It just keeps getting better! I know some of you are just rolling around on the floor laughing and kicking your feet in the air when you read this, I can't blame you. Comedians use real world stuff cause sometimes u just can't make up stuff that good. and so it goes.
My boss gave me some good advice saying to have them put on the regulator so it is warrantied, and so that if their diagnosis is wrong, they eat it once again. So I had a final conversation with my service writer, who by the way is only as good as the technitions behind him. He tells me harley calls for an hour and a half labor to instal it. This is where I really start to loose my patience. It's 2 screws for the regulator and the chin fairing needs to be partially removed, 3 screws on the countershaft cover, and then plug it in. He comes back and says ok, it will be a 1/2 hour labor. Ok thats better. Then he needs to check to make sure thats ok. Nope, gotta have 1.5 hrs labor, $150 to install. Then I ask if the regulator is covered if I put it on, first he says yes, then wait a minute, no-we have to put that on or it is not covered. I kind of figured that was the case, and I attribute the back and forth to his inexperience in that matter. But I'm pissed now. I gotta run home from work, get some tools together but I don't know what fasteners I need wrenches for, allen, torks, mm or std.?? then go to the dealer and put the part on in the parking lot, all before they close. So I get there with all this crap in the car and we go through the bill for parts, he removes all the fuel system parts from the bill since they provided the F/P assembly I wouldnt need them. That was really nice, since I had agreed to pay for what they ordered. Now comes the interesting part. The original tech is off today so the service writer had another tech check the charging system after my rant about the system working fine before. Literally, in a low sheepish voice he says "I had a tech check it and it's charging now" I truely couldn't believe I heard that and had to have him repeat it louder. Are you F@*@ing kidding me! I didn't say that but I wanted to. It may have an intermitant problem. Man oh man. Someone is testing me! "sir you have a fatal disease, no wait a minute, I'm an idiot, I had the paper upside down, your fine".
How much of an emotional roller coaster does this need to be? It's a F**ing inanimate object, its a machine! I was so pissed last night I really couldn't sleep. But now I'm close to the damn finish line, I can't be bothered with this any more, I want to pay and leave with my stupid regulator in a box. I know some of you might say it's charging, why buy a regulator? The ever careful, worst possible scenario electrical engineers at work pointed out that the regulator could allow too little or TOO MUCH current to pass, so a voltage spike could occur if it is bad and that would take out an ECM. Thus, I went with the new one in the box. I think this bike will go a long way if everything is sorted out, and that is worth the price.
So I gear up hoping the third time is a charm as Rich my service writer says. (Long sideways glance to Rich here). Don't jinks it F$&cker! The tension was killing me too... press the starter and ka boom.. it runs F&ING perfect. YAAAAAA, loud applause here. Take a bow you ******** in service, it only took 2 months.
Now I havn't ridden since June and I admittedly suck as a rider anymore. I go about 60 feet and San Fernando road is jammed with cars, all stopped. Do I lane split with my Renthal low bars and bar end mirrors stiking out the sides? Been a while and the road is narrow, F#$ck yea. So I'm following another bike by about 100 yards and a few times it is so narrow I have to stop and put a foot down. I come to a really shiny black Chrisler (SP) 300 and some sh@tty looking white Nissan, slow to walking pace and go closer to the nissan. WACK goes the mirror on his mirror! HA! Oops! Must have just grazed it caus the adjustment didn't even change. Gas it! I'm FREE, I pass a sh$#tload more cars and roar up the freeway. Man it feels good!
