Looking into the future of the RT

[IWN2RYD]

I totally agree with Lamont.. and we haven't had our two RT's that long. I have had them totally un-cowled twice each. CB, GPS & XM installations.. After the first time I think it was rather easy. A bit time consuming but easy. Considering the cowling it so streamlined, futuristic, and very tight fitting.. Len

My comment is more about maintenance. I realize those that can afford or are physically able to can do this, will. Heck I even enjoy it to a point.

I think the ease of general maintenance is being overlooked. It can take IMHO to much time and effort to check the air filter, or heck even just a spot check for leaks. It is not like we can just pop the hood, or look underneath and look at most of the important items before a trip for example.

To this day I have not taken a day trip in any of our vehicles without checking.,. Air pressure, hoses, Air filter, Oil level, tranny level (Color and smell) and batter. Now could I be OCD?... Oh yeah! But enough times I have had a hose let go, or... Do today's newer cars need it? No not really. But old habits die hard

However, I cannot do but two or three of these without removing a serious amount of paneling.

But because I do this, I potentially save myself a serious amount of $$$$$. For example. Three weeks ago I did one of these checks on my wife's 2007 Mustang GT. I noticed a little bit of oil in the pinion seal. hmmmmm. Drove down the street with my head hanging out the window listening, rolled up all the windows and listened closely to rear... Heard a low hum... I noticed however during this test that the rear brakes had started to flutter.

Took the GT into the shop for a brake service and asked them check the rear end... And would you not know! That one of the carrier bearings and pinion bearing had started to fall apart. One of the pieces caused the seal to leak.

Now because I do my check, and I can do my checks... I saved the rear end from further damage. All they had to do was remove, clean and replace all the bearings and seals. No damage to the carrier had happened.

I realize that most responsible folks would have been fine as well. My point is I CAN see these things on my cars, and would like it to be easier for me to see these items as well on my RT.

I mean come on. We can go to any used car lot I find half of them to have lived with a minimal maintenance life as it is.

All I am suggesting is the physical needs and time to do the same thing on the RT series leads me to beleive there is a higher chance of folks to not maintain their ride as they would like or normally would say for a car...

Every Harley I have been around has been easier than a car to do this check. Yes I do realize a few other bikes are also a PINA... And I cannot speak for what the dealer charges in those cases. But it is quiet clear on the RT's.... $200+ just for an oil change that we need to do every 3k miles. At the rate I am going (1500 miles a month) I will spend at least $1200 this next year on oil changes

Not to mention, these are plastic panels! How many times can they handle this off and on? I installed the HWY pegs last weekend, and I already see the paint being removed from the washers when the dealer took my RT-S apart the two times they have had it. There is a lot more paneling to these RT's than there is the RS's.

Anyway, just my $.02. I am a sucker for easy maintenance. All this means to me as a buyer is this... A few years from now I will either buy new, or buy used from a person that kept records and or the dealer can confirm the maintenance was done correctly. Otherwise I am not interested in looking at used...

Edit 6-6-2010 ... So I thought I would drop a picture of one of the bolt holes on my left side panel. The dealer has had the side panel off twice since new. I removed it to install my hwy pegs. So in three mounts the hole is already on the way to being beat up...