It's amazing how much difference there is in the new SuperMall style dealerships these days. When it comes to sidecar work or any issue regarding sidecars in general there is little interest (or knowledge).
Many are run like car dealerships where new sales is King and service is just a necessary evil. They'll sell you overpriced lifestyle apparel and Bull s**t bling but that's as far as some want to go.
Case in point:
On my last safari I found myself a long ways from home, out of rear tire tread and with a broken saddle bag mount.
We stopped at Durango H-D where the service manager (when he saw I had a sidecar rig) told me he wouldn't be able to get me in at all for at least 5 hours (which would mean an overnight stay in town and stranded at the dealership without transportation). Not wishing to do all that we pushed on to Grand Junction H-D, arriving there 1/2 hour before closing time. The Service Manager there asked his crew if anyone would stay over to get me back on the road. He said roll her in and we ended up with 4 people working on my bike (with sidecar) including the bike washer who asked me if I wanted him to stick around and wash up my rig after they were done. The crew worked one hour and twenty minutes after closing time to get my repairs done and clean up my ride. I dropped a couple of bucks on the clean up guy and a twenty for donuts (or beer) for the crew and left happy.
Grand Junction Harley is a dealership with people who care and will go the extra mile for their customers.
Good on Ya Guys!
Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars
There are all sorts of people who own Harley dealerships. Some or OK, some are great and some won't give you the time of day. The dealership's real attitude and personality comes out when there is an emergency, usually just before closing time. That's when you find out how they really treat their customers.
They're having a bad time right now with layoffs and downsizing. The dealer who owns Sacramento Harley-Davidson just closed his shop in Elk Grove, California, a suburb of Sacramento near my home.
