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Author Topic: Open letter to Harley Davidson  (Read 16025 times)

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fastfreddy

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Re: Open letter to Harley Davidson
« Reply #30 on: February 05, 2019, 10:51:10 AM »

 news flash HD has never made a stereo sys that will perform like the after market... so up grading with HD parts only means what  :nixweiss:      sorry about your issues glenn, but there is plenty of info on the forum to know better 
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Glenncarp

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Re: Open letter to Harley Davidson
« Reply #31 on: February 05, 2019, 11:03:09 AM »

Freddy, read them all, did aftermarket with '11, Pete had to send me three different Focal speakers and installed 2 Sony head units, neither I could see due to angle of RG. This time decided to go with HD and keep head unit thinking that they installed upgrade, they installed their product and set it up. Assuming, stupidly, they would stand behind their work and set up. This was my entire point. Love the bike, was not complaining about the bike in general, complaining about HD workmanship and lack of responsibility to its high end users. I went so far above spending $40K on bike by also buying extended service plan and $2K in audio upgrade, HD needs to be responsible for the junk it sells if 3 of 4 speakers blow after less than 1.5 years and not give
customers the typical "not covered" spin
« Last Edit: February 05, 2019, 11:06:23 AM by Glenncarp »
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ultra13

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Re: Open letter to Harley Davidson
« Reply #32 on: February 05, 2019, 12:29:27 PM »

I agree with the comments of that it seems you hear more complaints on here than kudos. After my first 2 Harleys I bought my first CVO Ultra. I love it..The color/power/looks and easy to do my own Maintenance.
Some mentioned about the BMWs. I have 2 friends that have sold theirs in frustration due to "nobody close by works on these things" and just plan ole dependability issues. You can find H/D dealerships everywhere! I (thank God) have never had any major issues with mine. I do have to ask the people with all these speakers that blow...Are you turning the stereo up to 11 with Black Sabbath? lol  I only say that because the stock system on my CVO is enough for me even though I seldom listen to it. I would rather hear the wind and my pipes. But that is me.
There will be good and bad aspects for every bike out there. I honestly believe there are way more satisfied Harley owners out there than disgruntled. I do feel for the few that have had a bad experience.
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Glenncarp

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Re: Open letter to Harley Davidson
« Reply #33 on: February 05, 2019, 12:49:31 PM »

Funny you should mention "hearing wind and pipes" I am seriously considering looking at the Road King Special. I know, I know, going against my prior comment on buying another Harley. Here is why though:

114 CI on a 650 lb bike= rocket ship!

No added electronics to piss me off when they fail/break

No relying on GPS, old school, study the map and ride, if you get "lost", who cares, you are on a rocket ship!

3.5 years left on CVO,owe less than $22K on it, SHOULD not be upside down according to my limited research. Can probably but RK special for less years and less $ per month

Back to basics, no music, no CB, no GPS to interrupt the wind in the ears.

Anyone done this? Any comments? This is a great active form, I am sure there will be many of both

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cvosjoe

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Re: Open letter to Harley Davidson
« Reply #34 on: February 05, 2019, 04:04:35 PM »



Funny you should mention "hearing wind and pipes" I am seriously considering looking at the Road King Special. I know, I know, going against my prior comment on buying another Harley. Here is why though:

114 CI on a 650 lb bike= rocket ship!

No added electronics to piss me off when they fail/break

No relying on GPS, old school, study the map and ride, if you get "lost", who cares, you are on a rocket ship!

3.5 years left on CVO,owe less than $22K on it, SHOULD not be upside down according to my limited research. Can probably but RK special for less years and less $ per month

Back to basics, no music, no CB, no GPS to interrupt the wind in the ears.

Anyone done this? Any comments? This is a great active form, I am sure there will be many of both

I thought the same as you. Lighter bike, 114 CI, a little work and a good tune it would be a monster. After checking wet weights compared to a Street Glide Special I was surprised that the wet weight of a 2018/2019 Road King Special is 820 lbs. The Street Glide is 836 lbs.
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Glenncarp

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Re: Open letter to Harley Davidson
« Reply #35 on: February 05, 2019, 04:07:46 PM »

Wow, that is surprising, however it does have stretched saddle bags. Guess the fairing does not weigh that much!
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skratch

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Re: Open letter to Harley Davidson
« Reply #36 on: February 05, 2019, 04:33:20 PM »

I went so far above spending $40K on bike by also buying extended service plan and $2K in audio upgrade, HD needs to be responsible for the junk it sells if 3 of 4 speakers blow after less than 1.5 years and not give
customers the typical "not covered" spin

when i read your original post, and then again this, it makes me wonder what the time frame you are talking about is?  (suggestion for your letter, be specific about dates, times, etc.).  your op says you bought the audio after 2 months so it wouldn't be covered under original bike warranty.  the standard warranty for p&a stuff is 1 year, so that basically leaves a 4 month window that you could've bought the equipment and still have some kind of warranty if they would have incorporated it into your new bike warranty.  after that time frame, it would have to fall under esp, which it is well known that esp does not cover speakers.  head units, yes.  amplifiers, yes.  speakers, no.

while it does suck that they didn't last, i typically figure that speakers are like brake rotors.  eventually, they're going to have to be replaced.  we ask an awful lot of them, in the worst conditions available.
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scottt

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Re: Open letter to Harley Davidson
« Reply #37 on: February 06, 2019, 08:32:49 AM »

Actually BMW has the HIGHEST frequency of repair of any motorcycle brand, Yamaha having the least. Yes it is a great motorcycle, but their bikes like their cars have horrid  repair frequency rates,
Actually; they are rated really close to Harley in this area. I can tell you from personal experience that BMW owners expect perfection. They don't live with any issue.

I've owned 12 new Harleys and i bmw K1600B or bagger. My experience is that the BMW is very high quality. Do they have failures? Yes. My bike had a seal issue. It was repaired but took longer to fix due to shipping parts from Germany. They replaced the whole transmission rather than replacing the bad seal. BMW also paid me $300 for my inconvenience, as i customer relationship gesture.

They sure aren't perfect but you can see the quality and engineering when you look close. Incredible motorcycle to ride.

Back to Harley. Still love them, just a different bike. My next Harley will be used.

Yamaha does build a great bike. It simply doesn't stir my soul. Not knocking, just not for me.

Harley will survive and continue market dominance. They build beautiful motorcycles.

Sent from my SM-J327T using Tapatalk

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Glenncarp

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Re: Open letter to Harley Davidson
« Reply #38 on: February 06, 2019, 09:30:11 AM »

Actually; they are rated really close to Harley in this area. I can tell you from personal experience that BMW owners expect perfection. They don't live with any issue.

I've owned 12 new Harleys and i bmw K1600B or bagger. My experience is that the BMW is very high quality. Do they have failures? Yes. My bike had a seal issue. It was repaired but took longer to fix due to shipping parts from Germany. They replaced the whole transmission rather than replacing the bad seal. BMW also paid me $300 for my inconvenience, as i customer relationship gesture.

They sure aren't perfect but you can see the quality and engineering when you look close. Incredible motorcycle to ride.

Back to Harley. Still love them, just a different bike. My next Harley will be used.

Yamaha does build a great bike. It simply doesn't stir my soul. Not knocking, just not for me.

Harley will survive and continue market dominance. They build beautiful motorcycles.

Sent from my SM-J327T using Tapatalk

All good points, the highlight to me was the stark difference in the customer service between what you experienced with BMW and I with HD. That was the basis of my original post. Bet you didn't pay $40k for the BMW, yet they paid you for inconvenience! That is so unheard of when dealing with Harley-Davidson yet their bikes are the most expensive out there
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hogsty

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Re: Open letter to Harley Davidson
« Reply #39 on: February 14, 2019, 04:03:42 PM »

Nope, saying sales are down because of things I brought up in my original post. Saying I am getting off of the HD merry go round for next bike as it appears a lot of the public is:

https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/05/03/harley-davidson-sales-go-from-bad-to-worse.aspx
Article is almost a year old.



Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

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Glenncarp

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Re: Open letter to Harley Davidson
« Reply #40 on: February 14, 2019, 04:06:52 PM »

And sales are still the same
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scottt

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Re: Open letter to Harley Davidson
« Reply #41 on: February 14, 2019, 09:55:21 PM »

All good points, the highlight to me was the stark difference in the customer service between what you experienced with BMW and I with HD. That was the basis of my original post. Bet you didn't pay $40k for the BMW, yet they paid you for inconvenience! That is so unheard of when dealing with Harley-Davidson yet their bikes are the most expensive out there
Your right. My K1600B bagger was 24k. Not knocking Harley but my BMW has more features, power, handling than any new Harley at any price.

Harley does offer more chrome and fancier paint. Both great bikes just very different.

Your also right about how bmw treated me. In 28 years of Harley ownership they never offered me anything for my inconvenience when warranty issues occured. Considering this is my first BMW the service manager and service rep always call me by my name. When the parts dept sees me roll in they get my order ready in advance. Really freindly and knowledgeable folks.

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k9f

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Re: Open letter to Harley Davidson
« Reply #42 on: February 15, 2019, 01:09:43 PM »

The Harley Dealership experience is very similar over here. They will literally fall over themselves if you are in the market to buy a machine off them, however their temperament changes somewhat to nonchalance once they have your money. I don't think it matters where you are but many (myself included) bought into Harley Davidson for the heritage, camaraderie and following not for the silky smooth gear change latest electronic technology etc.

I have a second bike not a Harley-Davidson that I am currently selling and moving on to another brand, the dealership experience for the second bike has been a very positive one as they seem to respect, listen and honour existing customers. Harley-Davidson I think rely too much on people such as myself that love the iconic brand but not necessarily for the standard of service. 
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scottt

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Re: Open letter to Harley Davidson
« Reply #43 on: February 16, 2019, 04:57:30 PM »

The Harley Dealership experience is very similar over here. They will literally fall over themselves if you are in the market to buy a machine off them, however their temperament changes somewhat to nonchalance once they have your money. I don't think it matters where you are but many (myself included) bought into Harley Davidson for the heritage, camaraderie and following not for the silky smooth gear change latest electronic technology etc.

I have a second bike not a Harley-Davidson that I am currently selling and moving on to another brand, the dealership experience for the second bike has been a very positive one as they seem to respect, listen and honour existing customers. Harley-Davidson I think rely too much on people such as myself that love the iconic brand but not necessarily for the standard of service.
I think many still behave as if it's still 2005. The year i was told i had to buy $2000 in accessories at msrp for the privilege of buying a new Harley. I walked out.

Many in the service side of the business have not been effected like the sales side,  thus they still have the attitude.

Also, I've heard Harley is getting tougher about warranty claims. Same for the extended service contracts.

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FLSTFI Dave

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Re: Open letter to Harley Davidson
« Reply #44 on: February 16, 2019, 08:37:53 PM »

I think many still behave as if it's still 2005. The year i was told i had to buy $2000 in accessories at msrp for the privilege of buying a new Harley. I walked out.

Many in the service side of the business have not been effected like the sales side,  thus they still have the attitude.

Also, I've heard Harley is getting tougher about warranty claims. Same for the extended service contracts.

Sent from my SM-J327T using Tapatalk

I have never had any attitude form the HD service Department I use since 2007.  They are very helpful and treat me great.  I have never had push back about warranty issues, in fact, they have pushed for HD to make it right for me. 

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