I don't think anyone's saying FTW completely. Doing performance mods voids the W.....ty per MoCo. Now, how do you handle that. First off, if the problem has nothing to do with the failure, you'll be covered. Frankly, I'm not convinced that it's a big benefit for me. I don't usually have a dealer work on my bikes. I have an '85 FXWG. W.....ty's long gone on that. I keep it running right and maintained, and don't have major failures. If and when I do, there are ways, thru a good Indy, to get things done without too much pain. Then there's engine stuff under W.....ty. This is the tricky one. You say if your dealer does the mods, then they'll guaranty your W.....ty, regardless of whether HD picks up the tab. If they're stand-up, they will. If you like the quality of service, and have them work on your bike, by all means proceed that way. If you know that deal will be good for 7 years, you're lucky! If I had them working on my bike for 7 years, I'd never be riding it. It'd be at the shop half the time and I'd be miserable. That's why I decided to do what I did. And I still think I have a decent chance of getting an engine done. That's why I'm still not doing any more than I've done until next winter. If this thing grenades itself, it will be this year. I'll try to make sure of that. Once you build a Wednesday bike, there's little to worry about. It's still a Harley, so there's always something. I fix them myself or indy. Again, you want the best guy for you working on your bike. Getting things fixed half-assed and continuing to bring it back for the same thing's not my idea of W.....ty!
So basically it comes down to, like everything else, what's best for you! I'm not having a place I'd rather not work on my bike, work on it, just because I might have a problem down the road fixed for free. I've never worried about it before and decided not to start worrying about it now! I'll just deal with it when it comes! I think this helps explain the attitude toward the W....ty. It's not condescending or arrogance, it's a personal decision based on individual comfort level, experience, and one's own knowledge about their bikes. If you just want to ride and know nothing technically about it, you'll probably use the dealer. If you know your chit and have connections, you probably won't.
That's my current $.02 and like everything else, is subject to change!

Hoist!
