Thoroughly disgusted by Harley Davidson's "service" policies.
I had Jim at Metal Dragon do some work on my CVOSG a couple weeks ago. While changing out the rear 32t sprocket for a 30t, Jim found the compensator to be pitted and scored, plus a groove gouged in it. He also found the engine to be very noisy, and recommended having it fixed by HD while still under warranty. Bike is a 2012 with about 8000 miles.
After leaving my bike at Quaid's HD in Loma Linda for ten days, this is what they came up with:
Compensator was pristine. At least that's what they said at first. When I insisted they check it again, they admitted that it has some wear, but it was considered to be "normal".
Wouldn't fix it under warranty, wanted me to pay for it if they replaced it.
As for the several noises in the motor, they said one was from lifter bleed-down. The noise was pretty loud until it warmed up, then becomes intermittent. Of course, said it was "normal".
They said another noise was probably piston slap (which is what I thought) from poor manufacturing practices/tolerances. But guess what? Piston slap is "normal"
for this motor, too.
Finally, the dealer said that it's losing oil at a rate of about one quart every 2000 miles. When I said that's unacceptable for a new modern motor, they said the 110s can lose up to 1qt every 1000 miles and still be considered within "normal"
range.
We paid $35,000 for these bikes. How can HD stay in business with such poor quality and service? Anybody up for a petition demanding the mothership get its chit together? How about a boycott of HD parts and service? (I know we'll continue to buy their bikes; it's a compulsion).
Just venting, feeling frustrated.
I don't think I'm the only one, though.
Dan