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[Coyote.]

Ok, folks. So I had a friend ask me about these 110 inch motor problems and were they fixed on the 08 models. I know I have heard of the same issues but I really didn't have enough of a feel to answer the question objectively. So let us again, call on the members to answer the question. I still have my 07 so I have no real input other than I know one other person with an 08 and he's had all the problems.

So, if you have a 110" 08, please post your current mileage and whether or not you've had motor problems. The rest of us will sit back and watch. I'll try to tally the results at the bottom of this post.

Also, to help save me time, if you post that you have no problem, and later develop one, please let me know that you posted once and then again to update us.

Thanks for your responses! -Keith

[LabRat]

4000 miles, stock so far and no problems.

[megavolt17]

300 miles, so far so good!

[Tbone]

850 miles here, all is good so far.  Bike goes to the dealer today for 1K service, Rineharts, SERT, A/C and dyno.

Bob

Update: 1/13/08 1,279 currently, everything is still in good shape.  The bike runs like a champ.

[RioGlide]

SERK - 4300 miles, bought in July 07.

Added SERT, Arlen Ness A/C and Rineharts.  I ride it pretty hard - quick accel from lights, seen 120 or so on the speedo.  Frequently riding at steady highway speeds of 80-85mph for 60+ minutes at a time.

No problems thus far.  Monitoring closely however !

good luck

[ggraham45]

Ihave 865 miles on mine serk and no problems. Iwas at the dealer today and he suggested putting rhinehart td on with the power commander.He told me it had the se ac on it already so i did not need to change.

[skyhook]

'08 fxdse
ported 96" heads
.030" cometic head gaskets
10.4 compression
se257 cams
se air cleaner
supertrapp 2 into 1 exhaust
power commander
1100 miles on bike, 900 since the motor build
I check the rear cylinder for leaks after every ride, so far so good...
Also check rear head temps and it runs 290*F max

[Coyote.]

Ihave 865 miles on mine serk and no problems. Iwas at the dealer today and he suggested putting rhinehart td on with the power commander.He told me it had the se ac on it already so i did not need to change.

If it's stock I believe he is incorrect on the air filter. I have the RH true duals and a KN filter on mine. I have tried twice now to get a good tune with SERT. I think I will put a Thundermax on it next. What tuners can't seem to get right, I'm hoping closed loop technology will.

[stekat]

To start with, I had an '07 CUSE with all the same recurring problems the rest of you have had.  Out of frustration, I sold it, and with hope and faith, bought an '08 CUSE.

I have 1660 miles now.  So far I've had an oil leak scare and the rear ACR went out.  The ACR wires were fried on the head bolt the same way as my '07. 

When I saw the pool of oil under the rear exhaust pipe at the head gasket I was really bummed.  I went to the dealer and let him know my THOUGHTS!  When I cooled down that night, I sat beside the bike and just looked at the leak.  Then I noticed oil forward and above, so I followed it with a flash light.  It finally stopped at that steel bracket that supports the throttle body and bolts to each head at the breather bolts.  Boy was I happy to see that.  It turns out that the bracket to head is a metal to metal fit with NO seal at all.  Oil was able to migrate down the breather bolt threads to the outside.  The front cylinder was also leaking.  The leak looked exactly like a head gasket; so be sure to check the breather bracket carefully before you let the dealer tear your engine down. 

I machined a recess into the bracket to accept an "o" ring to fix it.  For those of you with an SEAC, the bracket is removed so you won't have the problem.  WAY TO GO HARLEY! 

[LabRat]

To start with, I had an '07 CUSE with all the same recurring problems the rest of you have had.  Out of frustration, I sold it, and with hope and faith, bought an '08 CUSE.

I have 1660 miles now.  So far I've had an oil leak scare and the rear ACR went out.  The ACR wires were fried on the head bolt the same way as my '07. 

When I saw the pool of oil under the rear exhaust pipe at the head gasket I was really bummed.  I went to the dealer and let him know my THOUGHTS!  When I cooled down that night, I sat beside the bike and just looked at the leak.  Then I noticed oil forward and above, so I followed it with a flash light.  It finally stopped at that steel bracket that supports the throttle body and bolts to each head at the breather bolts.  Boy was I happy to see that.  It turns out that the bracket to head is a metal to metal fit with NO seal at all.  Oil was able to migrate down the breather bolt threads to the outside.  The front cylinder was also leaking.  The leak looked exactly like a head gasket; so be sure to check the breather bracket carefully before you let the dealer tear your engine down. 

I machined a recess into the bracket to accept an "o" ring to fix it.  For those of you with an SEAC, the bracket is removed so you won't have the problem.  WAY TO GO HARLEY! 

Sorry can't resist....

[stekat]

Sorry can't resist....

I know pictures are worth a thousand words.  Try this, go to your bike and look at the breather bolts at the ac; the pics will magically appear.

[LabRat]

I know pictures are worth a thousand words.  Try this, go to your bike and look at the breather bolts at the ac; the pics will magically appear.

Cool, I like magic. Seriously though, Thanks for the information.

[Black Diamond]

Sorry to have to be first to post bad on the 08's.

3673 miles - rear head gasket leak due to rear cylinder liner movement.

She's in the shop for the winter getting motor upgrade.

JW

[cowboy7123]

1000K, rear head gasket leak, dealer replaced it with a thicker gasket that he said that HD came out with as a fix.

[RedBone]

1700 and alls ok

[HDCrazy]

Good Morning...2000 miles so far so good..no leaks, runs good.
 

[ScottPreston]

2000 miles, no problems, running great

Scott

[popper]

Just bought a 08 Road King. It's in the garage waiting for warmer weather and cleaner streets. It goes to the shop tomorrow for new rinehart pipes, SERT and pasenger floorboards. The bike has 0 miles and a funny noise. Been reading the threads about problems and am getting nervous here. I had friends over to check out the new bike at two different times. each wanted to hear the bike of course so I started it. The second time it started and idled for a minute then I gave the throttle a light twist, then back to idle. Then a noise developed. I thought at first it sounded like an exhust leak but seemed to be comming from between the cylinders. I then thought maybe an air leak around the throttle body. also thought of the automatic compression releases leaking or sticking. The shop is going to check it out. Does the cylinder liner problem have any symptoms? Thanks and knees to the breeze.   

[Chief]

Just bought a 08 Road King. It's in the garage waiting for warmer weather and cleaner streets. It goes to the shop tomorrow for new rinehart pipes, SERT and pasenger floorboards. The bike has 0 miles and a funny noise. Been reading the threads about problems and am getting nervous here. I had friends over to check out the new bike at two different times. each wanted to hear the bike of course so I started it. The second time it started and idled for a minute then I gave the throttle a light twist, then back to idle. Then a noise developed. I thought at first it sounded like an exhust leak but seemed to be comming from between the cylinders. I then thought maybe an air leak around the throttle body. also thought of the automatic compression releases leaking or sticking. The shop is going to check it out. Does the cylinder liner problem have any symptoms? Thanks and knees to the breeze.   

A slipped liner won't be visible. We're talking about moving a few thousandths of an inch, not much. The ACRs vent into the exhaust port, so that noise would go out the pipes. You're doing the right thing and taking it to your dealer.

They'll probably say "They all do that." Sometimes they're actually right. 

Congrats on the new ride. 

[sadunbar]

Just bought a 08 Road King. It's in the garage waiting for warmer weather and cleaner streets. It goes to the shop tomorrow for new rinehart pipes, SERT and pasenger floorboards. The bike has 0 miles and a funny noise. Been reading the threads about problems and am getting nervous here. I had friends over to check out the new bike at two different times. each wanted to hear the bike of course so I started it. The second time it started and idled for a minute then I gave the throttle a light twist, then back to idle. Then a noise developed. I thought at first it sounded like an exhust leak but seemed to be comming from between the cylinders. I then thought maybe an air leak around the throttle body. also thought of the automatic compression releases leaking or sticking. The shop is going to check it out. Does the cylinder liner problem have any symptoms? Thanks and knees to the breeze.   

Well - one symptom of the cylinder liner issue is the trail of oil leaking from the head gasket...   but - there is no sound associated with the problem...

Good Luck and welcome to the site...

You should visit the new members thread and introduce yourself!

Scott

[DavidG]

1980 Miles on my 07 FXSTSSE (I know its not an 08 but..). When I changed the pipes I notices an oil mist around the head gasket. So I took it in and they confirmed the rear head gasket was leaking. They ordered the gasket and I brought it in today for replacement. They just called and said they replaced it, took it for a test ride, and it was still showing signs of leaking. The called HD tech line and the support rep asked them to remove both heads and check for cyclinder liner movement. They also told him they needed a new 4th generation head gasket (composite gasket with a "fire ring" ). So now the dealer is removing both heads and checking the liners. If they show signs of movement they have to replace the cylinders and I suppose, at least, the piston rings. I hope that's not the case and the new gasket is all that's required. Sucks anyway since it will be down another week while they wait for parts.

[popper]

Howdy:
Just got back from my dealer. They put Rinehart pipes on and put it on thier dyno. The bike has no miles so they kept the rpms below 3000. Ran it just enogh to get a reading and everything looked good for fuel mixture so far. I asked about the leaky cylinder problems and was told that they have sold several CVOs over the years and haven't had any problems with any of them yet. Hopefully I won't either. The pipes sound great and walking back outside to 0 degrees didn't help any. They told me to get some miles on it and they would run it on the dyno again and check everything out. Now it just waiting for warmer weather. Keep your knees to the breeze.

[Chief]

Howdy:
Just got back from my dealer. They put Rinehart pipes on and put it on thier dyno. The bike has no miles so they kept the rpms below 3000. Ran it just enogh to get a reading and everything looked good for fuel mixture so far. I asked about the leaky cylinder problems and was told that they have sold several CVOs over the years and haven't had any problems with any of them yet. Hopefully I won't either. The pipes sound great and walking back outside to 0 degrees didn't help any. They told me to get some miles on it and they would run it on the dyno again and check everything out. Now it just waiting for warmer weather. Keep your knees to the breeze.

The gasket problems are only relevant for the 110" motors which didn't exist before July 2006. It was about this time last year that problems started showing up.

It's great that over the years your dealer hasn't seen any problems, but it's not very relevant information. Hopefully you'll be one of the lucky ones. If you're not, be comforted by knowing that by the time you get enough miles, normally around 5,000, HD should have it nailed down. We've all been guinea pigs on earlier attempted fixes and we're all still waiting for a cure instead of just another experimental treatment. 

[46knuck]

From what I hear sooner or later you will need a rear cylinder. My friend already had his done. Could just keep changing the gasket every 5k   

[newseultra07]

2008 SEUC. 1800 miles & had rear head leak.

Upgrades so far are as follows.

V & H oval slipons
SE AC
SERT

May go to 2-1 D & D fat cats or TD from D & D

[popper]

50 dynomiles and no problems. Here is an update to my earlier post. I wrote about the noise from between the cylinders. The dealer knew what it was right away from previous experience. It seams that there is a clearance problem sometimes in the rocker cover. They removed both rocker covers and took out a small amount of metal from them. The noise went away. The bike has Rinehart pipes and a race tuner installed. They ran the bike on thier dyno just enough to check the mixtures and set up the tuner. They actually did my 50 mile break-in for me on the dyno. I want to do a A/C yet and am looking at K/N's kit for the baggers. They don't have one out for the Anni yey but are going to let me know when it is available. I want to get some good milage on it too before I do the A/C because the dealer is going to retune it on the dyno when I do the A/C for free. So here I sit waiting for some decent weather and new parts to be made. I'll see which comes first.

[Chief]

50 dynomiles and no problems. Here is an update to my earlier post. I wrote about the noise from between the cylinders. The dealer knew what it was right away from previous experience. It seams that there is a clearance problem sometimes in the rocker cover. They removed both rocker covers and took out a small amount of metal from them. The noise went away. The bike has Rinehart pipes and a race tuner installed. They ran the bike on thier dyno just enough to check the mixtures and set up the tuner. They actually did my 50 mile break-in for me on the dyno. I want to do a A/C yet and am looking at K/N's kit for the baggers. They don't have one out for the Anni yey but are going to let me know when it is available. I want to get some good milage on it too before I do the A/C because the dealer is going to retune it on the dyno when I do the A/C for free. So here I sit waiting for some decent weather and new parts to be made. I'll see which comes first.

Congrats on 50 troublefree, although boring, miles. Yes, the clearance problems have been around for a long time. It was blamed on an early production problem on the 110s that they got fixed. I guess not. 

Things like that make you wonder will they ever get it right?

[sadunbar]

50 dynomiles and no problems. Here is an update to my earlier post. I wrote about the noise from between the cylinders. The dealer knew what it was right away from previous experience. It seams that there is a clearance problem sometimes in the rocker cover. They removed both rocker covers and took out a small amount of metal from them. The noise went away. The bike has Rinehart pipes and a race tuner installed. They ran the bike on thier dyno just enough to check the mixtures and set up the tuner. They actually did my 50 mile break-in for me on the dyno. I want to do a A/C yet and am looking at K/N's kit for the baggers. They don't have one out for the Anni yey but are going to let me know when it is available. I want to get some good milage on it too before I do the A/C because the dealer is going to retune it on the dyno when I do the A/C for free. So here I sit waiting for some decent weather and new parts to be made. I'll see which comes first.

Fourteen months ago, I clearanced my rocker boxes for this same reason.  It is inconceivable on any level that 14 months later, bikes are still being manufactured and shipped with this same problem.  If a tree fell on the head of a MOCO executive, would he know it?   

[Black Diamond]

Fourteen months ago, I clearanced my rocker boxes for this same reason.  It is inconceivable on any level that 14 months later, bikes are still being manufactured and shipped with this same problem.  If a tree fell on the head of a MOCO executive, would he know it?   

       

This just in from Harley

There was no tree
The tree is suppose to fall, that's normal
We are coming out with a new tree and roots to fix the problem
There was no tree

JW

[ultrafxr]

Fourteen months ago, I clearanced my rocker boxes for this same reason.  It is inconceivable on any level that 14 months later, bikes are still being manufactured and shipped with this same problem.  If a tree fell on the head of a MOCO executive, would he know it?   

They've been too busy designing the rear fender on the new Rocker to worry about chit like that.  You've got to get your priorities straight.  It's all about the buzz for new exciting models.  Never mind that ours don't work as advertised.  They sure look good though, don't they.

[ccr]

       

This just in from Harley

There was no tree
The tree is suppose to fall, that's normal
We are coming out with a new tree and roots to fix the problem
There was no tree

JW

Hilarious.  Enough to make you cry, but funny as heck.

They've been too busy designing the rear fender on the new Rocker to worry about chit like that.  You've got to get your priorities straight.  It's all about the buzz for new exciting models.  Never mind that ours don't work as advertised.  They sure look good though, don't they.

Yes, they are very good looking.  No doubt about that. 

[Fitbear]

1,600 miles and so far so good. This includes a good mix of x-country and highway riding.

[megavolt17]

1,600 miles and so far so good. This includes a good mix of x-country and highway riding.

The friggen built in GPS just took me down a narrow road that then turned into a rutted fire road for 3.5 miles before intersecting with a real road again.  It insisted I was on the correct road, there just wasn't any road.  No cell phone coverage, no houses, no cars, and no place to turn around.  Longest 3.5 miles of my life.

I've driven highway, back road, and thanks to the GPS offroad - so far so good.  Of course if I now get a leak it will be because I did not use it as intended and voided my warranty - could that have been the plan?

[Hugh Janis]

Aren't all the roads in PA like that?  My buddy's street in PA wasn't on the map CD nor was rt 15 from Williamsport to Corning (I understand the route is only a year or two old and that I may have an outdated CD however)  Both were telling me I was OFF ROAD.

Oh yeah, welcome to CVOHarley Fitbear.  Congratulations on your 1st post!

[DCC]

2200 miles.  No leaks.  All stock.

DC

[Hoist!]

Welcome Fitz and Denny, to the Future Leakers of America Club!!!

Most now have full membership in the Past or Present Leakers of America Club!!! I hope you both stay our away from those 2 clubs!

Hoist!

[megavolt17]

2200 miles.  No leaks.  All stock.

DC

Was that an option?

[Coyote.]

Welcome Fitz and Denny, to the Future Leakers of America Club!!!

Most now have full membership in the Past or Present Leakers of America Club!!! I hope you both stay our away from those 2 clubs!

Hoist!

LMAO!, Yeah, welcome to your future club!