Got the bike back from the dealer after the recall and the mechanic told me the wiring harness is a mess of dirty splices with electrical tape everywhere. I'm really not surprised. I paid $4k for this thing and I didn't expect anything on it to be in particularly good shape. Anyway, that was apparently an excuse for the dead fuel gauge and
main headlight. Well, I'm getting flash code eight from the fuel light and my headlight is out. I'm going to avoid the knee jerk reaction of buying a new headlamp bulb and just poke around the wires until I find a shitty splice somewhere. I don't know much about the fuel level sender unit, other than that it costs $400. Is it possible that my problem with that is just a short circuit or something? Maybe a fuse? If I find out I can't fix it, I'm definitely going to raise a little hell up at the shop. They have a pretty good reputation and I'm sure they wouldn't sully it over $400. I'd rather it didn't come to that though, so is it possible that some time, effort, a bag of shrink wrap and a heat gun could clean things up and fix the issues? I'll let them off the hook, since they just tore my bike completely apart and put it back together in two days with one of their two mechanics on vacation the whole time, but I'm not thrilled about how it came back to me.
This is anecdotal. Skip it if you want:
Got the bike back with new bearings in the neck, swing arm and both wheels, high flow oil pump gear, piston rings, Speedstar stage IV clutch, new engine and transmission oil and filters, fuel filter, adjusted valves, brake pads, etc. The bike immediately felt about twice as powerful as it was before the recall was done. I guess I was getting a lot of blow-by before the rings. I can't imagine it being anything else. Anyway, the underwhelmed feeling I had before is now gone. I went ahead and replaced the side covers with Show Chrome units, since they were dented up and starting to rust out under the crap paint job. Progressive fork springs are on the way to keep my street sweeper fender I'll be getting when I can afford it from hitting the ground. It's just a matter of money now. Once I'm ready to spend the cash, the bike is getting SS Custom Cycles' street sweeper fenders, shark fin dualies, air ride and Kong bars. I've just survived long enough by now to know I need to spend the money on the basics first. A sweet looking ride that doesn't run or isn't safe is just a polished turd.