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[SBB]

Was at the Harley shop today in the service department and one of the techs had a problem.
They had sold an 08 105th anniversary Street Glide (non CVO) and the Vin numbers didn't match.
The tech was prepping it to go out the door and noticed the number stamped on the motor was different than the number stamped on the frame. And the number on the sticker on the frame downtube was different from the other two #'s. The guy was ready to take delivery of his new bike but the shop said they would have to call the Motor Company on Monday to see what to do.
The initial resolution was to get a new frame with a new sticker that matched the number on the motor.
After a conversation with Craig (lilbear) today I'm not sure if that will work. (not that it's our problem)
But can you imagine buying a new bike and then being told that the dealership was going to have to strip it down and change frames. Craig and I were in agreement, we would be running from a deal like that!

Strange happenings from the Motor Company!

          

[Twolanerider]

Ouch.  That combination means there's at least three bikes out there with VIN errors in production.

Did they which of the three VINs actually matched the MSO that was supplied with the bike.  That would tell them which part they could keep and which ones they had to pull. 

A long long time ago a buddy was a service manager at a GM dealership that had a car come in with screwed up numbers.  Hopefully for the auto manufacturers this is all but bulletproof now.  But, hey, this is Harley we're talking about.  That particular car I remember had to go back completely with all its docs to the manufacturer.

You sometimes have to wonder if parts of Harley aren't just the retardate cousins of the auto industry that, when not watched closely, will be in the back of the short bus slowly running their hands down inside the elastic bands of their sweat pants wondering why they always get yelled at for playing with themselves.

[SBB]

Ouch.  That combination means there's at least three bikes out there with VIN errors in production.

Did they which of the three VINs actually matched the MSO that was supplied with the bike.  That would tell them which part they could keep and which ones they had to pull. 

A long long time ago a buddy was a service manager at a GM dealership that had a car come in with screwed up numbers.  Hopefully for the auto manufacturers this is all but bulletproof now.  But, hey, this is Harley we're talking about.  That particular car I remember had to go back completely with all its docs to the manufacturer.

You sometimes have to wonder if parts of Harley aren't just the retardate cousins of the auto industry that, when not watched closely, will be in the back of the short bus slowly running their hands down inside the elastic bands of their sweat pants wondering why they always get yelled at for playing with themselves.

The numbers on the motor matched the numbers on the paperwork!

Could you imagine how a LEO would look at that if ever stopped. Big trouble!

      

[towjamin]

non matching #'s is no joke, you will loose that bike sooner or later, might be a few weeks or a few years, but it will be a problem, never mind resale. i would pass on that one for sure! 

[Twolanerider]

Could you imagine how a LEO would look at that if ever stopped. Big trouble!

      

It would have to be ugly.  Even if they believed you they likely couldn't not do anything about it.  Way too much hassle to ever get involved in that bike.  Run away; run away....

[RJ749]

The numbers on the motor matched the numbers on the paperwork!

Could you imagine how a LEO would look at that if ever stopped. Big trouble!

      

So it must have a twin out there somwhere as well.  Does that mean that somewhere there's another with this bikes frame etc?

Yikes............

[Hoist!]

They see that in Daytona and it would be on a hook in not time flat!

Hoist!

[grc]

The decals aren't a problem, used to have incorrect ones get away from us in the auto plants occasionally.  The correct decal and/or VIN plate would be sent to the dealership's service rep, who would then take it to the dealership and witness the installation of the correct numbers to the vehicle.  The incorrect decal or plate would be returned and destroyed, and all of this would be documented.  If the engine or trans was stamped incorrectly, there is a legal way to void and restamp the numbers on those.

This problem is almost nonexistent in the auto industry today because we no longer rely on a human to read the numbers and compare them to a build sheet while the vehicle moves by at 70-100 units per hour.  The process is computerized, bar coded, and electronically scanned and verified.  I assume Harley will eventually incorporate such a system, probably for the 2030 model year if they follow their past practices in terms of modernization.

In this particular case, if the answer is determined to be replacement of the frame, I would as a customer say "no way Jose" and demand my deposit be returned.  And if I was the dealer, I'd tell H-D to come and get their bike.

Jerry

[DavidB]

I know of an 03 anniversary black bike with a Gold anniversary badge on the left tank and a Silver anniversary badge on the right. No one caught it for 2 months then the motor co some how figured it out and wanted to swap the gold badge back. Rick looked and shure enough they were different .Its still on the bike.

[murphy]

They see that in Daytona and it would be on a hook in not time flat!

Hoist!

It's not just Daytona... this is something I look for on a regular basis and have many notches in my belt to show for it.

Most traffic officers are Harley guys, and they know all too well about the thefts, and they do their best to make a dent in the problem.

[JCZ]

The guy is lucky they found it before they delivered it.  When I bought the last couple of bikes, they went over both numbers and the numbers on the title at the time of delivery......now I know why.

Chip you may remember before my accident that I had a little of the famous wobble issues but after they changed my frame.....now the bike handles perfectly in the twisties.  I've discussed this with a number of HD people and the general consensus all seems to be the same.....because the bike was completely hand built the second time, the specs may be more exacting than when done on a conveyer system.

[Twolanerider]

The guy is lucky they found it before they delivered it.  When I bought the last couple of bikes, they went over both numbers and the numbers on the title at the time of delivery......now I know why.

Chip you may remember before my accident that I had a little of the famous wobble issues but after they changed my frame.....now the bike handles perfectly in the twisties.  I've discussed this with a number of HD people and the general consensus all seems to be the same.....because the bike was completely hand built the second time, the specs may be more exacting than when done on a conveyer system.

That's an interesting response from them JC.  Because the CVO bikes aren't on the mechanical conveyer systems.  Ours (especially then) are frames on wheeled wooden carts hand pushed and hand assembled between rows of parts bins on either side and assembled by two people.  Those same two (supposedly) stay with the same bike from beginning to end.

In 06 or so that "line" added a large machine to lift engines in to frames to save some wear and tear on people's backs.  But your bike (and mine) predated even that bit of mechanical assistance.  In fact given some of the simple mistake type of errors that the CVO ownership sees I've often wondered if the "entirely hand built" schtick that used to be part of the CVO advertising was actually a good thing or a bad one.  The routinized, mechanized, roboticized assembly line didn't seem to have some of the simple error type of issues that we did.

[porthole]

This problem is almost nonexistent in the auto industry

The auto industry also has VIN's hidden on the frame of the vehicle

[SBB]

Chip you may remember before my accident that I had a little of the famous wobble issues but after they changed my frame.....now the bike handles perfectly in the twisties.  I've discussed this with a number of HD people and the general consensus all seems to be the same.....because the bike was completely hand built the second time, the specs may be more exacting than when done on a conveyer system.

That is certainly a different perspective!

I have to agree JC but that also is based on who is actually putting the bike back together.
I have seen some techs that I wouldn't let wash my bike.
But have seen and used others that take serious the work they are doing.
JC, you must have gotten a good one when yours was put back together.

 

[JCZ]

That is certainly a different perspective!

I have to agree JC but that also is based on who is actually putting the bike back together.
I have seen some techs that I wouldn't let wash my bike.
But have seen and used others that take serious the work they are doing.
JC, you must have gotten a good one when yours was put back together.

 

Valid points.  Ya know, being in the hospital for a couple of months and going through all those surgeries, then in the wheel chair for what seemed like forever and on all kinds of pain meds, I never did know who put my bike back together until just a few months ago.  I guy that I'd have never recognized approached me and asked "aren't you J.C.?"  I asked him who he was and he told me that he was the one that rebuilt my bike after my accident.  After telling him he did a great job, I asked him how he knew who I was and he told me that a couple of guys wheeled me through the shop in my wheel chair right after I got out of the hospital.    Hell, I don't remember anything like that.   Brings the gratitude to be able to ride again back to the surface.

I think you make a good point, it matters "who" it is that's building it.......regardless of wether it's done at the MoCo or at a dealership.