Harley letdown. DIM?

[Kingsley]

Hey all.
I bought my 1996 883 Hugger new off the floor with 13 miles on it. 13 years, 124,xxx miles on her.
The last front tire change the mechanic noticed that one side of my front brake pad was wearing more then the other. He checked on it did some cleaning, lubing... and told me to bring it back in 500miles to recheck. Also something with the back brakes. It works, but "doesn't feel right". Before the 500 miles came, I had to make a hard slowdown. (A left turning car on the cell phone) There was a loud clacking sound from the front brake. I went back to the shop and there were closed. Shutdown. Empty. Nobody.
I am without a Harley dealer for my service!!!
I'm not saying that there are NO good motorcycle mechanics here but the Kona dealership has taken good care of me and my bike. I'm not taking Piglet to a Honda or Kawasaki for service. SO,
I decided on DIFM Do It F'n Myself
I went to Costco and bought my first tool kit. The kit that had things in there that I never seen before. Guess it has to have what I need, yeah? Ebay got me a service manual. 1995 1996 factory service manual. Ugh, brakes of all things that needs attention.

I realize times are tough and retail sales are down. Sadly this forces dealers to close. But I feel really letdown by Harley, Corporate. Somehow they should have stepped in and arranged service out here. Instead, to leave me and other Harley owners here out of gas in the middle of nowhere.

Upgrade to Honda?
Sucks to be me
Veronica

[Karsten]

I would look for an Indy Shop that specialize on HD's. Call the Honda of Kawasaki shops and see if they know of one in the local area.

Most of the time other dealers wont have the specs, manuals or tools to work on anything but what they sell and service (or so it is around here). So if there is an Indy in the area they will likely have the contact info.

Good luck and maybe time to an 04 or new Sportster.

Karsten

[YankeeBob]

Talk to other Harley owners. Ask who they use for service.

[Shockwave]

Veronica, there is NO reason that you can't tackle anything on your scooter. If you have the book and good comprehension skills, you should be able to fix anything. Electrical stuff (my specialty) can be a little tricky but anything else is really pretty easy. Good luck.

[fastkevin]

I'd tend to give 'em a brake in your situation..You're on the island of Hawaii, and it's hard for a dealer to make money with such a small, captive audience. FWIW there's a big dealer on Maui.. At the very least, you could prolly get tech assistance from them.
Do you have any motorcycle rental shops on the island? I know I've seen 'em on Maui, and even Kauai.. I would think there'd be one on the big island as well, and if there is, they're renting Harleys.
They'd have a mechanic. Whether or not he's worth a ****.... you'd have to find that out.

[nightrob]

Upgrade to Honda?? Blasphemy