[Logan01]

Re: Back Off Non-Harley People, the real problem was...

My guess would be that most of the bearings were good, and only a few were bad. I had a set of rear discs for my 1999 gm four wheel drive that were pealing apart.... splitting layers of metal, and they told me it was a salt problem not a metal problem. I live in Arkansas, so go figure.

 

[pdad13]

The court made the right decision. Does anyone really think that Harley would place an ad that they knew was patently wrong? And that seems to be the issue here. The plaintiff is claiming that HD knew they had a design problem when they ran the ad. I have no idea how anyone could prove that. Contrary to popular belief, a smart advertiser will not place a "great" ad for a defective product. That's suicide. This is the main reason why companies who invest heavily in their brands through advertising and marketing (becoming "brand names") are actually insuring the public that they get high quality products. It comes down to accountabilty. A company with a brand that they've invested a lot of money in is not going to jeopardize that investment (and the brand) by intentionally producing crapola. Do they occasionally make mistakes? Is there a problem every now and then? Of course. But for the most part, you're going to get a good product because their brand name holds the company accountable for the products they produce.



What I object to is the idea that the customers have to wait until the thing breaks to get it fixed. And if the part is out of warranty, they have to pay! That IS poor brand management and a sign that HD is showing some troubling arrogance.



I'd really like to know how many bikes were affected. But if Harley has issued a warranty extension and a fix kit, it says that their is a potential problem (even with the pressure from the legal suit.) So to say that the bearing/cam failure could never happen is wrong.

 

[seruzawa]

Political advertisements are specifically exempt from federal truth in advertising law. Betcha they got real bipartisan support in granting themselves that exemtion.

 

[seruzawa]

Please. It's lunchtime. I can hardly hear, read or see an ad from either freakin' candidate without losing my lunch already. Have mercy.

 

[Buzglyd]

One more thing

How does a fella get a cool name like Titsworth?

 

[seruzawa]

Did you tell him that drinking 3 magnums of Colt45 before riding is NOT RECOMMENDED?

 

[rickrwh]

Harley? Exclusivity? Bwahahahahahahahahahah!!!!!!!!!

 

[pdad13]

Nope, I don't. And if I did, I wouldn't defend Kawasaki either. My bike has had a couple of recalls that were attended to. No problem.



But I do have a brother and a freind who own Harleys. And while they've been happy overall with the quaility of the bikes, they're not entirely happy with the dealer service or the price gouging. They understand they paid a premium for the "Harley experience," but they feel that they are sometimes taken for granted.



Don't get me wrong, I want to see Harley prosper even though I will probably never buy one of their bikes (Thought about adding a XB12 to my garage, but I just couldn't justify the price). But because they are "The Motor Company" does not make them immune to critical review. Customer loyalty is great. Blind faith is dangerous. I think it's important to motorcycling in general to have a healthy HD. They have to nip problems like this in the bud to avoid the old stigmas from returning.

 

[pdad13]

Yeah, I know... I was out riding on Sunday and at least 75% of the bikes were HD (That will change as the as the Spring wears on, but there's a ton of 'em out there).



Okay, how about: what the Harley Cult THINKS is exclusivity. (Watch for those astronomical resale values to come down a bit.)



It's still hard for me to believe that someone would pay seven grand for a used 883 Sportster. Unreal.

 

[seruzawa]

Don't laugh too hard. Look at all the rubes who line up to cry "take my money please" whenever some company comes out with a "limited edition" Eddie Bauer Exploder or a Thunderbird or a PT Cruiser. The companies are laughing all the way to the bank. Look at the FJR1300. How many are paying premium and waiting months for those?



Limited Edition. Yeah. Limited to the number of people who want them.

 

[Winger4Life]

A company with a brand that they've invested a lot of money in is not going to jeopardize that investment (and the brand) by intentionally producing crapola

But that is exactly what the American auto makers have been doing for the past 30 years! Why do you think there are so many jap cars out there?

I think Harley should do the right thing and have a recall. Yes, it looks bad, but sh*t happens. No bike or auto manufacturer is immune to defects.

 

[sportbike_pilot]

You want truth? You can't handle the truth!

 

[pdad13]

Re: Back Off Non-Harley People, the real problem was...

The difference here is that HD has admitted that there is a potential problem with the bearings/cams and issued a fix. To me, that says there is a significant number of problems or they expect problems to occur.

Now, they may never have another problem, and this thing will go away. But if they continue to have a significant number, they've made a mistake by not recalling. Time will tell.

BTW: GM, not known for having the highest quality standards either. I'd ream them good for that salt excuse.

 

[kpaul]

Re: One more thing

My Texan grandpa used to say "I don't care a tits worth of anything about what you say" hmm maybe this why I am boob guy.

 

[kpaul]

Defending Harley

I think Harley did the right thing. The court did the right thing. As bigjames said they changed bearing supplier. Motorcycles are buit and designed by humans. Errors occur because of that and think Harley did the right thing afterwards. As longride and seruzawa have said other manufacturers had made similar errors but have not admited it. So back off on Harley you Harley haters in this case. Harley has to be doing a lot of things right to get such a loyal following. i.e its can't all be the American thing or Bad boy image that keeps people coming back

 

[kpaul]

LOL and oh so true

 

[kpaul]

Harley sent letters to customers informing them in early 2001 that the rear cam in a small number of the company's motorcycles had failed.

The company extended its warranty for the part and separately developed a $495 kit for dealers and service departments to repair the original cams.

 

[kpaul]

Re: Ad copy

Seattle has much better fish and chips to me. It's ironic that some fish and chip places here sometimes say "authentic English Fish and Chips", like it's a good thing.

 

[kpaul]

Re: Ad copy

". It was just like the Y2K problem. More of a people problem than an ACTUAL one" Yep oh so true. You are right about ignoring the problem, I'll bet if Harley would of ignored it, we would never heard about.

 

[kpaul]

Tank slapper on a Road King. I laugh in his face. Should put a steering damper on that thing. You know that hyper steering geometry is going to kill you.