| Author | Message | ||
     Chuckc |
Does the first service have to be done at the dealer to keep the warranty valid? I can do it myself, however I do not want to void the warranty. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
You can do it yourself. Just keep receipts and such for verification, if the question ever arises. | ||
| Xbswede |
+1. Save your self a bunch of money and do it yourself. Very easy. | ||
| Carbonbigfoot |
Ditto. | ||
| Zac4mac |
Do yourself a favor and research some archived threads about changing and checking the oil. The first oil change is invariably a messy one. Be prepared to "chase" the oil stream with your catch-pan.  Zack | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Oh yeah get ready to take an oil bath! Seriously though, until you see where the oil runs like Zack it's tough to anticipate. I found that cutting the bottom off a plastic half gallon OJ jug or something similar gives me a good oil catcher--you can get the edges to mold into the spots to get the oil as it runs out. Definitely roll your bike onto the cardboard as opposed to trying to squeeze it in between and around the kickstand and wheels. You may want to cover your kickstand, muffler and other parts that might get doused with oil with tin foil (that's a little overkill, but it makes cleanup that much easier.) If you have a helper, you can should stand the bike straight up as your helper collects the extra oil exiting. Lastly, make sure you have plenty of kitty litter on hand! | ||
| Zac4mac |
Also - I put Loretta on a rear-stand and fold up the kick-stand. Less clutter under the bike to get doused and clear floor space to slide the catch-pan. Z | ||
| Ponti1 |
I feed a long sheet of aluminum foil between the engine and muffler, and use each side in a "V" to guide the oil into the pan. I have not figured a way to avoid the kickstand being in the left drain pan, so I put a bread bag over it and secure with a rubber band. I have yet to lose more than a drop or two, so I'm pretty content with this process. | ||
| Carbonbigfoot |
Doh! Put the kickstand in the drainpan... Wow. I love it. That's brilliant! I kinda dig the idea of putting it on a rear stand to clear the area, but I am w/o a rear lift, and cheap. Between that and the foil sheet thing, I should be in good shape. Thanks! R | ||
| Redscuell |
"Save your self a bunch of money and do it yourself." I agree. Believing that my dealer, Harley City, would be doing the first service "by the book", I donated A$275 and 3 hours of my time waiting, for them to do the first service; I got nothing back from them to convince me they did anything more than change the oil and filter. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
I am STILL trying to find the section in the service manual that tells me what "critical fasteners" I am supposed to check. Maybe the dealers have exclusive information related to the mysterious critical fasteners, thereby justifying the $300 oil change....er, first service. | ||
| Chuckc |
Thanks guys. So I can assume then that I can do the service myself without voiding warranty. When I do the oil change is it alright to switch to synthetic? | ||
| Daggar |
I believe it has synthetic in it from the factory. | ||
| Mquack996 |
It comes from the factory w/ HD 20W-50 not SYN 3. After breaking SYN 3 is the recommended oil. There are a lot of opinions on what synthetic oil to run. The only opinion I have is that the 1125 was developed on SYN 3 and your never going to have a problem finding it. Its always going to be at any HD dealership. | ||
| Ponti1 |
I am STILL trying to find the section in the service manual that tells me what "critical fasteners" I am supposed to check. Amen. Someone at one of the dealerships told me to "Just check anything that would probably cause you to die if it came loose." | ||
| Usmoto |
I'm with the others, do it yourself. I looked up this topic last year when I had the same question. Your warranty should be covered under the "Magnuson-Moss Warranty Statute of 1975". It's better if you read it so you can decipher it for yourself. It outlines what the dealer can and can't do dealing with warranties. I found a ton of data on this warranty act in my research. Here is some of the stuff I found. This in not all inclusive. As I understand it, if the dealer requires you to bring the bike to them for service, then they must do it free of charge. Likewise the dealer cannot state that you must use their or brand name replacement parts for the service if you do it yourself. Dealers should know this info already but of course won't ever give out that info. Know this, I'm not in any way bashing the dealers, just making an attempt to pass on some info. I'm very happy with my dealer. I just know that every service except the one where you have to rotate the engine will be done by me. If you plan to do it yourself, as others have stated, you should perform the service at the factory scheduled intervals, do every task required and document everything. | ||
| Zac4mac |
+1 Usmoto I was a little leery of rotating the engine for the 12.4k service. But I did it. It was scary looking at her torn down in the garage. Everything went back where it came from with no extra parts tho. I have since seen a CR totally dismantled. WOW! Not so scary anymore. Take your time, RTM and think about everything you do. This bike really is easy to work on, unlike others I've had. The Engineers not only thought about how to make it work, but how to make it easy to work on... Z | ||
| Rocketray |
+1 Zac "The Engineers not only thought about how to make it work, but how to make it easy to work on... " and the service manual is well written and has good detail. Hmmm... maybe that is why it took so long to get here? Ray |
