Harley-Davidson were less than impressive; tthey could not fathom that their precious brand might have delivered a faulty product.
But the dealer was magnificent. They ordered the parts immediately they found the faults, which they themselves were embarrassed about. They could see how abjectly disappointed I was and they even threw in some accessories. They have been just awesome to deal with.
I take delivery next Monday, but the new batwing is still six weeks away. So I still have a few rides yet where I can remind everybody who looks at the thing just how lowball Harley's quality control is.
My take on it is this. Harley-Davidson knows this paint quality is hopeless on a percentage of bikes. But rather than hold them up (and thus hold their cash flow up), they send the bikes out and simultaneously order a chitload of painted replacement parts from the painter, knowing that the orders for those will soon start flowing in from disgruntled customers like us.
It's the challenge of buying a premium product in fiscally prudent times I guess...