There were many documented cases of rough/sharp edges on chains causing rapid wear, and the material used for the actual shoes was obviously cheapened somewhere along the line. If the chains weren't an issue, I don't think H-D would have changed to a proper roller chain in '07. That's not to say the chains were the only issue, however.
I don't buy the BS about H-D knowing the "SYN3 eats up plastic faster than the regular oil". Now there is a really intelligent and highly technical statement I would really want to take to the bank. Let me think, as a manufacturer who warrants their engines (even if it is a "catch us if you can" warranty), I'm going to sell and promote a lubricant that accelerates wear of a critical component that can pretty much trash the entire engine if it suffers catastrophic failure.

H-D does lots of dumb things, but I'm not buying that one. Sounds like whoever told this to the other guy who then told someone else, is one of those folks who just loves to start BS about synthetic oil. And maybe H-D should consult with the auto manufacturer's and other bike manufacturer's who have been using "plastic" tensioner shoes for decades without abnormal wear or failures. Funny how other manufacturer's can do this stuff and make their parts last the life of the engine, but H-D can't make their crap last 2 years or 20k miles. Even funnier how the others can do it while using synthetic motor oil as factory fill.
BTW, I just had another thought. You know that "plastic" tensioner shoe in the primary? Folks better start checking those right away, since Harley recommends SYN3 there also. I'll bet those suckers are being "eaten up" as we speak.
Jerry