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[Fired00d]

Howie/Hoist over dramatic??? Say it ain't so.

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[Hoist!]

I'm thinking you're gettin a bit over dramatic her ol boy.

Howie/Hoist over dramatic??? Say it ain't so.

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

Maybe a little guys.

But it's been over a year and a half. Same old story. Different experiments. Nothing proven to work. Like I said, you got the patience, more power to ya. I just don't.

Over dramatic AND impatient!!!

Hoist!

[56FLE]

This is what I encoutered on my first ride of the season. Picked up the bike from Utica Harley Davidson earlier today. After their a$$h0!e salesman told me that the head gasket leak was BS and that I was "hyper critical" the following is what I found when I returned home.

Sorry   to here your 08 has Head Gasket problems, I was hoping they would be a bit better then the 07.

How many miles are on your bike? Did you make it to 5K or did it start before the magic mile?

I have had my 08SERK for a week now, going in for the 1K checkup tomorrow. I'm riding about 150 miles or more a day checking out the hill country around Austin for the first time in 16 years so at the rate I am going I'll probably not be able to sign up for the Sedona GTG if my bike is in the shop for head gasket repairs first week in May.   

[Hugh Janis]

G. Howie, I'm terribly sorry you have the leaking head.  Mines still strong with 6,058 miles on it.  I didn't check it today.  I'm with others, get it fixed under warranty after opening a complaint with customer service.  I hope it's fixed for our "growler" lunch!

[LRebel]

FNG Howie,

Sorry & Welcome to the club.

I am afraid that with the warmer weather we are going to start hearing about these problems more frequently

[Black Diamond]

Howie (FNG)

Sorry you joined us. I know the choice is not an easy one as I just went thru it. Make sure you call Tech people and start a file. After that it a matter of what you can afford and what you will put up with. Best of luck with her. 

JW

[FNGw/08SERK]

My apologies for ommiting the SERK's milage - it's 2600miles. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to share your input. I'll let you know what I come up with as soon as I know. Hoping not to miss too much road time  Thanks again.    Howie

[miker]

Just ride it more...Its only a leak!

[FNGw/08SERK]

Cleaned 'er up yesterday and took 'er out to try to get a handle on the rate of oil leakage. Appears at this point to be relatively small amount of leakage. What risks do I expose this motor to by continuing to ride her besides the obvious loss of oil?

Thanks,
Howie

[Hugh Janis]

you'll have a well oiled gasket. 

When it's fixed, make sure that the cylinder liner is checked for movement (I don't know if that was recommended already)

[Chief]

Cleaned 'er up yesterday and took 'er out to try to get a handle on the rate of oil leakage. Appears at this point to be relatively small amount of leakage. What risks do I expose this motor to by continuing to ride her besides the obvious loss of oil?

Thanks,
Howie

So you're concerned about what will become of your leaking Harley if you continue to ride it? You'll just perpetuate the stereotype that Harley's leak.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[HogBreath]

Sorry to hear of the head gasket leak Good Howie! (dang, I love saying that).

You have several options. If you don't want to spend $$ on her, I'd recommend letting her leak until it's really a major nuisance. When it's leaking bad enough to really bug ya, take it back for the dealer and let them replace the head gasket. I agree with Scott, if after the warranty is expired, the head gaskets are still leaking, they should continue to repair at no cost to you since it's an ongoing problem that hasn't been cured. You MAY could keep doing that for 40,000 miles w/o spending a penny.

I'm facing that same thing on mine right now. The head gasket is just one problem. It comes down to how much do you want to spend to correct the problems? What is the value to you if you break down on a road trip? Nothing is a certainity other than death. My buddy mav's 103 crapped out at CHL. He planned this trip months in advance. He got two days off work to take this trip. The bike crapped out the second day, the farthest from home he could be on tis trip. I don't know about you, but my days off work, with a ride planned are precious to me. They are far and few between. Mav lost three days of enjoying his vacation. He rented a bike for one day, $175. His brother came from Chattoonaga and picked him and Pam up. his son came down from Kentucky to pick him up and drive him home. then he had to trailer down 400 miles to get his bike. Then he's had to take off work today to get the bike to Abernathy's. Fairly costly chain of events, not counting the mental anquish.

Are you going to keep the bike? I love my bike other than the engine issues. It's a keeper.

I think I'm actually trying to convince myself to spend money on a rebuild or a new engine.

[iski]

Getting this leak fixed, at least the first time, under a dealer warranty is advisable.  If there is a class action suit against the MoCo on this issue, it will be better documented plus if it is leaking a second (or third, etc.) time it indicates they did not fix the problem correctly, for whatever reason. 

Sucks to be on a long trip with vacation days burning away as Ken posted, & have a bike breakdown.  Worse if later on a legal settlement is potentially negated in part by non-HD work on the problem - first occurrence.  Recouping financial loss is not what we really want - we want a bike with a motor that is reliable & does not leak. Not too much to ask, considering.


Much empathy for you who have experienced this leak problem.  I check mine weekly & so far it's ok. 

[FNGw/08SERK]

So you're concerned about what will become of your leaking Harley if you continue to ride it? You'll just perpetuate the stereotype that Harley's leak.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Now that thers's some funny chit!! 

[FNGw/08SERK]

Sorry to hear of the head gasket leak Good Howie! (dang, I love saying that).

You have several options. If you don't want to spend $$ on her, I'd recommend letting her leak until it's really a major nuisance. When it's leaking bad enough to really bug ya, take it back for the dealer and let them replace the head gasket. I agree with Scott, if after the warranty is expired, the head gaskets are still leaking, they should continue to repair at no cost to you since it's an ongoing problem that hasn't been cured. You MAY could keep doing that for 40,000 miles w/o spending a penny.

I'm facing that same thing on mine right now. The head gasket is just one problem. It comes down to how much do you want to spend to correct the problems? What is the value to you if you break down on a road trip? Nothing is a certainity other than death. My buddy mav's 103 crapped out at CHL. He planned this trip months in advance. He got two days off work to take this trip. The bike crapped out the second day, the farthest from home he could be on tis trip. I don't know about you, but my days off work, with a ride planned are precious to me. They are far and few between. Mav lost three days of enjoying his vacation. He rented a bike for one day, $175. His brother came from Chattoonaga and picked him and Pam up. his son came down from Kentucky to pick him up and drive him home. then he had to trailer down 400 miles to get his bike. Then he's had to take off work today to get the bike to Abernathy's. Fairly costly chain of events, not counting the mental anquish.

Are you going to keep the bike? I love my bike other than the engine issues. It's a keeper.

I think I'm actually trying to convince myself to spend money on a rebuild or a new engine.

Thanks for the input Ken and yes I would like to hold on to the scoot. If I can afford it and if I have thick skin enough to take all the ball busting I get for spending this much on a leaker