Motorcycle Forums » Harley Davidson

• wheels

  
   

  February 23, 2011 1:48 AM PST

  I came across a website last night that will allow you to download an entire service manual for a small fee. Have any of you done this before and were the illustrations and text up to par. Thanks for your replies. Wheels
• RexTheRoadDog

  

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  February 23, 2011 2:15 AM PST

  So Wheels, what is the address???
• Chaz

  

  • 846 posts
   

  February 23, 2011 6:07 AM PST

  Ok you have my intrest too. Hay if the fee is small enough I'll be the test subject.
• Deleted Member

  
   

  February 23, 2011 2:25 PM PST

  If you have not been factory trained those manuals will do you NO good. Sorry, just the truth.
• Deleted Member

  
   

  February 24, 2011 12:33 AM PST

  Black9 wrote...

  If you have not been factory trained those manuals will do you NO good. Sorry, just the truth.

  
  Trully don't mean any offense here, but I disagree. The only tool you can't get is the Computer. Have to be a dealer for that. The rest of the manual is vital if you plan on doing any of your own work. If a person has no mechanical background at all, they might be lost in the manual. But with some basic principles and a few tools, you can do a ton of your own work WITH the manual. Personally, the manual is the best thing you can buy for your bike.
• RexTheRoadDog

  

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  February 24, 2011 12:55 AM PST

  Agreeing with you Bulldogjim. While not everything can be done by the weekend mechanic, many can.
• GoFur

  

  • 844 posts
   

  February 24, 2011 1:44 AM PST

  I agree, with a manual and some basic tools you can do a whole lot on your own bike.
  
  Wheels, where did you find that... I would like to check it out. $60 or so for the factory printed manual is a lot. If I could have it on my computer I could just print out the section I need and take it to the garage.
• wheels

  
   

  February 24, 2011 1:58 AM PST

  http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/79796973-download-harley-davidson-touring-service-repair-manual this seems like it is a foreign website possibly english because they advertise the price in lbs. I have never used this site but you can pay with visa or paypal. I'm new to computers so i'm sorry I don't know how to put up one of those web pages deal that you just click on. I have to agree with Jim also that the service manual can get you familiar with your bike and can help you with the repairs that you are comfortable doing and the factory mechanics can do the rest of the complicated repairs for us, but oil changes etc. can be performed by any shadetree mechanic like myself with a cold beer and a wrench in my hand.
• Chaz

  

  • 846 posts
   

  February 24, 2011 2:10 AM PST

  I too am in aggreement with Mike & Jim. I've always (till the resent bike) had a set of manuals. That's why this topic has my intrest. As mine are alway are covered in grease and oil after awhile. But I've never regretted buying them.
• RexTheRoadDog

  

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  February 24, 2011 3:51 AM PST

  Here ya go wheels...
  http://www.tradebit.com /> I looked at it and it seems interesting. I already have my manuals but would try it if I didn't. But I am wondering if it is legal, IE copyright laws?
  
  I looked around a bit more and found they have a Wilmington DE address. And the manual I looked up was priced in dollars. They still could be a foreign company though just have a US address.
  
• neekynake

  
   

  February 24, 2011 6:50 AM PST

  I bought a similar item on e-bay, came on a dvd. It was the Haynes manual, not the Harley manual. It has some good information but not as detailed as the Harley. I cut down the shadetree and built a garage years ago. I do all of my own work, not the incompentent stealer wrench turners. I have all 3 Harley manual, Service, Electrical, Parts. They may seem expensive but compared to $95 hr the first time you use them and fix it right the first time, they pay for themselves. The other tool I highly recommend is a Twinn Scann, paid for itself 15min after it arrived.
• Deleted Member

  
   

  February 25, 2011 12:46 AM PST

  Glad we got that worked out. Its all about knowing your limits. There are a few tricks that the avg Joe wouldn't know until its too late. For example (not from experience, just an example) you decide to change your own oil. So you lift the bike and start looking under the crank case. Hey, there's something that looks like a drain plug. You go to take it out and crack the case half... Now you are trailering it to a mechanic to drop a ton of money on a simple mistake. For me, $60 is nothing to be able to know everything about my $18k ride. People drop more than that on crazy stuff that is no where as needed as the manual. Just my opinion...
• hgsc90

  
   

  February 25, 2011 2:02 AM PST

  I purchased the factory manual for my first Suzuki LC 1500 (03) with carbs. Now have a Suzuki C90. Found on Delphi Forums the same manual with the fuel injection additional chapters. Is now on disc for future referances. I have found that sight to be a good source for answers to problems that I have not had (yet) but have the fix for.
• Deleted Member

  
   

  February 25, 2011 12:38 PM PST

  Wheels I checked out the website and the program I have on my computer says the server is in the U.S., although this website may be using a proxy server. The prices are also listed in U.S. dollars (USD). If you can get a REAL service manual for $7.99 USD that's amazing as I thought I got a deal on my service manual at $20.00 via e-bay. Also be aware that PDF files are very large and will require a broadband or DSL internet connection to download them efficiently.
• DGuyer1961

  
   

  March 3, 2011 5:43 AM PST

  I also have purchased manuals from Ebay but all 3 have been the Harley manual in pdf form. All three were priced way below the manuals from Harley. What I like about them is you can print the pages you need and if they get dirty just toss them when you are done. I know I have manuals for a 2008 Sportster and a 2009 Touring. ANyone interested let me know and I can send them in an email. Only have about 20 in both total.
• BailOut

  

  • 1 posts
   

  March 4, 2011 4:06 AM PST

  Since I do contract work for a number of shops and out of my own garage I need to have manuals for a lot of bikes, and it can get expensive!!! I have bought a few from the dealers, a lot from ebay, but lately I have been getting the downloads from these guys http://www.download-repair-manual.com/2008_FLHX_Street_Glide.html which I just realized goes to the same site you posted.  If someone brings me a bike I don't have the manual for I can get it in minutes, and it saves money!  I'm not sure about the whole copyright thing because they do appear to be the factory manuals, and in perfect quality.  But I wouldn't attemp to print the entire manual though 0 that's a lot of paper.  Just print out the few pages you need for the project, if they stay clean put them in a note book, if you get them greasy, throw them away.
  
  
  
• Chaz

  

  • 846 posts
   

  March 4, 2011 5:40 AM PST

  I just used the link that BailOut had posted as the earlier one that Wheels listed did list my model year and I found my year and model. For $4.99 what the hell. Well I was supprised it was in PDF format and it was the clearest PDF published document I've seen in a long time. After a quick glance I seen some of the data that I wanted right away. Even the photo are all crisp and clear (a fear with pdf's i have). I'm sold. Thanks guys
• AzRider

  

  • 835 posts
   

  March 4, 2011 8:37 AM PST

  Thanks for the feedback Chaz, good to know.
• Deleted Member

  
   

  March 6, 2011 3:58 PM PST

  Bulldogjim wrote...

  Black9 wrote...

  If you have not been factory trained those manuals will do you NO good. Sorry, just the truth.

  
  Trully don't mean any offense here, but I disagree. The only tool you can't get is the Computer. Have to be a dealer for that. The rest of the manual is vital if you plan on doing any of your own work. If a person has no mechanical background at all, they might be lost in the manual. But with some basic principles and a few tools, you can do a ton of your own work WITH the manual. Personally, the manual is the best thing you can buy for your bike.

  
  You buy all the Kentmore tools you might be fine but the manual does go askew in a lot of proceedures, some should not even be in the books, the Sportster manuals are the worst. Not saying you can't get something out of them but most times a lot of guys will and do get lost in a lot of the proceedures. The best the manuals offer are the services.
  
  
• wheels

  
   

  March 6, 2011 9:21 PM PST

  I'm not factory trained but I do find the service manuals are very helpful as a book to remind me of a certain sequence or a torque spec etc. I purchased my service manual last week and it was helpful when I was doing my 20k service. I think each of us knows his mechanical ability and I also don't think buying a book is a substitution for factory training but it sure did make some of the questions I had about my streetglide more clear and i feel it was well worth the 60 dollars I spent on it. I spent about 120 dollars on everything I needed for the 20k service and the dealership wanted 750 for the 20K service so the book has allready paid for itself I believe.
• Deleted Member

  
   

  March 6, 2011 11:47 PM PST

  wheels wrote...

  I'm not factory trained but I do find the service manuals are very helpful as a book to remind me of a certain sequence or a torque spec etc. I purchased my service manual last week and it was helpful when I was doing my 20k service. I think each of us knows his mechanical ability and I also don't think buying a book is a substitution for factory training but it sure did make some of the questions I had about my streetglide more clear and i feel it was well worth the 60 dollars I spent on it. I spent about 120 dollars on everything I needed for the 20k service and the dealership wanted 750 for the 20K service so the book has allready paid for itself I believe.

  
  Just make sure when you're doing the torque sequences that you have all the up to date service bulletins... hopefully the new manuals are finally going to reveal the correct torquing technic on the heads. There are more than a stack of service bulletins as I have a whole folder full, anybody need any info please contact me and I'll be glad to send out the info if I can help. :-)
  
  P.S.
  I agree that HD is a rip off when it comes to service quotes, they don't pay their techs or mechs anything and they scoop up about 80% of that money and put it in their pockets to pay for their big ugly mall-like stores. I encourage anyone who can work on their own to do so, and if I know you I'm more than happy to share my skills and experience.
  
  
• nightprowler1961

  

  • 19 posts
   

  October 11, 2011 5:13 PM PDT

  And if you don't understand,or it don't make any sence,keep on reading till it does make sence.Also i was really having a very hard time with reading my scematic,due to my 50 year old eyes,I scaned them and now i can blow them up and use my mouse to trace.Thats my two cents.
• Deleted Member

  
   

  October 15, 2011 1:59 AM PDT

  Here's a BIG tip, anyone doing cam change service be sure to mark the Trocoid oil pump fasteners because if you slip up and mix up any of the cam plate fasteners it will cause a catastrophic failure... just be careful if you get into the bottom end. There are lots of little things to make sure you do before reassembly... I've seen people damn near lose fingers when they do inner primary work because they skip disconnecting the battery. I know most of you probably know this already but I have seen it happen a few times and lucky for them they still have their digits!:-)
• cal22

  
   

  October 15, 2011 12:08 PM PDT

  i bought a clymer manual few years back.best 30 dollars i ever spent.its the bible of my garage.writin very well with colored pictures and lots of helpful hints.
• Moondog

  
   

  November 16, 2011 12:02 PM PST

  I'm a mechanic (heavy equipment). I bought the manual the same day I bought my bike, It has never seen the dealership since it left it (2007). My only fault was that not everything is in one manual. The electrical is what I was most wanting. I am in the process of trying to make a Harley code reader (my brother is a computer geek). Most programs basically run the same if you can wrap your head around it. Think like electronic book, with chapters. Will let you know if I obtain success.