My take is this. It is no longer difficult to make reliable, nearly bullet-proof engines and drivetrains. Even the lowliest car can go 200K without major engine work. Recalls are mostly limited to a fastener that might allow a hose to rub against something, possibly starting a fire, although none have been reported. The first five years it's mostly change oil and put gas in it. This is an engine whose basic architecture goes back nearly a hundred years, and but for details is the same as the one from ten years ago that took them two years to fix. So there is no reason it should back to square one. It should be change a few things if you want to - pipes, intake - to make it run better, not change everything in order to get it to run. Back in the seventies and early eighties you could expect major problems, everybody in the US was making crap. Now there is no excuse.
I agree, the experience the original poster had with his bike is sad. I've mentioned that I spent several years nagging my neighbor to get a Harley. He does several multi-state tours every year (retired, the lucky bastard), and on the last one his 110 Road Glide nearly left him stranded after falling prey to the head gasket failure and poor running afterward. He made it in with an oil-soaked tire and I'm sure a thought that next time he should take his Vulcan. My SERK looks good, has some nice chrome bits, and the drivetrain concept is good. The execution, between the sewing machine valve noise and waiting for the rest of the shoes to drop, however, is not.
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Topic: Diary of a SEUC (Read 5985 times)