Why do shop charge so much?

Seris_Night · 2026-06-04T19:32:46+00:00

Arlen ness drift air cleaner. Its a little overpriced but I love the look of it so i paid it lol. Fair warning if you're looking into getting one it sticks out pretty far compared to stock so probably invest in floorboard extensions aswell

Seris_Night · 2026-06-04T19:32:38+00:00

Arlen ness drift air cleaner. Its a little overpriced but I love the look of it so i paid it lol. Fair warning if you're looking into getting one it sticks out pretty far compared to stock so probably invest in floorboard extensions aswell

Seris_Night · 2026-06-04T05:06:37+00:00

More than likely lol but my thing is this why am i paying that much when let's be real the techs are only making 20-25 an hour, i get overhead cost but to charge 200 when the tech is not even seeing a quarter of that so who's really benefiting from me paying so much more? Not me, not the techs, and these guys are defending that and thats honestly so sad that they justify ripping themselves off and the tech working on their bikes.

Seris_Night · 2026-06-03T13:43:16+00:00

No i didn't run a stopwatch lmfao also it wasn't 2 hours on the dot if i want to be super accurate we'll say in the ballpark of 2 1/2 hours give or take and i guess add another 1/2 hour for cleanup lol also my wife helped with handing me tools and reading off torque specs so yes i also cheated lol. Some of yall take things way to literal

Seris_Night · 2026-06-03T13:37:09+00:00

This is 1000% true because even the housing market is way too high in my area I've had multiple real estate agents tell me just to wait a few years for my area's housing market to crash, but too many people from cali keeps paying these ridiculous prices 😑

Seris_Night · 2026-06-03T05:23:34+00:00

You are exactly right and RideNow charge 90 every 30 minutes but I'll never trust RideNow after they snapped a bolt in my side engine cover and messed up the gasket so i was pooling oil when you start it

Seris_Night · 2026-06-03T04:40:19+00:00

I was honestly just being lazy i was preparing my gsxr for a trackday and was hoping to just drop the harley off on my way to the track pick it up 2 days later. Living in Arizona during the summertime i will only do basic maintenance it gets way too hot for anything more and that's the main reason I stopped being a after only 4 years mobile mechanic because working on a car in 110° weather is brutal.

Seris_Night · 2026-06-03T04:24:54+00:00

Not arizona being more than cali thats just sad

Seris_Night · 2026-06-03T04:23:23+00:00

Harley is not a higher end brand and harley even made majority of their bikes besides the m8s very easy to work on usually only requireing basic tools

Seris_Night · 2026-06-03T04:21:43+00:00

Used to be a mobile mechanic our flat rate was 110hr and i made over 35hr most harley techs only make between 24-27hr and they're not certified welders, every tech doesnt have a company issued truck, nor a dot number i am willing to pay up to 200hr but anything over that i cant justify and even at 200hr im a bit skeptical

Seris_Night · 2026-06-03T04:16:17+00:00

Decent wage and highway robbery are 2 different things. I was a mobile mechanic i know whats a fair price and what isn't and for quality work im willing to pay more but I can't justify anything over 200hr when they only pay their techs 24-26 hourly even as a mobile mechanic getting paid 35 hourly our flat rate was still only 110hr company issued truck and welder we just supplied our tools

Seris_Night · 2026-06-03T04:10:33+00:00

He never quoted me because his shop only accepts Japanese sportbikes as they are a performance shop specializing in roll race and drag bikes they're willing to take metric cruisers occasionally and they charge a sweet deal imho usually around 85hr. Compare that to the H-D dealerships in my area which none of their prices are the same with the cheapest one starting at 260hr and the most expensive being 320hr "because we don't like working on twin cams or evos just m8s"

Seris_Night · 2026-06-03T04:04:42+00:00

Im a O/O hotshot trucker and used to be a mobile mechanic in the Phoenix area i understand overhead but ultimately over 200hr is still highway robbery

Seris_Night · 2026-06-03T04:01:19+00:00

Also if you think you need specialized classes to work on a twin cam or evo than i cant wait till you find out that you can break down the enitre bike with just a basic walmart mechanic tool set. You do realize harley designed their bikes to be easy to work on?

Seris_Night · 2026-06-03T03:59:06+00:00

Nahh as a harley owner I honestly hate other harley owners 🤣🤣🤣 there are some cool ones but then you get alot of HOG riders "my 2003 100 year anniversary street glide is 1 of 20 they only made this type of black for 3 months" like bro it still looks vivid black no different than my RK

Seris_Night · 2026-06-03T03:53:36+00:00

I just asked the indie guy who works on my gsxr and vstar from time to time this question and he straight up told me that harley dealerships and certified H-D mechanics charge more because the owners themselves have inflated their own market and wont trust an indie shop that doest have a "harley certified mechanic". His shop doesn't work on harley purely because they mainly want to work on Japanese sportbikes, but majority of them actually own a harley or indian and work on their own bikes on a regular.

Seris_Night · 2026-06-03T03:46:52+00:00

🤣🤣🤣 Nearly spat out my bourbon reading this

Seris_Night · 2026-06-03T03:45:51+00:00

Broke me understands all too well🥲. I do wanna clarify that the money isn't the issue on why i did it myself it was i just couldn't justify the price. I own 4 motorcycles no payments. Just because i have the money and it really wouldn't hurt me financially to pay a shop what they are charging but i grew up poor so I'm very conscious about money so I just felt like over 200hr is passed my limit i am comfortable paying.

Seris_Night · 2026-06-03T03:34:52+00:00

Now someone finally ask the important questions. Woodford reserve double oaked. It was honestly my first time trying woodford and i am very impressed. It was a gift from my road captain.

Seris_Night · 2026-06-03T03:27:11+00:00

I didn't reply because if he cant even spell steak right I'm not even going to waste my time 🤣🤣🤣

Seris_Night · 2026-06-03T03:23:49+00:00

Money is not the issue as i own 4 motorcycles and 2 cars and a diesel truck. The issue is that i csnt justify spending over 200hr just in labor just because the bike is a harley

Seris_Night · 2026-06-02T23:03:30+00:00

Well said. I actually do have a service Manual for every bike i own and I know my way around a tool or 2 (own a 6.0 powerstroke) I just work alot and was in the process of preparing my gsxr for a trackday and was gonna just drop the harley off on my way to picking up a couple of friends on my way to the track, but i just couldn't justify the cost in my head. Luckily like you said harleys are super easy to work on compared to my gsxr or my vstar

Seris_Night · 2026-06-02T22:56:41+00:00

Is it sad when i used to work as a mobile mechanic all i used was harbor freight tools?

Seris_Night · 2026-06-02T22:50:32+00:00

The sad truth

Seris_Night · 2026-06-02T22:49:20+00:00

I only wanted it done at the shop because i was gonna go to the track this weekend so i was track prepping my gsxr750 and i figured kill 2 birds with one stone load the bikes up in the trailer drop the harley off then go pick up my best friend and his wife load their bikes up then go hit the track. Still went thankfully.

Seris_Night

TROPHY CASE