Customizing the Harley
I had a wake up call this weekend. I've been having this affair with "Lucille" for over a year but due to finances, have only put a few bits of chrome and bling on her. I put on some nostalgia footboards and foot controls, new air cleaner cover, new chrome tank extension but what I have really wanted to do is to get some new handlebars and grips.
I've been eyeballing the Harley Beach slammer bars along with the knurled chrome grips. It would be a lot cleaner look to have the wires tucked in the bar and then get braided lines for the clutch and brake.
As I had a milestone birthday recently, some family members gave me some cash to help out with the purchase. So off we went on Saturday to the Harley dealer (or as they are affectionately known to some- the stealer). This is the same dealership (Glendale Harley-Davidson) I bought the bike at and they are starting to know me there. Good guys all around.
Before I rode down I put together a little wish list of some things I wanted but it became apparent real quickly that unless I wanted to load up the credit card, I'd have to stick to just the bars and grips. Forget the clutch and brake housings. Let's just get the bars and grips, the rest will come.
Well, the dealer was out of stock on the Harley bars but they did have a White Brothers burley bikini beach bar in stock. Now, I'd been sitting on a Heritage Classic in the showroom a few weeks earlier that had these bars on it and I loved them. Total comfort and very cool looking. Remembering how much I liked them I said, I wanted them.
So we added up the cost of the bars, grips and the braided lines. I paid for it all and then said, "Oh hey, I forgot to ask: How much is labor on this?" Without blinking, the kid behind the counter said, "Well, I think it's about 10 hours labor at $80 per hour but I can check for you".
Let's all take a moment shall we?
Picture in your mind if you will, a 50 year old man beginning to weep in a Harley Davidson shop. It's a sad sight. And before y'all start asking, no, I'm not handy and I'm not about to start learning on the handlebars, throttle and brake lines on a bike I regularly ride at 80 mph on the freeways.
To make a long story shorter, my wife who was with me said, "Honey, it's your 50th birthday, do it". As it turned out, it'll probably be closer to "only" $600 labor. What a steal! I mean, uh...deal.
Oh, a few words of advice: Don't do a search online for something you bought at the dealer when you KNOW in your gut you can find it online cheaper.
Keep the rubber down and ride safe everyone!
I've been eyeballing the Harley Beach slammer bars along with the knurled chrome grips. It would be a lot cleaner look to have the wires tucked in the bar and then get braided lines for the clutch and brake.
As I had a milestone birthday recently, some family members gave me some cash to help out with the purchase. So off we went on Saturday to the Harley dealer (or as they are affectionately known to some- the stealer). This is the same dealership (Glendale Harley-Davidson) I bought the bike at and they are starting to know me there. Good guys all around.
Before I rode down I put together a little wish list of some things I wanted but it became apparent real quickly that unless I wanted to load up the credit card, I'd have to stick to just the bars and grips. Forget the clutch and brake housings. Let's just get the bars and grips, the rest will come.
Well, the dealer was out of stock on the Harley bars but they did have a White Brothers burley bikini beach bar in stock. Now, I'd been sitting on a Heritage Classic in the showroom a few weeks earlier that had these bars on it and I loved them. Total comfort and very cool looking. Remembering how much I liked them I said, I wanted them.
So we added up the cost of the bars, grips and the braided lines. I paid for it all and then said, "Oh hey, I forgot to ask: How much is labor on this?" Without blinking, the kid behind the counter said, "Well, I think it's about 10 hours labor at $80 per hour but I can check for you".
Let's all take a moment shall we?
Picture in your mind if you will, a 50 year old man beginning to weep in a Harley Davidson shop. It's a sad sight. And before y'all start asking, no, I'm not handy and I'm not about to start learning on the handlebars, throttle and brake lines on a bike I regularly ride at 80 mph on the freeways.
To make a long story shorter, my wife who was with me said, "Honey, it's your 50th birthday, do it". As it turned out, it'll probably be closer to "only" $600 labor. What a steal! I mean, uh...deal.
Oh, a few words of advice: Don't do a search online for something you bought at the dealer when you KNOW in your gut you can find it online cheaper.
Keep the rubber down and ride safe everyone!
posted by Mike at 10:25 AM PERMALINK
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home