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[saddlebow]

Hi all:
I've been lurking around for a while... I'm the proud owner of an '06 SEFB,  [here in SoCal] along with a few other bikes [two Harleys, a Triumph Bonnie and a Ural [Russian bike with a sidecar] and an old beater standard 'Glide I keep at my family home in Virginia for therapy while visiting.  I'm happy to lurk [mostly] and just read and get smarter, but am now on the horns of a dilemma as a result of lurking, reading and obsessing.
I'm about to take delivery of an '07 SEUC; it was actually being built last week and is shipping out from York today [sorry I don't know what time the truck is leaving or the driver's name but I'm working on it [OCD?].] 
The guys at the dealer have acknowledged the leaking head gasket issue, and they think that the recent build engines 'fix' the issue.  But know I'm concerned about the other reliability issues that seem to be popping up.  I understand that it's likely that the forum will see a skewed count of problems, but the 110 engine issues seem to loom larger and larger. The recent stuff about the pinions, in particular, bothers me because it seems to be A QC issue.   
No doubt that the SEUC is what I want, but not if it's a giant pain in the A$#.  It's hard to tell what % of owners have/are reporting engine issues, and whether problems ALL appear on the same ones [earlier VINS??] or if the problems are scattered across the build run. 
It probably won't help me much, but the OCD kicked in and so I thought I'd get the benefit of the collective wisdom and memory so I have alot more data to obsess with...
I enjoy my lurking, by the way... nice to be part of a good group of people who may have nothing else in common but what we do have in common binds us in ways the civilians don't understand.  And I'm usually going too fast to try to explain! 

[Tros]

Well Hello from Indiana.

[VAZHOG]

Welcome and don't worry about it!  after all  if you were truley worried you wouldn't have bought it now would you?

 

[iski]

Hi Saddlebow and welcome from Florida!

I am the proud owner of an 07 SEULTRA and heard lots of stuff from lots of folks when it was on order - horror stories and the like about the 110 engine.  I waited until mid year & some of the issues were worked out by then.  Some not.  Some have experienced problems with it, as happens anytime the MoCo has introduced a new engine.  Then a few years later, people tend to forget the issues and consider it reliable compared to the NEXT new engine.  Human nature.

My 2 cents - would do this on ANY new Harley:

before or after break in (I prefer after so the dyno work can be done at the same time)

1.  Get some new pipes.  2 in 1 or true duals or something you like.  HD stock pipes do not sound like a Harley, IMHO.

2. Get some air - a new breather.  Bike comes with a stock contraption that is just damn bizarre.

3. Get the bike tuned/dynoed.  A race tuner or similar and go ahead and get it dialed in so it runs right - not 'guessed right.'

Others do lots more, some do nothing.  All ok by me.

It's your bike, set it up like you want it - leave it the way it is if you like.  On this site you can get some REALLY good advice, but it usually costs $$$$$.

[bisounours]

Good afternoon saddlebow !

I send you the  from FRANCE.

Best regards

   Jacques

[ccr]

A Great Big CVO Welcome to you. 

I would not spend one moment worrying about something you can not even know about at this time.  If, and only if something goes wrong, you need one of;

1.  to have a great HD shop to work with you through the HD warranty system. I'd look at the Paint Thread from last year's run and I don't think it would take you too long to see what HD shop you do not want to have to work with. 
2.  you need to know how and have teh way for all to fix problems that may rise yourself
3.  you need to know the independent mechanic that can fix your problems at a price you are willing to pay

Anything that can/may go wrong with your new CVO machine, you can tell there are a lot of folks here to help you overcome, it is a fantastic motorcycle and you will absolutely love it. 

I bet you won't have a moment of trouble.  When you are vacationing in your VA home, is that close to us?

[saddlebow]

Actually, "vacation home" is not the exact concept; my 91 year old father still lives in the house where I grew up in NoVa.  I spent a lot of time in Staunton, Charlottesville, Roanoke,Richmond,  Lynchburg, Afton Mountain &  a few other places before migrating to the left coast.  I've left pieces of my bikes all over the state....
When there I often ride down through Falmouth & Fredricksburg to visit old friends and just get out in the air.  Did about 250 miles 10 days ago down along the Rappahannock and back across through Warrenton, just smelling the spring.  Good for the soul..........
Was actually tempted by the thread on the function in Orange, and was looking at the calendar to see when I can get back there again.
Since I've already got the CVO bug [I've had the '06 since early last year] and I'm a long time  HD guy, I know about the standard ways to make what the factory sells into what we all know and love..
my issue here is a different one; are the 110's a new page with MOCO that has them scrambling to find a compromise between reliability [which all of my bikes up to the current 88s & 103 have had] and performance,  that is just not working? I saw how the 96's all had heat issues, for which fixes came along quickly.  The 110s,however, seem to have more serious mech issues which are causing serious problems.
So what I was trying to find out is what the head count is on mech issues.  I've been down this road before: when Porsche [those vrod engine builders in Germany] first built the Boxster in 1997 they saw engine failures as a result of alloy cylinders coming loose inside the engine block: straight trip to engine replacement.  Factory had to know the issue was there and replaced a lot of engines, but never acknowledged the issue.  The Boxster Boards at the time were a cauldron of hot heads, all swearing that this was the end of Porsche and every one of the engines was going to fail.  9 years and almost 100k later, mine is still going strong.  And the actual number of failures, while significant if yours failed, was not statistically significant to the total number of engines built.  You would never have known that, if all you did was read the Boxster forum.
So the question for me is whether the failure rate is high enough to worry about.  Anything mech can and will fail over time [including me: I've got a titanium hip but can still kick it..] but I expect this bike to have a VERY high build quality and finish.  It cost more than my first house and divorce combined.......
bc

[ccr]

I now understand more clearly what you want to know.  I think you have to go the SE Ultra Classic Thread and post a poll clearly defining what you want to know from the members of this site who have the same bike as you.  Ask that the rest of us weiners stay out of your sand box, and that the poll thread is intended for the poll responses only.  That is kinda what was created in the 2006 Paint Problem thread.  In the SEEG thread there was an actually poll asking would you do it again kinda thing.  It was real bad at first and over time it leveled out.  Interesting to watch overtime.  Make sure you leave a spot for the no problems at this time, and one for us that just want to look, but not vote.  Then you can start to see the trend, of course, just from the members of this CVO Harley board.  I cannot possibly think how else someone would get this kind of information.  I don't HD is going to tell you.  Someone with the legal mind might know about asking under the Freedom of Information act, but I don't know. 

[Fired00d]

Actually, "vacation home" is not the exact concept; my 91 year old father still lives in the house where I grew up in NoVa.  I spent a lot of time in Staunton, Charlottesville, Roanoke,Richmond,  Lynchburg, Afton Mountain &  a few other places before migrating to the left coast.......  Anything mech can and will fail over time [including me: I've got a titanium hip but can still kick it..] but I expect this bike to have a VERY high build quality and finish.  It cost more than my first house and divorce combined.......
bc

BC,
Welcome to the site glad to have you join us. Looks like we got a lot in common born/raised/still residing in Charlottesville, and just got me a new hip in January. Let me know when you get back this way we can do some riding.

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[saddlebow]

Will do; firtst time I ever laid a bike down was on a 65 Triumph at the top of Pantops Mountain in 1969....

[Screamin]

How do Saddlebow. Welcome and you'll get plenty of opinion and good info too. Made me kinda nervous opening this thread w/ "issues". 'Fraid it might have been another telephone wiring question. Whew eee.

[HogBreath]

Saddlebow, here's my $.02. I may make some people mad here, but, it won't be the first time. The people that say they've had engine problems will probably disagree with me 100%. I've talked to 2-3 different dealers that have sold several SE bikes with the 110 engine. I personally know of 2-3 dozen myself. Not a one of the people I personally know have had any problem. All of the dealers tell me they've had no problems. I have not had any problems.

I am confidant the engines are running too hot. I also believe EPA has their hands tied. Have the engine properly tuned, to not run so lean.

I don't worry about warranty. If my HD were to blow an engine, you can bet yer a$$ they're going to fix it, unless it's from something I've done. If they feed me a line telling me it's my fault, I won't stop until it's fixed.

[deepsoutheagle]

lurking newbie. welcome yo the grid. i have been around only one seuc 110 and that is hogbreaths. no trouble there at all and rides and handles good especially after he got the training wheels off

[JesterDecor]

lurking newbie. welcome yo the grid. i have been around only one seuc 110 and that is hogbreaths. no trouble there at all and rides and handles good especially after he got the training wheels off

*smirks* ... yeah...didn't ya tell me you were on the waiting list for a 111??

[mr_magoo]

Welcome to the site it's a great group here.