Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 02/13/2008 | 12500 | ||
| Engine knocks and kicks backs, on starting and when accelerating,has been worked on several times, by harley davidson dealer. the problem i've been told is the compensator sprocket and assembly . through many forums and talks with other harley riders that have had the same problems, the fix to the problem according to people who have researched the compensator is for it to be replaced with the screaming eagle compensator part #40274-08.if this is not recalled or repaired by harley it can be very expensive for the owner to repair approx. 600.00 dollars but more important the compensator can come apart possibly busting the primary case letting oil to spill on to road and tires which could cause an accident and possibly hurting someone or worse killing someone | |||
| 08/02/2008 | 14205 | 1 | |
| 2007 harley-davidson twin cam engine has excessive heat. whenever air temperature exceeds 95 the air cooled engine does not cool properly. due to excessive heat from engine, the back of my legs are getting extremely hot. it is difficult to concentrate when this happens. *tr | |||
| 08/22/2007 | 1 | 1 | 05/21/2007 |
| 2007 harley-davidson ultra classic (flhtcu) with 96 engine runs exceedling/dangerously hot to the point of possible burns inflected on inner thigh area of legs. *tr | |||
| 06/01/2007 | 1 | 09/01/2006 | |
| The situation:on a motorcycle, drivetrain failure at typical operating speeds could very well mean severe injury or death of the rider. abnormal heat or noise coming from the motorcycle's drivetrain are not issues to be ignored by a prudent rider or by the manufacturer of the motorcycle. for example the drivetrain on my 2007 flhtcu is excessively noisy when operated in 5th gear at normal rpms. this implies excessive vibration and/or abnormal wear occurring somewhere within the system. in addition, the drivetrain runs so hot as to present a burn hazard to the rider and passenger even when properly clothed. it is well known that excessive heat will contribute to longterm problems with any drivetrain, increasing the likelyhood of failure. what harley davidson has done: to date, the only half-hearted solution to these maladies offered by the harley davidson motor company has been the torque smoothing download which accomplished nothing when installed on my bike. hd has asserted that the noise and heat are normal. on the contrary, many 2007 hd units do not have these issues, thus they are clearly not normal. they are certainly common problems, however. many owners have resorted to costly aftermarket solutions such as replacement gearsets and fuel management systems all installed a their own expense. i essence, hd has offloaded their responsibilities onto their customers. what hd should do: hd should issue a recall. hd should retrofit all affected 2007 models with the ids rubbermount rear sprocket (now standard on the 2008 touring models) to reduce drivetrain vibration and wear. they should also provide adjustments and/or modifications as needed to the fuel system to reduce drivetrain heat. they should extend the warranty of all affected 2007 motorcycles appropriately. *tr | |||
| 05/25/2007 | 1 | 09/20/2006 | |
| Purchased a flhtcu in sept. 06. since day 1 i felt intense heat on my thighs and the weather wasn't even hot ( in 60's). hd rep and dealers stated bike is running lean due to epa regulations and i need to install, at additional cost , a s.e.r.t. and stage 1 kit to make it run cooler. on may 25, 2007, my passenger and myself were in traffic moving about 20 mph and we could feel the heat. at around 5 mph the heat was getting so unbearable my passenger had to put her right leg on my lap. after a couple of minutes i had to pull over on the expressway because of the heat. my passenger checked her leg and it was so red and burning that i had to administer first aid cream on her leg. i checked the bike temperature with a surface temperature device ( which i always carry on this bike) and it was above 450 degrees! does someone have to have a serious or fatal accident and get the media's attention before this problem is rectified! i hope not! *tr | |||
| 04/24/2007 | 200 | 27 | 08/17/2006 |
| This is the follow-up relating to the complaint i filled on march 6, 2007 (odi number) 10184521. again, we stopped at a harley davidson dealer on our trip to california with our friends, this time san juan capistrano. the mechanic stated that we had some serious heating problems. pipe discoloration, excessive heat, but they do not have a dyna. he recommended a dealer that wasn't open for 3 more days. that wasn't going to work. we then had to stop at quaid harley davidson on the way home, because of these problems. after coming back from california again and experiencing excessive heating issues, we thought harley davidson would fix the problem. we brought our bike to hacienda harley davidson in scottsdale, az the following morning with massive discoloration (black/dark brown) on the pipes not including the blue and yellow ones (from the day we drove it home from the dealership) and oil that was so thick, your figures stuck together. i then contacted harley davidson and spoke to deb. she stated that their (harley davidson) rep was going to look at the bike. so we left it at the dealer for two weeks. the harley davidson rep states that the bike is just fine and that we need to take off the lowers. also, we were informed that the race tuner that we were told to purchase at $500.00 plus $500.00 installation would void the warranty on the motor if there was a problem. this is sooo wrong. we now have to pick up a bike that injuries riders. we live in arizona, which there is a lemon law, however, we do not know if it applies. probably not. our only other recourse is to sue harley davidson. what to sue them for? i do not know, but i have a $37,800.00 bike that i make a payment of $700.00 monthly on that we are scared to ride. we have personally put nothing on this bike, and it is a bomb waiting to explode. *jb | |||
| 08/20/2006 | 5 | 50 | 08/04/2006 |
| I purchased a 2007 harley davidson flhtcu in august 20 06. i immediately noticed a tremendous amount of heat coming from the rear cylinder. when the air temperature got over 80 degrees it was virtually impossible to ride at low speeds. several complaints to the dealership failed to resolve the problem. after purchasing a heat gun i began to monitor engine temperatures. the rear cylinder routinely topped 400 fahrenheit, the front ran 70 to 80 degrees cooler. in march 29007 i contacted customer service & after much arguing it was agreed that an area representative would look at my bike. on april 3rd i dropped the bike off at the dealership. when i turned off the engine i checked temperature with the heat gun, the rear cylinder read 430*, the front was 350*. the outside air temperature at the time was about 50 degrees. the next day i was informed by the dealership that the factory representative determined everything to be within specs. once again it was suggested that i remove the lower fairing and install a race tuner and different mufflers. this had been suggested earlier by the dealer, and i was quoted a price of $1,500.00. hardly a reasonable solution for a problem i did not create. sitting atop a 400 degree engine in summer heat was a daunting task. last year when temperature reached the 90's the bike sat in my garage. the failure of harley davidson to in any way acknowledge there was a problem, in spite of motorcycle magazines & websites with lots of complaints,was very disappointing.*ak | |||
| 03/06/2007 | 200 | 20 | 08/17/2006 |
| We purchased our motorcycle in august of 2006. after riding it for a while the first day out with some friends visiting from california the rear engine, cylinder got unbearably hot. there where points that we wanted to jump off the motorcycle. we took pictures of the burns it caused and sent them to harley davidson. i still have them. the dealer and harley davidson stated that we would have to take off the lowers and that should cure the problem. however, now it is getting hotter and coming home from a road trip in 80 degree weather, we couldn't stand still at a stop light without turning off the bike. we then contacted the dealer and they told us the only way to get rid of the heating issue is to purchase a race tuner for an additional $1000.00. the burning is intense. this is a manufacturing issue, not one that the consumers problem. they (harley davidson) are aware of the issue and have done nothing to fix it, except to offer something else to purchase. is this intentional? with malice? do not care? why is somebody not making them fix this? also, the pipes were burned so bad that we sent pictures to harley davidson of the intense coloration, they said normal coloring. this is not our first motorcyle. we traded in an 03 screaming eagle road king, that had a bigger motor, but never had a heating issue. we wouldn't had bought this motorcycle if we knew then what we know now. *jb | |||
| 11/25/2006 | 4 | 1 | 08/21/2006 |
| 2007 harley davidson flhtcui, experiencing intense heat from the right rear cylinder, when the bike is stopped in traffic it is unbearable, i am fearful it will burn the underside of my right thigh. discussed with the dealer and was told, there is nothing that can be done. it was suggested that i remove the lower fairings, but this had no effect on the heat when the bike was stopped. as i said, i am afraid i will be burned by this. *nm | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 11/15/2008 | 5000 | 1 | |
| As i was riding down the road at approx. 50 mph in 5th gear i noticed a drop in oil pressure and a noise from the engine. i pulled the bike over to the side of the road and shut it down. i waited for a while and restarted it. the oil pressure seemed ok and the engine was quiet. the same thing happened three times before i got home. i called my local harley dealer and they picked my bike up and took it to their shop. after they stripped the engine down and checked it out they told me the crankshaft runout was way beyond spec and was starting to wipe out the oil pump. the bike had 5,000 miles on it. it was bad enough that harley davidson decided to replace the complete engine. i've heard this is a problem with the new 96 cubic inch engine. *tr | |||
| 05/28/2007 | 600 | 1 | 10/07/2006 |
| The heat generating from the engine and exhaust on to the rider's legs and seat and also to the passenger's legs is extremely high. i have on repeated times, left burned jeans on the left rear exhaust heat shield. after experiencing this a number of times i added an additional aftermarket heat shield, which has helps some, but now this heat shield on the left side is melting and bubbling. i also can not sit on the seat when stopped at traffic lights, i have to standup. the heat transferring up through the bike's seat is so intense i am sure that i will end up with burns on my bottom forward area if i remain seated. this same heat is transferred to the passengers feet and legs, more so when riding down the road. i feel as if harley davidson, in their quest to meet epa guidelines have leaned out the engines, which generates intense heat, and have disregarded the safety and comfort of the rider and passenger. this creates an unsafe condition in which the rider and passenger are either going to get burned by the exhaust and/or engine heat, or be injured by being distracted with consently adjusting themselves while riding the bike. i have taken the bike to the dealer for service on a couple times to check on the heat problem. they did add a heat management upgrade program, and they also tell me the engine temperature is in the harley-davidson specs. this may be true, however, there is still a problem with the amout of heat and the possibility of injury to the rider and passenger. *tr | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||
| 03/07/2007 | 1 | 03/07/2007 | |
| Engine runs excessively hot on the rear cylinder. temp. difference of 100 degrees. *tr | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM | |||
| 09/10/2008 | 14000 | 1 | |
| Heat from the rear exhaust is so intense that it caused burns to my wife with her feet on the passenger footboards as designed. caused burns to the inside of my right thigh. *tr | |||
| 08/15/2007 | 8 | 100 | 06/16/2007 |
| Harley exhaust temp. is hot. *jb | |||
| 08/03/2007 | 822 | 1 | 07/20/2007 |
| Excessive heat from engine and exhaust makes riding the motorcycle unsafe in heavy traffic and could lead to injury from burns or a loss of control. *tr | |||
| 07/23/2007 | 10 | 35 | 03/18/2007 |
| Extreme heat from exhaust and engine burns riders thighs and passengers feet and lower leg. this causes a comfort issue which then becomes a safety hazard as you constantly have to shift your position so you will not burn yourself. *tr | |||
| 09/15/2006 | 10 | 1 | 09/15/2006 |
| The situation: on a motorcycle, drivetrain failure at typical operating speeds could very well mean severe injury or death of the rider. abnormal heat or noise coming from the motorcycle's drivetrain are not issues to be ignored by a prudent rider or by the manufacturer of the motorcycle. for example the drivetrain on my 2007 flhtcu is excessively noisy when operated in gear. this implies excessive vibration and/or abnormal wear occurring somewhere within the system. in addition, the exhaust runs so hot as to present a burn hazard to the rider and passenger even when properly clothed. while riding even in winter temperatures i sustained a severe burn to my left leg, leaving a permenat 4 scar. it is well known that excessive heat will also contribute to longterm problems with any drivetrain, increasing the likelyhood of failure. what harley davidson has done: to date, the only half-hearted solution to these maladies offered by the harley davidson motor company has been the torque smoothing download which accomplished nothing when installed on my bike. hd has asserted that the noise and heat are normal. on the contrary, many 2007 hd units do not have these issues, thus they are clearly not normal. many owners have resorted to costly aftermarket solutions such as replacement gearsets and fuel management systems all installed a their own expense. i essence, hd has offloaded their responsibilities onto their customers. what hd should do: hd should issue a recall. hd should retrofit all affected 2007 models with the ids rubbermount rear sprocket (now standard on the 2008 touring models) to reduce drivetrain vibration and wear. they should also provide adjustments and/or modifications as needed to the fuel system to reduce drivetrain heat. they should extend the warranty of all affected 2007 motorcycles appropriately. *tr | |||
| 05/14/2007 | 1 | 09/01/2006 | |
| I purchased peace officer ultra classic model, i also own a 2005 sportster. the ultra was dangerously hot on the left side above the exhaust, where left leg sat by design. i' read the other posts and felt hd needed to address this. the latest hd magazine simply suggests to wear heavy pants. very disappointed with this design flaw. hd was offering a reprogramming that shut off the rear cylinder at parade speeds. again, i believed the exhaust was the problem, and also checked myself at long lights to make sure pants were not on fire! *ak | |||
| 04/24/2007 | 200 | 27 | 08/17/2006 |
| This is the follow-up relating to the complaint i filled on march 6, 2007 (odi number) 10184521. again, we stopped at a harley davidson dealer on our trip to california with our friends, this time san juan capistrano. the mechanic stated that we had some serious heating problems. pipe discoloration, excessive heat, but they do not have a dyna. he recommended a dealer that wasn't open for 3 more days. that wasn't going to work. we then had to stop at quaid harley davidson on the way home, because of these problems. after coming back from california again and experiencing excessive heating issues, we thought harley davidson would fix the problem. we brought our bike to hacienda harley davidson in scottsdale, az the following morning with massive discoloration (black/dark brown) on the pipes not including the blue and yellow ones (from the day we drove it home from the dealership) and oil that was so thick, your figures stuck together. i then contacted harley davidson and spoke to deb. she stated that their (harley davidson) rep was going to look at the bike. so we left it at the dealer for two weeks. the harley davidson rep states that the bike is just fine and that we need to take off the lowers. also, we were informed that the race tuner that we were told to purchase at $500.00 plus $500.00 installation would void the warranty on the motor if there was a problem. this is sooo wrong. we now have to pick up a bike that injuries riders. we live in arizona, which there is a lemon law, however, we do not know if it applies. probably not. our only other recourse is to sue harley davidson. what to sue them for? i do not know, but i have a $37,800.00 bike that i make a payment of $700.00 monthly on that we are scared to ride. we have personally put nothing on this bike, and it is a bomb waiting to explode. *jb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - EMISSION CONTROL | |||
| 12/06/2006 | 1 | 1 | 12/06/2006 |
| 2007 flhtcu harley davidson runs so hot it cooks your legs. dealer says this is due to fed emission. *tr | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE | |||
| 09/03/2007 | 1250 | 2 | |
| Had this '07 flhtcu since 04/07. the heat coming off the engine is totally unbearable above 85 f. the wife has had first degree burns twice now as the summer has worn on. i've done all the hd recommendations, keeping within the sum total of the parts that came with the original purchase. i will not spend more money with hd to correct a defective product. from all the reading on the subject that hd has forced me to pursue ... it can be corrected. i find it absolutely incredible all my calls to hd and the contacts with hd dealers have just been blowing me off. most recently i was doing 75 mph on an interstate in 85 f temp. and the engine just turns off, very bad ... i maneuvered off the road between a couple of 18 wheelers, pretty dangerous. after 30 min. of checking every thing i could, it just started. it seemed to be running hot, even at that speed; back to a dealer next and probably the usual ... can't find anything. seems to me hd has a big responsibility here, very sad that they won't support their customer. and, where's the gov't.people ?? *tr the system relay switch failed which was heat related. the dealer speculated the left side muffler clamp was leaking which was blowing hot exhaust near the fuse block. updated09/27/07. *jb | |||
| 08/26/2007 | 67 | 1 | 08/26/2007 |
| There is excessive heat coming from the engine which burns on the inner thigh just to the right of the seat. i purchased the bike yesterday and was told by dealer that after 1000 miles i need to change the oil with synthetic oil. i was also told i must purchase lexan engine guards. i burned my inner thigh yesterday while i was stopped at a stop light. i was wearing thick jeans as well. it got so hot i almost dropped the motorcycle. when riding in stop-and-go traffic the problem becomes even worse. this is clearly a safety issue to both operator and those traveling around the motorcycle. if the motorcycle is too hot to handle the operator becomes focused on not getting burned rather than the surrounding environment. the potential for an accident is raised significantly. secondary, to burn potential is the possible damage to the pipes through bluing and excessive heat. a consumer pays a premium price for a hd product and would expect that these safety and maintenance issues would be properly addressed by the manufacturer instead of making the customer pay for the fix of this problem. *jb | |||
| 08/11/2007 | 12 | 06/09/2007 | |
| There is excessive heat coming from the engine, bluing of the exhaust pipes, and an extreme burn danger to the operator and passenger. since my purchase of the bike i have installed the recommended hd lexan heat guards. these items simply do not work as the heat from the engine and exhaust is so intense that i have burned myself on the inside of the thigh several times (through a thick pair of blue jeans). with the natural reaction to pull away when burned i have almost dropped the motorcycle on several occasions. when riding in stop-and-go traffic the problem becomes even worse. this is clearly a safety issue to both operator and those traveling around the motorcycle. if the motorcycle is too hot to handle the operator becomes focused on not getting burned rather than the surrounding environment. the potential for an accident is raised significantly. secondary, to burn potential is the possible damage to the pipes through bluing and excessive heat. a consumer pays a premium price for a hd product and would expect that these safety and maintenance issues would be properly addressed by the manufacturer. *tr | |||
| 07/27/2007 | 12 | 1 | 04/30/2007 |
| Excessive heat from engine, exhaust. *jb | |||
| 07/25/2007 | 0 | 1 | 06/21/2007 |
| Excessive heat from engine , exhaust system turning blue, i have burnt my leg on the exhaust. *jb | |||
| 05/28/2007 | 600 | 1 | 10/07/2006 |
| The heat generating from the engine and exhaust on to the rider's legs and seat and also to the passenger's legs is extremely high. i have on repeated times, left burned jeans on the left rear exhaust heat shield. after experiencing this a number of times i added an additional aftermarket heat shield, which has helps some, but now this heat shield on the left side is melting and bubbling. i also can not sit on the seat when stopped at traffic lights, i have to standup. the heat transferring up through the bike's seat is so intense i am sure that i will end up with burns on my bottom forward area if i remain seated. this same heat is transferred to the passengers feet and legs, more so when riding down the road. i feel as if harley davidson, in their quest to meet epa guidelines have leaned out the engines, which generates intense heat, and have disregarded the safety and comfort of the rider and passenger. this creates an unsafe condition in which the rider and passenger are either going to get burned by the exhaust and/or engine heat, or be injured by being distracted with consently adjusting themselves while riding the bike. i have taken the bike to the dealer for service on a couple times to check on the heat problem. they did add a heat management upgrade program, and they also tell me the engine temperature is in the harley-davidson specs. this may be true, however, there is still a problem with the amout of heat and the possibility of injury to the rider and passenger. *tr | |||
| 06/27/2007 | 144 | 1 | 06/19/2007 |
| Burning of pants by an open exhaust pipe on a 2007 harley davidson flhtcu motorcycle. the left exhaust pipe under the riders left leg got so hot that it could actually catch a rider's pants on fire and cause serious injury or death. my pants had holes burned in them but had not actually caught on fire. the pipe was tested to be 180 degrees by the hd dealer. harley davidson, as i was told by my dealer, had no solution for this very serious problem. the solution could be very simple but apparently harley didn't care. i was told that you could not wear dress pants and ride a harley. harley davidson should not be allowed to put such an unsafe vehicle on the market to sell to unsuspecting buyers. *ak | |||
| 04/24/2007 | 200 | 27 | 08/17/2006 |
| This is the follow-up relating to the complaint i filled on march 6, 2007 (odi number) 10184521. again, we stopped at a harley davidson dealer on our trip to california with our friends, this time san juan capistrano. the mechanic stated that we had some serious heating problems. pipe discoloration, excessive heat, but they do not have a dyna. he recommended a dealer that wasn't open for 3 more days. that wasn't going to work. we then had to stop at quaid harley davidson on the way home, because of these problems. after coming back from california again and experiencing excessive heating issues, we thought harley davidson would fix the problem. we brought our bike to hacienda harley davidson in scottsdale, az the following morning with massive discoloration (black/dark brown) on the pipes not including the blue and yellow ones (from the day we drove it home from the dealership) and oil that was so thick, your figures stuck together. i then contacted harley davidson and spoke to deb. she stated that their (harley davidson) rep was going to look at the bike. so we left it at the dealer for two weeks. the harley davidson rep states that the bike is just fine and that we need to take off the lowers. also, we were informed that the race tuner that we were told to purchase at $500.00 plus $500.00 installation would void the warranty on the motor if there was a problem. this is sooo wrong. we now have to pick up a bike that injuries riders. we live in arizona, which there is a lemon law, however, we do not know if it applies. probably not. our only other recourse is to sue harley davidson. what to sue them for? i do not know, but i have a $37,800.00 bike that i make a payment of $700.00 monthly on that we are scared to ride. we have personally put nothing on this bike, and it is a bomb waiting to explode. *jb | |||