Topic: Harley Road King Lemon?? Where is the quality?

[ElCheapo]

Some of you know the story that is my uncles Road King or should we call it Choad Thing? He is finally deciding to go lemon on it. This bike was bought at the begining of the season and has failed to do anything a new bike should like ,,,,,run......or have the accessories work in anyway possible. 

1. Front cylinder runs so hot it it made the front pipe glow in noon daylight, melted the reflector, dripped onto the front cylinder and started a small fire. This was after the factory performance computer flash. Harley says this is normal.
2. Radio fails to work when outside air temp gauge reads anything over 80 degrees. The very second it hits 80 the radio dies.
3. CB works for a distance that could be best described as yelling distance. What is the point?
4. Tank has been off the bike 4 times during dealer service. One time the Harley tech botched the tank install and shorted the cb antenna, burning out the radio and the cb one more time. This bike has been through like 3 radios.
5. Dies at random around corners-This too maybe normal....
6. Stumbles under heavy acceleration - maybe this is normal running condition- that is what Harley says.
7. If bike gets wet, rear speakers work intermitently. Basically he explained that if you wobble back and forth then they come on one at a time. So for you to have music you have to be stink drunk or in a high speed wobble.

Good Old American Quality

As each day goes by he is glad he never got rid of his old Goldwing.

[nickjtc]

Surely a one-off scenario....? And a lot of the issues seem to be down to a poorly trained mechanic.

Harley makes and sells 350,000 bikes a year. This cannot be typical of the breed, can it??

[eldar]

I dont know. Every week I see as many harleys for sale as all other bikes combined.

[kslrr]

The intention of the computer flash is to lower the heat the rider feels when at a stop.  This is done by shutting off the rear fuel injector so that the engine runs off the front cyl only.  No kidding!  I read this on the HD site.

This could also cause the stumble if heavy acceleration off the line.

I have an '04 883 Sportster Custom.  It has been trouble free from day one and all accessories work as intended.  I think HD was too quick with tricky technology for ,07.

[Gordon]

Surely a one-off scenario....? And a lot of the issues seem to be down to a poorly trained mechanic.

Harley makes and sells 350,000 bikes a year. This cannot be typical of the breed, can it??

I think maybe H-D is counting on the fact that most of the bikes they sell are never actually ridden, or at least not often enough, and by experienced enough riders to know that anything is amiss. 

One of the few people I know who owned a new Harley had a similar experience.  He bought a brand new Ultra-Classic in 2000 and it had to get sent back to the factory in Kansas City within the first six months, and then again later that year.  He didn't ride too much, anyway, so it didn't really bother him.

[Bodi]

But how many of those 350,000 get ridden further than sidewalk in front of the nearest bar with a patio? Anyway, a true believer™ will blame any HDMC product problem on all the *@#$ing imported parts in it.
Seriously, HD has gotten quality under control and this sounds like mostly a dealer problem. Plus maybe a rider problem... any air cooled bike will overheat if you ride to encourage overheating. The easiest way is to ride in stop and go traffic with full throttle dashes between stops. SOHC4 riders should know that if you're riding traffic jams in 80+ weather you're mistreating the motor, pull over and take a rest occasionally or take to the shoulder and deal with the police attention you'll draw. I don't know your uncle or anything about where or how he rides, but a water cooled motor is the obvious choice for anyone who is in a hot climate and deals with bad traffic. Maybe a V-Rod?
A stock big twin should not overheat and start melting parts off when driven normally in either city or highway use. The same engines with high compression big bore/stroker mods should be used in hot weather city traffic only with great caution.

[ElCheapo]

This bike was adult ridden and did only highway miles. Funny I asked him if he was beating the thing.....he paused and laughed and said "You're the only one here who beats on them"  And he meant it. When we ride together he gets on my case for blasting on my bike. You could say his bike was grandpa ridden.

I spoke to him on the phone and he said that there were several other riders that owned one of these and they all had the same problems. Or some similar or some that he did not. Nonetheless,,,,, none of them was pleased with thier purchase.

I do not doubt the trouble free Sportsters. What the the Sporty is to Harley is like the Chevy 350 to Chevrolet. They just run plain and don't normally have issues.

When it comes to the Road King, I feel the quality is just not there. But that is just my opinion. I do know the bike has like 3 miles of wire in it! I know I do not want to work on them if I can help it. I liked the way the bike looked, but that is not what really counts in the end............

[putnaja1]

I got a buddy that has a recent model Sportster 1200..  It fires up and runs first time, every time.  Looks like a quality ride.

I've also heard that Harley considers it normal for their to be quite a bit of a difference between the two cylinders compression wise- and that always made me nervous..  With the shared crank pin, they have that characteristic rough idle..  I can't even imagine how rough it must sound if the SW makes the rear cylinder cut off at idle! 

Road Kings are beautiful bikes to look at (I especially like the ones without windshields), but for as much as they cost, they should be freakin perfect- every single one of them!!

[tramp]

you got to wonder why there are so many harleys for sale

[Uncle Ernie]

BMWs seem to fill the want ads in larger cities.  Jillions of used Beemers. 

[sandcastcb750]

It's the Chinese parts that are failing.

[tbone]

you got to wonder why there are so many harleys for sale

Part of this is due to what I like to call the "Yuppie Phenomenon".
(People with no business being on a bike buying a bike)

[UnCrash]

Agreed Tbone,

Part of this is due to what I like to call the "Yuppie Phenomenon".
(People with no business being on a bike buying a bike)

I've met a few yuppies that have bought Harleys as first bikes.  They're in their 40's and didn't even ride dirt bikes as kids.  Their issue is that they buy that low rider or road king instead of the 883 sportster and it's a lot of bike to learn on. 

It ends up being too much for them, and their fears outweigh their ambition and learning curve.

The Harley-Yuppie syndrome does cause a lot of them to be up for sale.

[merc2dogs]

up for sale and normally at a huge loss.
I think that's what is contributing to the decrease in resale value on them.

Ken.

[tbone]

When I bought my first Big Twin (69 Electra glide) Harley owners were still considered
dirtbags. Don't get me wrong, the yuppies saved Harley from eminent ruin but surely didn't do much for real bikers except cost them lots of extra cash due to the inflated prices from the added demand.

[putnaja1]

Also, lets face it- lots for sale, because there are LOTS sold!!

I'm not disputing the ding-dong yuppies that buy new, bigger Harley's, load up on all the H-D gear, and call themselves bikers- then sell the bike next year when they take up golf!

But, I'm guessing also Harley's might have longer service lives than say, crotch rockets, due to the power-to-weight ratio and the fact that most dumb street squirrels go for the cheaper crotch rockets..  When was the last time you saw a H-D riding a wheelie at 65 mph on the highway?

[tbone]

When was the last time you saw a H-D riding a wheelie at 65 mph on the highway?

You should have rode with my old crew! 

[Steve F]

Don't get me wrong, the yuppies saved Harley from eminent ruin but surely didn't do much for real bikers except cost them lots of extra cash due to the inflated prices from the added demand.

And perhaps the demand has been met, and thus the market is overloaded.  Their eminent ruin may have been just delayed by the Harley fad.  I call it a fad, fanned by all of the TV shows that promote the big V-Twin bikes.  Eventualy, people will get tired of all of this, and the interest will wane.  I'm wondering about all of the "new" Harley dealerships that are popping up all over the place, and how long they'll survive.  How many of these bikes can be sold to keep the market healthy?

[Bob Wessner]

Can't speak to the longevity of the brand, but I have noticed many new dealerships going up. An interesting aspect of the ones I have seen is the "retro" look of the buildings. Brick facade, almost a warehouse look, down to a wooden water tank on the roof.

[Jonesy]

Can't speak to the longevity of the brand, but I have noticed many new dealerships going up. An interesting aspect of the ones I have seen is the "retro" look of the buildings. Brick facade, almost a warehouse look, down to a wooden water tank on the roof.

Is that so when you look at the bikes, the technology doesn't seem so outdated (relative to the retro setting)?