Harley Davidson Harley Davidson 2000

Model Harley Davidson made in 2000 by Harley Davidson got 22 consumer complains as well as 1 service bulletin. Consumer complaints with reference, among others things, to electrical system and engine and engine cooling. Technical service bulletines regarding exterior lighting.

Model 2000

Bulletins


BulletinBulletin dateReplacement BulletinItem no.SummaryAdded
EXTERIOR LIGHTING - HEADLIGHTS
5406/01/2001620622Information concerning vibration of the springer and deuce headlight on 2000 and early 2001 modelyear vehicles. *tt08/17/2001

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY
08/15/2000210/01/1999
 Negative battery lead came loose engine stopped. dealer reports it is a common failure battery leads always come loose due to bad design of terminal ends on battery cables. *ak
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE
05/10/2000
 Harley davidson model fatboy motorcycle; while driving 40 mph heard a loud noise. dealer replaced a broken rear cam bearing under warranty. *ak
10/01/1999
 I have been notified in writing by harley-davidson about possible failure of the rear cam bearing in my motorcyle. they say that it happens in a small number of bikes and that i should not worry. however, should the bearing fail in a unfavoralbe situation (65 mph on a parkway with guard rails and no where to pull over should my bike seize) the effect could be fatal. i tried to contact harley-davidson to no avail. when i contacted my dealer they shrugged it off and said it probably won't happen to me. i've already met two people whose engines blew up due to the failed bearing and almost could not get off the road without causing and accident. the dealer says if i want to pay for the replacement bearing so that i can have peace of mind it won't cost that much. mean while harley-davidson extended the warranty for just that part to 5yrs/50,000 miles. i belive they should do a recall before someone gets killed. thank you
12/01/1999
 Twin cam bearing has not failed yet. if bearing does fail a serious potential for accident exists because failure could cause engine to lock up while in motion.
04/05/2001109/01/1999
 Cam bearing failure. not at speed
08/01/1999
 Harley knows there is a problem with the rear camshafts on the 2000 tc88.....why the hell don't they fix the problem....or do they want to wait until the motor siezes and someone gets killed.......warranty my ass fix the problem......and ya wonder why you pay $15,000 for a bike that they knew was deficient and now give us a song and dance about fixing the problem......wanted that kind of reliability i would have bought a jap import piece of crap......make them do the right thing before someone gets killed!!!! *ak
06/06/2000112/01/1999
 This is the second motorcycle mentioned in the earlier report on cam bearing failure in our 2000 road king. again, failure resulted in immediate halt where the failure occurred and a subsequent tow to a dealership. in this case breakdown occured in an isolated area of wyoming and a tow of 150 miles to billings, mt.*ak
05/22/200012/01/1999
 Bearing failure results in total and immediate engine failure at the point of failure. happened on this motorcycle and on my wife's (2000 hd heritage softail classic)as well, hers at 11,700 miles. it is a known problem with twin cam engines made before 12/15/99. *ak
10/01/1999
 Cam bearings are failing on 1999 and 2000 harley-davidson tc-88 engines. there is potential for serious safety consquences due to this failure should it occur during heavy traffic situations. h-d is aware of the problem, but to date will only repair the motorcycle after it fails. i firmly believe this problem could be life threatening if it occurs in a heavy traffic situation such as interstate travel, rush hour, etc. and that a recall should be implemented immediately.*ak
09/01/1999
 There have been an alarming number of cam bearing failures on hd's tc88 engines. the factory has not issued a recall. if the engine seizes due to a bearing failure it can cause the rider to be thrown from the motorcycle. the factory has issued internal notifications on this issue. i do not feel my new, 2000 model year motorcycle is safe if a cam bearing failure is potentially faulty.*ak
07/19/200008/01/1999
 The cam bearing has not yet failed. there is a high number of failures in this bearing, on new engine design mamnufactured prior to 12/15/1999. harley davidson has issued a service bulletin 1097 to dealers replacing failed ball bearing with roller bearing, but has not recalled bikes with ball bearing cam bearings. because of possible engine seizure in traffic, on mountain roads etc. i am fearful of failure of the bearing /engine now when riding. *ak
 Consumer was traveling about sixty miles and when he came to a complete stop, noticed that the motor mounts were on the ground. also, brakes were defective. *ak
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE
05/14/2001810/01/1999
 As fo the first day i picked up my motorcycle it has had some problems with the engine. iknow because i just traded in a 1997 h-d roadking for this new bike with the so called new improved engine. it has brought my wife and i nothing but headaches. we have received an extended warranty from harley davidson that if the part fails in the next five years they will replace it. except you don't know where or when its going to fail,1 or 1000 miles from home. i have a touring bike which means it is meant to be ridden far. if they know there is a problem why wait until it breaks, just fix it! are they waiting until someoen gets seriously hurt from a motorcycle going 65 mph to a dead stop? when your stuck out on the road for days waiting for a repair that should have been done prior to leaving its an added expense, time wasted on a vacation and then the possibility of people getting killed. *ak
102/01/2000
 My bike is equiped with the tc88 motor and i have been notifed that the rear cam bearing could fail. the bearing disign was changed during the 2000 model year. what if it fails at highway speed and the motor locks up? this would not be good on a motorcycle. i feel the company should recall my bike and repair the problem before something bad happens. i have contacted harley davidson motor company and was told they will extend my bike warranty on the cam bearing to 5-year/50,000 miles. i feel the cam bearings should last longer then 50,000 miles. the customer service department of andrews cams is saying that if you have one of the bikes with the bad cam bearing, it's gonna blow up, it's just a question of when.*ak
02/15/2001106/01/1999
 Harley davidson has admitted that certain twin cam engines manufactured during a certain date range is susceptible to catastrophic engine failure. i find it inconprehensible that recalls exist for distorted lenses, possible hatch failures, and a host of other manufacturer defects get the attention of the nhtsa, but the complete and instantaneous failure of an engine does not warrant your attention. what could be more dangerous than passing another vechicle and experiencing an engine failure?. does harley have that much lobby money here. i'm also writting my congressman. i guess this will be handled like the airline industry, reactive vs. proactive.how large a price is harley willing to pay for the inevitable death resulting from the failure of a product that they have admitted is defective? ,*ak
108/01/1999
 Motorcycle cam bearing makes it worse and more dangerous. harley knows of the defect and has a fix (bearing replacement with a better design). they have also changed their design in later models. they should be mandated to recall effected engines and implement this fix prior to it failing and causing an accident! thanks you very much for your consideration!*ak
11/01/1999
 I bought update kit my self, harley won't pay for it. no safety defect mentione din summary. *ak
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE - CARBURETOR SYSTEM
 Vibration would occur while driving over 55 mph, and carburetor would backfire. dealer claimed vibration was normal. *ak
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
 Consumer was traveling about sixty miles and when he came to a complete stop, noticed that the motor mounts were on the ground. also, brakes were defective. *ak
SUSPENSION
 Vibration would occur while driving over 55 mph, and carburetor would backfire. dealer claimed vibration was normal. *ak
TIRES - TREAD/BELT
07/17/2000105/01/2000
 While driving, big chunks of tread came off of rear dunlop elite ii tire mt90b16, consumer crashed and went into a ditch, causing 2 people to be injured and damge to motorcycle, consumer contacted dunlop. *slc
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - LINKAGES
10/05/2000110/01/1999
 Throttle cable broke in center lane of busy highway in darkness near accident with passing cars. *ak