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[VaEagle]

Well folks I was beside Willie G but didn't get his autograph.Too many folks around to talk to him.  
But I did spend quite a long time with Mr.James Ziemer who happens to be the CEO of Harley. Strange that very few folks were around him considering he is the head honcho of Harley now. He actually went with me to the service bay where I was getting some minor work done on my bike and he autographed my saddlebag lid. We talked about this website and the paint issues as well as Mr.Anderson's bracket to move the tourpack. Mr. Ziemer was interested in my bike because he just got a Haze several weeks ago and wanted to see what I had done to mine.
As far as the paint being milky on the Crimson/Slate bikes Mr. Ziemer says he was made aware of the problem at Daytona and he will definately look into the issue.  He did seem concerned about this especially when I told him of this website and the problems with factory reps. I got the feeling he wants to make things right but I guess time will tell.

[cigarmike]

So is it safe to assume that Mr, Zimmer hasnt recieved the letter I wrote?
Im glad he rides a SEEG, he should be on our side.

Btw, Thanks for talking to him about it VA !!!

[The Mysterious Q!]

Lets see where this gets you fellas only time will tell.Hope it works out.  Q

[VaEagle]

Hi cigarmike,
From the 15 to 20 minute discussion I had with Mr. Ziemer I got the impression that he was a man that honestly loves his product. He lit up when he talked about his personal Haze and seemed interested in checking out my bike. I think he is interested in hearing from bike owners and getting honest info good or bad. I can only immagine that a company as large as his has a certain amount of insulation levels around him. It could be mid-level folks trying to problem solve at the lowest possible level or personal assistants handling the day to day mail and other stuff and trying to free up the boss for long term issues.

[mr_magoo]

Well done sir. [smiley=xyxthumbs.gif]

[displacing air]

Got my bike back after buffing...didnt resolve the problem...
Go figure?

Told to call the moco again...

[falcon]

O.K. So, since September, after buffing, replacing and calling in expert after expert, the MoCo has not been able to resolve the paint issue on even one bike. Right?  

It appears they are down to only a few choices; replace them all with a totally different paint job, replace them all with a totally different paint technique, or dig in and claim that this is just the characteristic of the custom paint. I don’t see them sending us a check, do you?

Any other ideas on what their choices could be? Keep in mind with the internet it’s a very small town we live in so what they do for one will be known by all.

[RJ749]

O.K. Any other ideas on what their choices could be? Keep in mind with the internet it’s a very small town we live in so what they do for one will be known by all.

So wifey sees the SEUC for the first time this weekend and asks what is the issue with the paint?  I say well like here the lid on the hard bag and the bag itself.  Oh, they don't match she says having looked at it for all of 2 seconds. Too much clear on the bag to cover the striping.

Why didn't they do the same amount on the lid and make it match? she asks.  

Hmmmm, not a good solution but a solution.

[cigarmike]

Trust me, its not that there is too much clear coat, I believe they shot the first clear coat before the Base coat was totally cured, (too cold of weather maybe). And then they didnt wait long enough for the coats of clear to cure also. Unless they are also using low grade clear, I put 15 coats of clear on my custom...and it didnt turn the Black brown....quite the opposite, the more clear, the deeper the Black should be,....they are lieing.

[GC_Super]

Considering all the problems with paint, I was expecting the worst for my delivery last month, but was overall fairly happy. At first blush, paint didn't look bad at all. No one who saw my bike would say your paint is bad. HOWEVER, after a month in the elements my tank is milked over. Front fender doesn't look great either. Was out in the shop last nite prepping for the ride to work this AM, and with the flourescent lites on, it was pretty obvious. Saddlebags still look OK though, at least for now.  The bike goes in soon for the 1K dyno, so I will log my complaint then. FYI, mine was painted Jan 6, 06. Also, this bike has a bad case of the wobbles, or maybe I should call it something different, as it's hard to keep in a straight line above 60mph. Almost like your riding on icy streets. I have tried different rear air pressure in the shocks and checked tire pressure. Something doesn't feel right.

[mr_magoo]

Check the steering head bearings they probably need adjustment.

[GC_Super]

Check the steering head bearings they probably need adjustment.

Thanks, mr. m    Will do.

[SE_ULTRA]

Just by way of update, my dealer called the MoFoCo yet again to ask what they were going to do about the bad paint. He got a call back form a "higher up" and was told that they are well aware of all the issues and hope to have a fix within 60-90 days.

Now I am not saying I believe any of that (I do believe the dealer, just not the MoFoCo), but thought I would just share the latest.

[falcon]

My dealer was told the same thing. The MoCo asked if I would bear with them while they find a REAL fix over the next 2 or 3 months. In the mean time, so I can ride, they asked the dealer to put my bike back together with the bad parts. The dealer and I refuse to put the bad parts back on, so the dealership is going to "loan" me a set of solid black tins until the problem is resolved. I'm really glad I bought my bike where I did!

[cigarmike]

I am really trying to have a little faith in MoCo here, One would think that they would contact those of us who have warranty reference #'s direct and let us know whats up. Still have not heard back from anyone regarding My area Rep who said that they are changing the color of the lower bags and inner fairing to the brown milk color. That would certainly be a cop-out, and then the MoCo could say they tried to fix the problem. I will not settle for A Brown Crimson bike. I want the Black one thats advertised in the brochure I read. I offered a swap out of the Haze color for me, or Correct matching Black parts.

I hope the CEO found his way to this site and this thread, and if you are reading this Mr. Ziemer, Please do the right thing here, remember, "The customer is always right", but more importantly "The Customer who buys your best product at a premium price....is always right no matter what".

That being said, Mr. Ziemer, I heard you own a Haze '06....ask yourself, would you settle for less than we are asking for?