Marking their territory

There's a saying that old Harley's don't leak oil, they just mark their spot. Well mine must be feeling threatened once again, and its not even old. Last year I had a small oil leak, at the shifter spline, which took way too long to repair. The other day after our ride to the LA State Rally, I noticed a small "puddle" under one of my saddle bags. I thought it was quite odd, I even checked to see if I had some unknown liquid in my bag that may have leaked. Nothing there, so I took the bag off and noticed oil on my left rear shock. Must have sprung a leak, that may explain why I could never seem to keep air in them either.

So I called the dealership, at first the service tech thought it may have been under extended warranty so I made an appointment and while doing so I found my warranty coverage. Oops, no such luck so I cancelled my appt and asked what the cost was for replacement. OEM shock was roughly $185. Ouch. Each. Ouch again.

So decided to look online. Of course part numbers are not the easiest to find, which makes price checking even more difficult. Found that out, then checked the discounted dealers, still $150+.

Next best option, eBay. Now I'm an eBay virgin. So I find a couple of options for both "new" and used shocks, with used typically being pulloffs for an upgrade, so for the most part should be in good shape. There were some buy-now options for $100 for what looked like a pair so was considering that, but there were also a couple to bid on.

By the time I finally get around to bidding on this one set, there was 13 hours left and no bids, minimum bid of $5. So signed up, got a paypal account and off I went. Next morning, still only my bid, I'm getting excited. 30 minutes left, another bid. Crap have to increase my maximum, keep watching, getting a bit excited and anxious. Crap, maximum exceeded again, a third bidder. So about 2-3 minutes left to go, up my bid one more time and I win! $18.50 plus shipping. Not bad, hopefully they will be nearly new and I should get them either the end of this week or early next week!