Why ServiceSheet.com?

For years, Harley-Davidson produced models based on the same platform, over and over. From 1984 to 1999, the motor was the Evolution® and from 1986 until 2003 the Sportster® motor was essentially unchanged. Service procedures were mostly the same; parts were generally interchangeable. It was fairly easy to learn how to service Harley motorcycles, and there really wasn’t much innovation in the line-up.

In 1995, H-D introduced the 30th Anniversary Ultra Classic® Electra Glide® with fuel injection. This Magneti-Marelli system was all new, for Harley, and required all new procedures. If it didn’t break, though, there really wasn’t much to worry about, and you could fake your way through any problems that came up without too much trouble.

In July of 1998, that all changed with the introduction of the Twin Cam 88® engine. This engine was all new, except for the rocker arms, they told us. This was going to require all new service procedures and a whole bunch of new tools. The changes did not stop there. H-D was about to begin a period of unprecedented new product introduction.

In 2000, H-D introduced the counter-balanced Twin Cam 88B for the Softail® models: less vibration, fewer parts vibrating off and mirrors you can finally use. In addition, the very first Deuce™ rolled of the assembly line in 2000.

In 2002, H-D introduced the Delphi ESPFI (fuel injection), which was a vast improvement over the problematic Magneti-Marelli system. Also in 2002 came the introduction the first of the V-Rod® models: water-cooled, high-revving overhead cam cruisers unlike anything they had ever built before.

2004 saw the introduction of a rubber-mounted Sportster and in 2006, H-D equipped every Dynaâ„¢ model with a 6-speed transmission and ESPFI.

Along the way, procedures for servicing individual components “the way we always did it” no longer applied:

• Sealed wheel bearings were introduced in 2000, no longer requiring periodic cleaning and repacking. (For the record, Buell used sealed wheel bearings many years before.)
• The speedometer was no longer being cable driven when they introduced the Road King® in 1994, and it would slowly fade away on the other models.
• Cartridge style front forks were introduced in 1996 on the XL1200S, but they didn’t become a serious issue until the 2002 FLH models, where H-D used a cartridge on the left side in some models. This meant that the fork oil service would now take over two hours where it used to take about 30 minutes.
• Somewhere along the way, the 2500 mile maintenance disappeared. (I know, I know, 2003 was the last year.)
• The 2006 V-Rod models have a valve lash adjustment required at 12K miles, but the scheduled maintenances are performed every 5K miles. Similarly, the Springer® models require a “lube and adjust steering head bearings every 2500 miles” but their maintenances are required every 5K miles. How do you keep on top of that for your customers?
• DOT4 was used on a few Buell® models, but came into widespread use when H-D began using it on the 2005 FLH models. DOT4 fluid must be changed, and the brake system flushed, every two years.
• SYN3â„¢ and Formula+ fluids were introduced in 2003 and 2005 respectively, with corresponding changes in service interval.

If you had stopped working on Harley motorcycles in 1998 and came back to work on them in 2006, not much would look familiar to you. The engines, frames, transmissions, primaries, wheels, brakes, electrical, fuel systems and lots more are ALL different. So, where do you start?

First:

Annual updates at HDU are essential. You certainly need training, whether formally, through HDU, or informally at the dealership. I think dealership inservices are a great idea for sharing the knowledge. H-D does not agree, and to maintain your Technician Recognition level, you need to receive training directly from Harley-Davidson. Dealer-based training does not count towards tech rec. In either case, training establishes “how to do it.”

Second:

Establish procedures for performing scheduled maintenances. It’s critical that all dealership technicians perform the same maintenance as required by the factory. The Service Manager must be able to say with conviction “we ALWAYS change the engine oil and filter at 2500 miles” if that’s the dealership policy. The engine oil and filter change may seem like a simple example, but how about the fork fluid change on a 2004 FLHTC, or the fuel filter service on a V-Rod? These procedures establish “when to do it.”

So: Why ServiceSheet.com? We created ServiceSheet.com to provide dealerships with a way to determine WHEN to do it. We can’t show you how, but we can show you when. Please, log in take a look around. If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at support@servicesheet.com or give us a call toll-free at (866) 241-6747.

Thanks.

Chris Hajer