NHTSA Complaint #10282699 — 2008 HARLEY-DAVIDSON FLHRSE4

I WAS OPERATING MY 2008 HARLEY DAVIDSON FLHRSE4 ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS WHEN THE THROTTLE BY WIRE CUT OUT IN TRAFFIC ALMOST CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. THIS HAS HAPPENED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, AND EACH TIME, THE MOTORCYCLE HAS BEEN TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE IT WAS PURCHASED FOR REPAIR. EACH TIME, THE SERVICE DEPT. STATED THE ISSUE WAS FIXED, ONLY TO OCCUR AGAIN DURING A FUTURE RIDE. APPARENTLY, THE THROTTLE BY WIRE HAS BEEN AN ISSUE EVER SINCE HARLEY DAVIDSON STARTED USING IT IN THEIR MOTORCYCLES. MY 3RD AND LAST INCIDENT I HAD, I WAS TRAVELING IN TRAFFIC, AND MY THROTTLE CUT OUT TO IDLE, AND THEN CAME ON FULL THROTTLE WHILE I WAS MOVING WITH TRAFFIC, NEARLY CAUSING ME TO COLLIDE WITH THE REAREND OF A PICKUP TRUCK, AND CRASH MY MOTORCYCLE. I PULLED OVER AFTER AVOIDING THE COLLISION, AND SHUT THE MOTORCYCLE DOWN FOR A FEW MINUTES. UPON STARTING IT BACK UP, THE MOTORCYCLE WENT INTO LIMP MODE, AND SINCE I WAS CLOSE TO THE HARLEY DAVIDSON DEALERSHIP, I RODE IT TO THE DEALERSHIP SLOWLY ON BACK STREETS. UPON REACHING THE DEALERSHIP, THE ENGINE SERVICE LIGHT WAS ON, AND MY BUTTERFLY VALVE ON THE BIKE WAS FLUTTERING VIOLENTLY DUE TO SOME SORT OF SHORT IN THE THROTTLE SYSTEM. MY BIKE IS CURRENTLY AT THE SERVICE DEPT. AWAITING A LOOK BY AN "EXPERT" FROM ANOTHER DEALERSHIP. I HAVE OWNED THIS MOTORCYCLE A TOTAL OF 13 MONTHS NOW, AND IT HAS BEEN IN THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT THE DEALERSHIP I PURCHASED IT FROM, FOR ABOUT 2 MONTHS TOTAL. ACCORDING THE DEALERSHIP, A DIFFERENT PART HAS FAILED THIS TIME, BUT I KNOW THAT THE THROTTLE BY WIRE IS THE CULPRIT DUE TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES, AND REPEAT FUNCTION ISSUES. THIS ISSUE HAS NEARLY CAUSED ME SEVERAL ACCIDENTS DUE TO THE SUDDEN DROP IN ACCELERATION, AND CUTTING OUT. WHEN I ASKED THE SERVICE DEPT. IF I WAS THE FIRST WITH THIS PROBLEM, THEY TOLD ME OF AT LEAST 20 OTHER 2008 OR NEWER H-D MOTORCYCLES WITH THE SAME PROBLEMS. WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE BEFORE THERE IS A SAFETY RECALL ON THE THROTTLE BY WIRE/ FLY BY WIRE ISSUE? *TR