Writer: John Gall , 2000 FXSTS
Website: http://www.zylstrahd.com
Address: HWY 169 Elk River MN by Culvers and Menards.
| Review for: Zylstra Harley-Davidson, Elk River Minnesota
Writer: John Gall , 2000 FXSTS Website: http://www.zylstrahd.com Address: HWY 169 Elk River MN by Culvers and Menards. |
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The place is brand new opened in 2001 I believe. The building is very large and has alot of new and used bikes for sale. It's typical of the new Harley boutique style dealership but still a nice place to look around. Aside from the large selection of bikes the owner has a loft that circles the show room. The loft has many beautiful older shovelheads and panheads. I don't think they are for sale but they make for an interesting visit. The parts area is fairly standard, lots of bolt on chrome do-dads and of course lots of Harley oil. The parts counter people are friendly i've not asked for stuff for an older bike so I can't attest to their historical knowledge. There is the typical fashion motorclothes department which is well stocked. The stuff is expensive but what for HD isn't.
The cream of the crop is their service department. I've had many experiences at Harley dealerships and have preferred to stick to the independent shops. Since this dealership is five miles from my house i've been going there. I can easily say i've had my best experiences here. On my 2000 FXSTS i've had two major visits one for a big bore kit and cam and the other a year later for Screaming Eagle heads and forged pistons. In both cases the price was fair, and the quality of service was perfect. Best of all in both cases the bike was back in my hands in 3-5 days.
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A couple other things. They will pickup and deliver bikes if your in the Elk River area. They also have a dynometer available for single run and tuning work. 6/20/2002 - Just brought my FXSTS in for a Dyno Tuning. I've had everything to this bike done except stroking it and my last step is to have them squeeze every ounce out of the beast. I brought the bike in with 92hp 96 Max Torque. For my $267 I received a dynorun chart showing both the before and after runs. Their master technician Tim W. created an additional 4HP and 5 foot pounds of torque by tuning the bike. Now running at 96HP 100.7 Foot pounds of torque. After adding so much to the motor that much additional performance for about $250.00 is the best deal going. If you've modified your bike, particularly the carb i'd highly recommend having Zylstra run it on the dyno and tune it. I should also add that I brought the bike in at 6:30 on 6/19 and picked it up by noon the following day. See the results at http://www.gallconsulting.com/fun/fxsts/fxsts2002.htm 3/24/2003 The bike sat from late September to now due to my preoccupation with a new 4 wheeler I bought. I brought it out expecting at least to crank a little bit to let it sputter before really starting. You'd have thought I rode it daily all year. Two seconds of cranking and she was running full steam. I guess the performance work paid off in ease of use as well.
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6/4/2003
Brought the springer in for a 10,000 service new tires and brakes. I also asked them to give me an estimate on damage to my fork as I tipped the bike over to the right side when washing it. I should also note that since my Sturgis trip in 2002 i've had dirt that I couldn't get off from riding in six inches of mud at my campground. So I go in and we go over the bike. The nice thing about this place besides the quality of service is the attention to detail when your going over your bike with them. They aren't rushed and are interested in making sure they do everything you want as efficiently as possible. Two days later I pick the bike up its like brand new. They carefully went over the bill and discounted several places where parts were already taken off during the 10k service. My bill $985.00 included a major service, two tires rear brakes, a detailing (no more dirt.) and oh yea. That damage I mentioned. They adjusted my bars and clamps for free, you'd never notice that the bike had been over. Another excellent job Thanks!
If your interested in meeting others they do a Wednesday dinner and ride during the summer. I've never gone but heard it was a good time. They basically meet at the dealership at 7:00pm then ride to various restaurants. Based on the schedule I saw some are close by but others are a good 20-60 miles away.
Zylstra holds a weekly "Dinner Ride" every Wednesday evening. The riders leave at 6:30pm and head to various destinations. I've not gone yet but i'm told it's a good time. Here's the schedule for the 2007 Zylstra Harley Davidson Dinner Rides
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 New Note: 3/25/04 I brought my 98 Buell S3T in for Dyno Tuning. The shop ran five runs and their exhaust fan died. They called and admitted they wouldn't have been able to tune much more than it was when I bought it and only charged me $100.00 for the five runs they did. Very fair in my opinion.
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