NHTSA Complaint #10924479 — 2009 HARLEY-DAVIDSON VRSCF

THE FUEL SENSOR HAS FAILED TWICE, THE FIRST TIME CAUSING ME TO RUN OUT OF GAS WHILE ON A DESERT HIGHWAY (OVER 100F OUTSIDE). FORTUNATELY THERE WAS NO-ONE BEHIND ME THAT MIGHT HAVE HIT ME FROM SUDDEN DECELERATION. AFTER THE FIRST INCIDENT, I REPLACED THE SENSOR WITH THE SAME PART NUMBER FROM HARLEY DAVIDSON. ODDLY, THE SAME PART NUMBER IS A DIFFERENT CONFIGURATION THAT THE ORIGINAL (INDICATIVE OF A DESIGN ISSUE BEING CORRECTED ON-THE-SLY). THE SECOND FUEL SENSOR WORKED WELL FOR ABOUT 1 YEAR, THEN IT TOO FAILED. BECAUSE I WAS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM (MANY, MANY SIMILAR STORIES ON THE V-ROD ON-LINE FORUM) I DID NOT RUN OUT OF FUEL. RUNNING OUT OF FUEL ON A FUEL INJECTED VEHICLE CAN CAUSE ENGINE DAMAGE. IT IS ALSO DANGEROUS BECAUSE OF THE RAPID DECELERATION THAT OCCURS ON MOTORCYCLES (ENGINE BRAKING) WITHOUT THE WARNING DRIVERS EXPECT OF A BRAKE LIGHT.