One could speculate on why this change was made. Clearly, many in the past of changes have been made because of (union wages).....being above and beyond what would otherwise be the case. To counter that, Harley (as well as many other manufactorers).......seek ways to reduce the "build time" per unit.
A classic reason that the crank bearings of yesteryear were eliminated..........too much "set up" time which relates to $$$$ expense per unit.
In this case, I cannot believe drilling/tapping a hole and inserting a "zerk" was (time/expense wise) enought to bother with.
So, what else could possibly be the reason...........I'm not buying that it was to (give the dealerships another good labor charge) cause not that many will or would ever ask to have that done.
So.............Maybe the Company lawyers entered into this (change). The (old front end wobble) problem that has been an on-going Tour model problem for years.........They could use the (lack of) recommended maintenance of the head bearings and "fall off", etc. to have been a major cause in why you and your Harley went down.