pound force necessary to do the belt tension check. I've done it both ways, and basically found that if I press on the belt with one finger until it becomes uncomfortable, that's close enough to 10 pounds to get a decent belt check.
Jerry
BTW, FADBOY makes a good point. Even though it isn't required in the USA to obtain warranty service, a detailed and thorough service record is an excellent idea. I keep all receipts for materials, and actually type up a sheet for each service listing all items checked/adjusted/replaced/etc. I date it, indicate the mileage, and sign the form, then place one copy in the bike with the owner manual and another copy in my files for the bike along with the receipts. If nothing else, having it all documented comes in handy when I have a senior moment and can't remember if I did a particular adjustment or exactly when I changed that trans fluid.
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Topic: What's so special about 1K mile check versus 5K,10K, etc?? (Read 1188 times)