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[FlaHeatWave]

I never subscribed to "The Sky is Falling" threads on the forums until they signed me up when I wasn't lookin'

'Spoke with Service at my Dealer yesterday about the '09 SERG <10k miles and was told about a problem with the front rod bearing.

'Went to Dealer this AM and checked It out, and sure enough, the front rod had 2x the lateral play as the rear one, way out of spec.

The bike was running fine, no unusual noises to me, when I brought it in for Cartridge Forks and to update to the '10 and later fairing brackets to accommodate the vented lowers and the SE Stage III Pro Kit.

My Tech there (who is the only one that touches any of my bikes) was surprised that he didn't hear much of a noise either, said that it would start making more noise then fail very soon. He has shown me 4-5 rod sets in the last 2-3 months that were bad, not much rhyme or reason as to engine size, stock/modified, year etc... Just lucky, I guess?

A good friend of mine had to replace the crank last month in his '12 Skunk, it was making a racket at 16k mi. He is going back Darkhorse, Carrillo, Lefty, Timken etc.

We'll get the kinks out when I get a new crank...

[Retired rider]

Front rod bearing failure on my 08 ultra 110. Thank god for ESP option? Getting new lower end cams etc and a rental bike. Woo Hooo.

[HDGearHead]

Instead of buying a new crank, contact Darkhorse and ask them about repairing your existing crank.  They can probably install H-beam rods, true, plug, weld and balance your existing crank for close to the same price as an new moco replacement.

[murphy]

X2, why risk putting another new "quality" HD crank in when you could have to repair it again down the road!

[FlaHeatWave]

'Spoke with the General Manager, Service Manager, and The Tech that works on all my CVOs at length, at separate times, and they all talked me out of going aftermarket or modding (Darkhorse etc...) the bottom end with "preventive measures" for a variety of reasons. They know I'm willing to spend the $$$ if it makes sense, not just for braggin'.

The biggest reasons are that the '09 has 4.5 years of ESP left  and I travel a good bit.

Also I have faith that The Tech will set all of the tolerances properly (better than the factory) as I have never had a problem after he has worked on any of my CVOs over the years.

I am fortunate to have a good relationship with Heritage HD in Ft. Walton

'Am disappointed with The MoCo though~a bad crank at <10k mi.

'Just lucky I guess...

[HILLSIDECYCLE.COM]

Your dealership should get up to speed with the services that Darkhorse Crankworks(their name says what they do)offers.
Once they attend to the needs of that crank, you WILL NOT, have an issue with that, and your dealer can sleep well, knowing they took care of their customer with the world-class crank repair, that the Moco only can have wet dreams about.
Scott

[Lever]

x2 Dark Horse cranks

[murphy]

If your warranty is done, or you don't have an extended one, there is no way I'd put a stock crank back in if the motor was torn down that far, it's not the dealer who will be out the $$$ two years down the road when it happens all over again.

[HILLSIDECYCLE.COM]

Odd that one would think that a dealership would not warranty that level of crankshaft work, when it is a faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar superior product than the Moco could possibly conjure up, in their mass-produced robotic slap-it-togatherness.
Scott

[Fired00d]

JMHO... but there is no way I would/could go that deep into the motor for repairs and not get the crank trued/welded in the process. I don't care what anybody suggested/told me my (limited) education on the subject suggest do it right the first time especially if the bike is tore down that far. The fact that it is in its present condition is reason enough for me not to replace it w/the same (new) parts that caused the problem.

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[murphy]

JMHO... but there is no way I would/could go that deep into the motor for repairs and not get the crank trued/welded in the process. I don't care what anybody suggested/told me my (limited) education on the subject suggest do it right the first time especially if the bike is tore down that far. The fact that it is in its present condition is reason enough for me not to replace it w/the same (new) parts that caused the problem.

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

JMHO... but when I saw your name come up in this thread I thought you were going to pull an admin on it and move it somewhere that I couldn't find it anymore!

Really glad it was just a post!

 

[FlaHeatWave]

I agree with you all that Darkhorse or Revolution is the way to go. And my dealer will allow me to do anything I want with the situation, (as long as I pay the difference for the upgrades~which I think is more than fair) SE crank / SE crank w/ mods, stock crank, stock crank w/ mods, S&S crank, Darkhorse crank etc... and they would warranty that work out of their dealership, out of their pocket, if they do the install.

Here is where the big "but" comes into play... I travel a good bit, If I am on the road and have a problem and have to go to a "foreign dealer" and the ESP rep or a "foreign dealer" sees a welded / aftermarket crank, than I am SOL and have to eat it. Whereas ESP will replace stock cranks 'till the cows come home... . Going after market is just not in MY "risk / reward" scenario on this bike. If the crank fails again, as soon as the original did, (<10k) then I might rethink my strategy.

A good friend of mine that has been averaging 30k+ miles/year since '06 had the rod bearings go out in his Skunk at 16k, he is going the Darkhorse, Carrillo, Lefty, Timken, Fueling, 113 etc... route and I'm sure that it will be bada$$ as his two previous bikes were. It's just not in MY scenario.

As noted previously, there is 4.5 years of ESP remaining on the '09 SERG.

[BryantH]

This is an interesting subject -

FlaHeatWave, sorry to hear about your crank and the other issue's you're having with you 09 SERG. I have one as well with about 23,000 on it at the moment. By the end of the year, I'll be well over 30,000. To note, I also purchased the extended 7 year ESP (2 factory and 5 ESP), when I purchased in 2009 and mines is up December 2015. I have been trying to do the math on how you will have ESP coverage for another 4.5 years on a 2009 bike, with us being in 2013? That brings you close to 2018?

In any case, you nailed it on the head in doing what you feel is best for the riding you plan to do. Wishing you many miles of joy with your SERG.

BryantH

[FlaHeatWave]

This is an interesting subject -

FlaHeatWave, sorry to hear about your crank and the other issue's you're having with you 09 SERG. I have one as well with about 23,000 on it at the moment. By the end of the year, I'll be well over 30,000. To note, I also purchased the extended 7 year ESP (2 factory and 5 ESP), when I purchased in 2009 and mines is up December 2015. I have been trying to do the math on how you will have ESP coverage for another 4.5 years on a 2009 bike, with us being in 2013? That brings you close to 2018?

BryantH,
I purchased the '09 SERG 6/12 with 2,420 miles on it from a guy in PA.
Even though the factory warranty was expired, Harley has an ESP program that allowed me to purchase extended warranty up to 5yrs, almost the same as if the factory warranty was still in effect. There was an inspection of the bike involved, some mileage criteria (I think <75k mi.) and a 300 mile "waiting" period after you buy the ESP for the ESP to take effect. This bike fit right in, I'm glad I got it 

 BryantH, have you had any drama with your '09 SERG ??

In any case, you nailed it on the head in doing what you feel is best for the riding you plan to do. Wishing you many miles of joy with your SERG.
Thanks,
FHW

BryantH

[grc]

It would appear you have already made up your mind about how you plan to proceed, so I suppose I shouldn't waste your time with another post.  But I couldn't ignore a comment you made earlier about your tech setting tolerances better than the factory.  "I have faith that The Tech will set all of the tolerances properly (better than the factory)"

Unless your guy is equipped to break down the flywheel assembly (crankshaft), replace the rods, bearings, and crankpin, and press it all back together, he won't be setting the tolerances of the flywheel assembly, Harley will.  I'm assuming your dealer is like most these days, they just replace the entire assembly and don't rebuild them like they did in the EVO era.

A flywheel assembly from Harley will be very likely to have the same poor tolerances as most seem to have these days, as well as the cheapened parts, so there is no guarantee it will be any better than your original.  I don't know about you, but if I were out traveling somewhere and it failed again, the fact that the ESP might cover it again wouldn't offset the inconvenience and general feeling of being highly pizzed off.  While stuff can still happen even with the Darkhorse rebuilt assemblies, the odds are much better for a failure free future with their stuff versus Harley's crap.  And I'm pretty sure they offer a warrantee as well.

JMHO - Jerry