2008 HARLEY-DAVIDSON FLHTC — Problems, Recalls & Safety Data

I WOULD LIKE TO BRING TO LIGHT AN ISSUE I HAVE RECENTLY HAD FOUND. I RIDE A 2008 HARLEY DAVIDSON ELECTRAGLIDE. I ONLY HAVE 42000 MILES ON IT. LAST FALL I WAS COMING BACK FROM A MEMORIAL MISSION WITH THE AMERICAN LEGION RIDERS. I NOTICED A STRANGE RATTLE IN MY PRIMARY CASE AREA. I GOT HOME AND PARKED IT UNTIL I COULD OPEN IT UP TO SEE WHAT THE ISSUE IS. A FEW WEEKS LATER I FINALLY WAS ABLE TO OPEN UP THE PRIMARY CASE. WHAT I FOUND WAS 2 LARGE PIECES OF METAL LOOSE IN THE PRIMARY CASE. THIS IS WHERE THE CLUTCH, DRIVE CHAIN, COMPENSATOR, AND STATOR ARE. IMMEDIATELY I WAS SCARED AND THANKFUL THAT ONE OF THOSE PIECES DIDN'T GET STUCK IN THE DRIVE CHAIN AND SPROCKET. IF IT HAD WHEN I WAS GOING DOWN THE ROAD IT WOULD HAVE LOCKED UP THE REAR WHEEL IMMEDIATELY AND I WOULD NOT BE HERE. I FINALLY WAS ABLE TO DETERMINE THE PIECES CAME OFF THE COMPENSATOR. I BEGAN SEARCHING THE INTERNET TO SEE IF THIS WAS COMMON. TO MY SURPRISE IT IS COMMON AND HARLEY DAVIDSON CORPORATE KNEW ABOUT THE FLAWED DESIGN AND DID NOT DO A RECALL OR INFORM OWNERS OF THE ISSUE. I CONTACTED SALEM HARLEY DAVIDSON AND THEY PUT ME IN TOUCH WITH HARLEY DAVIDSON CUSTOMER CARE. WHEN I TALKED TO THEM I FOUND THEY KNEW OF THE ISSUE AND CHANGED THE DESIGN IN 2012. I WAS TRYING TO GET THEM TO FIX MY BIKE BUT THEY REFUSED SAYING IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. GRANTED IT IS BUT THIS WAS A KNOWN ISSUE AND OWNERS SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED. ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS FOR CONTACTING YOU IS TO HOPEFULLY MAKE PEOPLE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. I CAN'T HELP TO WONDER HOW MANY MOTORCYCLE RIDERS HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES DUE TO THE SAME THING HAPPENING TO THEM. EXCEPT THEY WEREN'T AS FORTUNATE AS I WAS. AS I SAID BEFORE IF 1 OF THOSE PIECES GOT STUCK IN THE PRIMARY CHAIN WHILE GOING DOWN THE ROAD IT WOULD BE CATASTROPHIC. UNFORTUNATELY THE ACTUAL CAUSE MAY NOT BE FOUND BECAUSE OF THE EXTENSIVE DAMAGE.

ON 10-19-2017 I WAS RIDING WITH A GROUP OF FRIENDS ON OUR WAY TO A FELLOW BIKERS FUNERAL. WE WERE DOING ABOUT 45 MPH ON THE HIGHWAY, AS WE APPROACHED OUR TURN I ATTEMPTED TO START BRAKING WITH MY BACK BRAKE. WHEN I TRYED TO PUSH THE BACK BRAKE PEDAL DOWN NOTHING HAPPENED!!!!!!!!!!! THE PEDAL WAS FROZEN IN PLACE!!!!!!!!! I BROUGHT THE BIKE TO A FRIENDS AND HE AND I STARTED TO LOOK INTO THE PROBLEM. WHEN WE GOT TO THE ABS BRAKE MANIFOLD, WE FOUND THAT WHEN WE CRACKED THE INLET LINE THE BACK BRAKE PEDAL WOULD GO DOWN AND PUSH FLUID OUT. WE TIGHTENED THE INLET LINE BACK AND BROKE LOOSE THE OUTLET LINE AND THE BACK BRAKE PEDAL WOULD NOT MOVE AGAIN. ON 11-1-2017 I SPOKE TO THE DEALERSHIP I BOUGHT THE BIKE FROM ( MIKE BRUNO'S HOUMA LOUISIANA) AND TOLD THEM WHAT HAPPENED. THEIR RESONSE WAS ...DO YOU HAVE THE EXTENDED WARRANTY? I TOLD THEM NO, SO THEY TOLD ME THE PART WILL COST $417.00. THANK GOD I DID NOT HAVE A PASSENGER WITH ME OR DID NOT HIT THE BIKE IN FRONT OF ME. THERE WAS ZERO WARNING BEFORE THIS FAILURE NO LIGHTS NO TIGHTING OF BRAKE PEDAL NOTHING!!!!!!!!!! I GUESS MY LIFE AND OTHERS IS ONLY WORTH $417.00 AND THAT IS ONLY IF I BUY THE NEW PART AND IT DON'T FAIL ALSO.

I TOOK MY BIKE OUT FOR A NICE RIDE AND NOTHING IN THE WAY OF A PROBLEM. THE NEXT DAY WENT TO RIDE THE BIKE AND MY FRONT BRAKE LEVER IS AS HARD AS A ROCK I WENT TO STOP AND HAD NO FRONT BRAKE. WENT THROUGH THE INTERSECTION . I CHECKED FOR TROUBLE CODES IN THE MEMORY AND IT SHOWED NONE. TRIED TO BLEED THE FRONT BRAKES CRACKED THE BLEEDER AND LEVER MOVED FINE AND FLUID CAME OUT AS NORMAL . TRIED TO USE BRAKE AND LEVER WAS HARD AGAIN. CALL THE LOCAL DEALER AND WAS INFORMED THE ABS MODULE WAS BAD AND IT WOULD COST A 1000.00 . I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT IF THE SYSTEM FAILED IT WOULD JUST REVERT BACK TO BRAKES WITH OUT ABS.AM I WRONG ABOUT THE WAY THEY SHOULD WORK INFORMED BY SERVICE WRITER THAT THEY COULD LOCK UP OR HAVE NO BRAKES AT ALL . I THINK THEY SHOULD TAKE A LITTLE MORE OF EFFORT TO FIND OUT WHAT THE PROBLEM RATHER THAN JUST COME UP WITH THE FIGURE OF 1000 AND SAY THE MODULE IS BAD . MAKES ME THINK THAT I AM NOT THE FIRST PERSON THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED TO. SAID HARLEY WOULD COVER BUT I INFORMED HIM IT RAN OUT 6 MONTHS AGO. BY THE WAY I BOUGHT THE BIKE NEW. THANK YOU [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

I RECENTLY WAS RIDING WHEN THE FRONT BRAKE HANDLE ON THE BIKE STARTED TO VIBRATE. I WAS CLOSE TO HOME SO I WENT THERE. SINCE IT WAS TIME TO DO SOME MAINTENANCE ON THE BIKE I ORDERED PARTS AND OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS CHANGED FLUIDS AND DID OTHER ITEMS INCLUDING REPLACING THE FRONT RIGHT HANDGRIP. AFTER REPAIRS WERE COMPLETE I STARTED THE BIKE AND DID A TEST RIDE A FEW 100 METERS DOWN MY STREET AND WHEN I WENT TO USE THE BRAKES THE FRONT BRAKE HANDLE WAS FROZEN. I ALSO NOTICED THAT THE REAR BRAKE WAS FEELING VERY STIFF. I REMOVED THE FRONT BRAKE FLUID COVER AND INSPECTION THE MASTER CYLINDER, CLEANS THE COVER AND REPLACED WITH THE SAME ISSUE OCCURRING. I THOUGHT MAYBE THERE WAS AN ISSUE WITH FLUID REACHING THE FRONT CALIPER AND INSPECTED THE BLEEDERS WHICH I OPENED SLIGHTLY WITH NO FLUID BEING ABLE TO REACH THE CALIPERS. AT THIS TIME I DECIDED THAT THIS WAS BEYOND MY ABILITY TO SAFELY REPAIR AND SINCE THE BIKE NEEDED TIRES I TRAILERED THE BIKE TO THE DEALER. WHEN I REACHED THE DEALER I STARTED THE BIKE AND ATTEMPTED TO BACK THE BIKE DOWN AND AT THAT TIME THE REAR BRAKE FAILED COMPLETELY. I INFORMED THE DEALER OF THIS AND THE FRONT BRAKE BEING FROZEN. THE DEALER THEN TOLD ME THAT BOTH MASTER CYLINDERS NEEDED TO BE REBUILT. NO MENTION OF ANY NOTICE FROM HARLEY WAS MENTIONED. THE DEALER HAD NUMEROUS ISSUES GETTING THE PARTS FOR THE MASTER CYLINDERS AND THE BIKE SAT FOR OVER A MONTH. THEY FINALLY RECEIVED THE PARTS AND TOLD ME THE BIKE WOULD BE READY ON THE AFTERNOON OF THAT DAY. WHEN I WENT TO GET THE BIKE THEY INFORMED ME THAT THE ABS HAD FAILED AND THEY WAS A NEW PART FROM HARLEY DAVIDSON THAT WAS REPLACING THE OLD ABS CONTROLLER AND THAT IS WAS ON BACK-ORDER. I THEN CALLED HARLEY DAVIDSON DIRECTLY AND AS SOON AS THE HEARD THE MAKE AND MODEL OF THE BIKE THE CUSTOMER SERVICE PERSON SAID "YES SIR THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH THE ABS CONTROLLER

COMPENSATOR IN PRIMARY WENT OUT WITH ONLY 25,000 MILES. UPON RESEARCH, IT IS FOUND THAT THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM TO HARLEY, YET THEY HAVEN'T SAID ANYTHING. THIS IS A MAJOR COST TO THE CONSUMER AND MOST IMPORTANTLY DANGEROUS!!! IF THIS GOES OUT WHILE YOU ARE RIDING DOWN THE HIGHWAY, IT LOCKS THE BACK WHEEL AND PRIMARY ENGINE! NO TELLING HOW MANY DEATHS HAPPENED WITH THIS AND IT'S GOES WITHOUT ANYTHING BEING SAID. THERE SHOULD BE AN IMMEDIATE RECALL BEFORE MORE DEATHS OCCUR. THANK GOD MY MECHANIC FOUND THIS WHILE FIXING ANOTHER UNRELATED PROBLEM. HARLEY SHOULD RECALL AND FIX ASAP WITHOUT COST TO US CONSUMERS! BRYAN, TX