NHTSA Complaint #10883874 — 2013 HARLEY-DAVIDSON FXDB

DEAR SIRS, JULY 10, 2016 I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET A FIX FOR POOR BRAKING ON MY 2013 HARLEY DYNA WITH ABS SINCE ABOUT 2 MONTHS AFTER BUYING IT NEW FROM SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA HARLEY. IN THE BEGINNING I EVEN THOUGHT IT WAS ME, BUT AFTER LETTING A FRIEND TRY THE BIKE , HE CONFIRMED THE VERY POOR BRAKING. HOW COULD THIS HAVE PASSED GOVERNMENTS TEST FOR BRAKING DISTANCE. I LOVE THE ABS AND WOULD NOT OWN A BIKE WITHOUT IT,( LIKE A CAR) BUT HATE THAT IT SO POOR IN STOPPING DISTANCE. BECAUSE I HAD A PREVIOUS HARLEY WITH DUAL FRONT DISCS WHICH HAD GOOD STOPPING, I THOUGHT IT WAS BECAUSE HARLEY WAS TRYING TO SAVE MONEY AND ONLY HAVE ONE DISC ON THE FRONT( I STILL THINK THEY NEED DUAL FRONT DISCS). I CONTACTED THE DEALER SEVERAL TIMES , BUT THEY SAID THERE WAS NOTHING TO DO. THEN I CALLED HARLEY AND THEY ALSO REFUSED ANY HELP. I EVEN VOLUNTEERED TO RETURN THE BIKE TO THE FACTORY, BUT THEY REFUSED AND SENT ME BACK TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER DID NOTHING BECAUSE THERE WAS NOTHING TO BE DONE ACCORDING TO THE HARLEY FACTORY AND MY STOPPING PROBLEM WAS IN MY HEAD. I EVEN TRIED TO TRADE IN MY BIKE , BUT THEY OFFERED ME PENNIES. DURING THAT TIME I DID POST MANY TIMES ON THE HARLEY FORUM WEB SITE ABOUT MY PROBLEM, BUT THOUGH THERE WERE MANY WITH THE SAME PROBLEM NO ONE COULD DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT BECAUSE NO ONE KNEW HOW TO GET DUAL FRONT DISCS WITH ABS INSTALLED. THEN ABOUT A YEAR LATER THE HARLEY COMPANY CAME OUT WITH DUAL DISCS CALLED THE LOW RIDER. IT WAS A SMASH HIT, AND SOLD OUT IN ALL DEALERS. IT HAS DUAL FRONT DISCS WITH ABS. BUT NOW WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE WHO ARE STUCK WITH A POOR BRAKING BIKE. THEY SHOULD AT LEAST OFFER A RETROFIT, EVEN IF WE HAVE TO PAY. I HOPE YOU CAN ADD ME TO THE LIST OF THOSE WHO RISK THEIR LIVES EVERY DAY WITH A DEFECT THAT THE HARLEY FACTORY HAS KNOW FOR SEVERAL YEARS. THANK YOU, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR