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[RRSteve]

My bike came in with no apparent paint issues. The paint was outstanding, and I thought I had dodged the paint problem issues. I picked it up 10/26/04 and had about 2000 mi. on it and had never actually washed the bike. I would wash the wheels and tires and just dust the painted surfaces and clean with a spray cleaner/wax similar to S100. A couple of weeks ago I got out one morning early and the roads were wet so when I returned I washed the whole bike, blew it dry, and put it away. Then a couple of days later I decided to finish it by putting a fresh coat of wax on. When I started to work on it I noticed some finger prints on the left side of the tank. I tried to wipe them off and they didn't budge. I then tried the HD scratch remover on them to no avail. I probably came close to going through the clear coat before deciding they had to be in the color coat. Then I went over the rest of the bike and found several more on the tank, including a complete hand print on the right front of the tank and more finger prints on the front fender. I don't know if the washing had anything to do with them showing up, the really cold temps that we had recently, or just the passing of time but all were down deep in the paint and had not been visible when I had cleaned and waxed the bike before. Out in the sun they were still hard to see, but when exposed to the very bright flourescent lighting in my garage they were obvious. I took it to my dealer and he could see them but they would not show up in photos. He said it shouldn't be a problem to get them replaced, but after calling HD they said they wanted a Rep to look at the bike. I dropped it off at the dealer Monday and the service manager called today and said the Rep looked at it and told him to order a new tank and fenders for me.

[Dirt Bagger]

It seems the paint problems are for the most part 2005 models.  I have not found any paint problems with my 04 O&B.  Has anyone else?

Doug

[hd-dude]

My bike came in with no apparent paint issues. The paint was outstanding, and I thought I had dodged the paint problem issues. I picked it up 10/26/04 and had about 2000 mi. on it and had never actually washed the bike. I would wash the wheels and tires and just dust the painted surfaces and clean with a spray cleaner/wax similar to S100. A couple of weeks ago I got out one morning early and the roads were wet so when I returned I washed the whole bike, blew it dry, and put it away. Then a couple of days later I decided to finish it by putting a fresh coat of wax on. When I started to work on it I noticed some finger prints on the left side of the tank. I tried to wipe them off and they didn't budge. I then tried the HD scratch remover on them to no avail. I probably came close to going through the clear coat before deciding they had to be in the color coat. Then I went over the rest of the bike and found several more on the tank, including a complete hand print on the right front of the tank and more finger prints on the front fender. I don't know if the washing had anything to do with them showing up, the really cold temps that we had recently, or just the passing of time but all were down deep in the paint and had not been visible when I had cleaned and waxed the bike before. Out in the sun they were still hard to see, but when exposed to the very bright flourescent lighting in my garage they were obvious. I took it to my dealer and he could see them but they would not show up in photos. He said it shouldn't be a problem to get them replaced, but after calling HD they said they wanted a Rep to look at the bike. I dropped it off at the dealer Monday and the service manager called today and said the Rep looked at it and told him to order a new tank and fenders for me.

[Screamin]

$hit. Just had a batch of prints show up on my fairing. Swear they weren't there before. Tried every wax and chemical in the garage to no avail. Looks like another trip to the dealer. WTF?

[Screamin]

Oh yeah, it's an '05  [smiley=cherry.gif] w/ 11,000 miles on it.

[grc]

Screamin,

I've got a similar situation with my

[Boatman]

My inner fairing has a few fingerprints on the LH side above and to the left of the speaker.  They are under the clearcoat.  The strange thing is that they were never noticed until last week in sunlight.  Will look at the other painted surfaces better.  Mine was built Jan 05..

[EAGLE1]

you guys are lucky that these finger and hand prints are showing up in the time frame they are, a few years back,  I had the hood if my camaro resprayed, a full hand print showed up 4 yrs later, I was SOL since they only backed their paint work for a year. It takes time for the oils to break down the paint, and depending on how many coats are applied the time will vary. any seasoned painter should know not to touch any paintwork with bare hands at any time within the process.  

[grc]

you guys are lucky that these finger and hand prints are showing up in the time frame they are, a few years back,

[EAGLE1]

yea , I hear ya jer, its unfortunate that the true operative here is profit

[hogasm]

When I picked up my B & B in 2004 both saddlebag lids had flaws in the paint. Harley denied thhe claim saying if you could not see the flaw from 5 feet away then it was not a problem. Bought 2 new lids to replace them and one of those had a flaw. Sent that one back to get another one.

[05_Candyman]

I have what looks like a big, fat thumb print on the rear (top left) of my left saddlebag ... yes, it's under the clearcoat too. Harley definately needs to get someone to manage their paint dept. that actually knows what they're doing. It's pretty sad when you pay $30k for a supposed top-notch bike and have to read about problems like this.

[mr_magoo]

Man they have had a lot of problems with their paint over several years.  

[05yellowse]

I had a problem with the paint chipping off on the inner fairing where it bonds with the lower section. HD sent a replacement fairing that looked worse than the chipped paint. HD paid for a local skilled painter to fix the original inner fairing,a lot more clear coating and very slick.

[pj57]

On a somewhat related topic...I have dealer installed billet saddlebag latches which, when lifted, have managed to chip the paint on both saddlebag lids.  I thought I read a post where someone had a similar experience and got the lids replaced under warranty.  Anybody remember that post or have any thoughts?  Thanks, PJ