T-Sport: Keeping the Peace

I'm Cursed

One would think that after making the decision on which pipe to buy, the hardest part would be over. But with my usual luck coming to play, it seems nothing is ever easy.

I ordered the pipe four weeks early so that there would be plenty of time for it to come in for the last week of September. I planned it that way partially so that I could get my finances in order, but mostly because the bike would also receive its final service at the same time and thus be ready to be put away for winter storage shortly after. My planning almost worked. As the time approached for my service appointment, I called to make sure that the pipe was on site. It was then that I learned that it would have been if the wrong pipe had not been sent. By the time someone in parts realized that I had a Dyna, and not a softail, it was too late. No big deal, I just delayed bringing in the bike by another week. Superstitiously, I hoped this was not a bad omen of things to come.

The correct pipe finally arrived, and I delivered my bike to the service department. Living in the very outskirts of the city as I do, public transportation is extremely limited, if it exists at all. Finding someone to go with me so that I would have a means of returning can sometimes be quite difficult. I was very pleased that I managed to find someone available, and happier still that the time we went fell within a brief window when the rain had momentarily stopped. It had been a very cold, damp and miserable week to that point. Surely this was a good sign.

The next time I called the shop was to find out when I should be picking up the bike. Apparently not that day. The muffler had been found to be defective. The screws would not line up to install the discs and the muffler would not fit the headers without a pipe expander and a lot of persuasion. The service techs were not happy.

A replacement was couriered in, and it was no better than the first. It was like the internal components had been crushed out of shape. Now the parts guy was not happy. Harley Canada pays for the shipping to the shop, but the shop eats the cost for shipping parts back, even defective ones. At close to fifty bucks each time, it doesn't take long to eat away any profits. The service department wasn't doing much better wasting hours fiddling with un-installable parts.