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[Wrongway]

Below is an interesting piece I found on one of the forums at there site:
http://www.mcnews.com

First of, PLEASE understand I'm not trying to trash your ride. In fact, I have a Sportster 1200C in my garage right now. I enjoy riding Harleys, and have nothing against anyone who wants to own and ride one. There are a lot of things Harley does right, and the riding experience is totally different from anything else on the planet.
But some cold, hard facts here: Harley-Davidson's market-share rate of forced recalls for safety defects is the highest in the industry. That's comparing number of units sold, to number of units recalled. In fact, Harley's recall percentage is higher than that of Honda, BMW, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Triumph and Ducati, all combined. Or, another way of looking at it, a Harley is 11 times more likely to be recalled for a defect in manufacturing than a BMW, or 6 times more than a Honda, etc.
My * isn't with guys who like Harleys, because I like them, too. My * is with a company that posts record $200 MILLION-plus profits, yet spends less on quality control than any other manufacturer. They have the faith and trust of hundreds of thousands of customers, yet they abuse that trust, in my opinion.
And this is just that and no more - my opinion.
Fred

Motorcycle Consumer News Forum Administrator

[JCZ]

Wrongway......I don't see where your comments are reflected to anything in the link you posted [smiley=nixweiss.gif]  Can you post a link to the actual article?

[Twolanerider]

Wrongway......I don't see where your comments are reflected to anything in the link you posted [smiley=nixweiss.gif]

[Wrongway]

This is where I was coming from:
"My * isn't with guys who like Harleys, because I like them, too. My * is with a company that posts record $200 MILLION-plus profits, yet spends less on quality control than any other manufacturer. They have the faith and trust of hundreds of thousands of customers, yet they abuse that trust, in my opinion.
And this is just that and no more - my opinion.
Fred "
          Quality Control, can you say PAINT?  Wrongway

[Screamin]

Below is an interesting piece I found on one of the forums at there site:
http://www.mcnews.com

First of, PLEASE understand I'm not trying to trash your ride. In fact, I have a Sportster 1200C in my garage right now. I enjoy riding Harleys, and have nothing against anyone who wants to own and ride one. There are a lot of things Harley does right, and the riding experience is totally different from anything else on the planet.
But some cold, hard facts here: Harley-Davidson's market-share rate of forced recalls for safety defects is the highest in the industry. That's comparing number of units sold, to number of units recalled. In fact, Harley's recall percentage is higher than that of Honda, BMW, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Triumph and Ducati, all combined. Or, another way of looking at it, a Harley is 11 times more likely to be recalled for a defect in manufacturing than a BMW, or 6 times more than a Honda, etc.
My * isn't with guys who like Harleys, because I like them, too. My * is with a company that posts record $200 MILLION-plus profits, yet spends less on quality control than any other manufacturer. They have the faith and trust of hundreds of thousands of customers, yet they abuse that trust, in my opinion.
And this is just that and no more - my opinion.
Fred

Motorcycle Consumer News Forum Administrator

Agreed. We love our rides but H.D. surely doesn't show us the respect any customer oriented business in a competative situation does.

[JCZ]

I'll be surprised if they get by the 06 paint issue without a class action civil suit. [smiley=nixweiss.gif]  They knowingly delivered to the consumer a motorcycle with defective paint and in many cases have made the consumer argue the point to no avail.

[syclone]

They are a very nearsided company. They look as far as the end of their corporate nose. But ..they are only as guilty as GM and FORD were when they figured they were the only game in town..we know how that's workin now ..dont we !
Can you imagine the business they would have...if they were 180 degrees from how they are percieved now ...concerning customer assistance with paint,chrome and mechanical issues outside the warranty period.  Remember...perception is the truth when it comes to customer satisfaction.

As long as I spend Gm's money wisely........no unusualy , consistant, excessivly high dollers "per v.i.n. serviced "...compared to my peer group...I can warranty ANYTHING I feel is justified for up to 2 years and 24,000 miles outside the warranty period...even if it's to make a good customer happy.....as in no previous problem during the warranty period......just felt it was in everyones ( general motors) best interest.

Imagine buying a Harley Davidson BECAUSE you knew that problems would be taken care of
without hassles....and done so with a smile and a handshake...even if out of the two year warranty period ...30 month old bike..8,600 miles and the radio display goes out...Shouldnt happen in 5 years...hell..10 years. Dealer says "no problem.. as a Goodwill jesture ...We're going to replace your radio...we understand there can be lots of gray areas as far as the warranty is concerned..and we feel as a customer of XYZ dealership and Harley Davidson..you deserve the benefit of  doubt. "

I do it every week..sometimes every day...If H-D Corporate  could only see the whole picture...that the sale starts after the "sale"....well they would no longer have to wear neck ties every day...if your head's not up your a** ...you dont need a handle to remove it.

(no offence to anyone on the neck tie comment...Was given by a Field Engineer for Gm at a meeting once...he has forgotten more than anyone in the room will ever know and was challanged by a corporate "suit" about not wearing a tie...Said he never had the need to pull his head out of his a** !  It stuck with me because of the context in which it was given)

[UK Dave]

well they would no longer have to wear neck ties every day...[highlight]if your head's not up your a** ...you dont need a handle to remove it[/highlight].

I love that phrase - May I quote you?

I think I'm gonna anyway [smiley=xyxthumbs.gif]

Cheers

Dave

[displacing air]

I'll be surprised if they get by the 06 paint issue without a class action civil suit. [smiley=nixweiss.gif]

[RedFXR2]

Harley may find out that it will be cheaper to litagate than to try fixing all the paint jobs...bean counters have a big say in stockholder company!

Very true.  It's not a matter of admitting responsibility, it's a business decision.  It's probably more cost justified to put the stuff out there and see how many complain (inevitably this niiber will be less than the first).  Next, how loud and long do they complain, and to who?  Again as time goes on, this number will decrease as well.  In the end, they will/might fix some number of paint jobs but that will cost much less than re-painting the entire run.

  

[RedFXR2]

I'll be surprised if they get by the 06 paint issue without a class action civil suit. [smiley=nixweiss.gif]

[BobD]

I'll be surprised if they get by the 06 paint issue without a class action civil suit. [smiley=nixweiss.gif]

[displacing air]

Well said Ez!!!

[ggraves427]

Paint Problems?
We don't have any paint problems.
We ain't got no stinking paint problems!

                               Willie G

[SEULTRA]

First off let me say that the folks who have paint issues on their SEUC's have my full attention, my full support and also my sympathy for their situation. That said, we only know of 33 '06 SEUC's with paint issues. That's the total who have acknowledged being disappointed in their bikes paint on this sites paint poll. Beyond that, who knows? Many of you would have never known you have irregular paint had it not been for this site. Some had to employ a high powered light just to be able to detect those irregularities. So how big is the problem? I visit dealerships several times a week throughout the Midwest and I have yet to find a dealership that knows about or has had a customer complain about irregular paint on a '06 SEUC. So are we just taking about 50 or fewer bikes? If that's true, the MoCo could burp out 50 sets of furniture (bags, tanks, fairings and fenders) in an afternoon and put this thing to bed. So why haven't they?