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Lou Girardin
27th January 2006, 07:29
I run the rentals at AMPS, for those that don't know. The bikes are 1 - 2 years old and average 2000 - 3000 k's per month. In nearly 2 years the sum of failures has been 2 broken drive belts through stones getting trapped in them. Plus one mysterious case of a clutch cable coming loose and wearing a hole in the oil filter. This wasn't a mechanical failure, someone had loosened the clip.
What's made me mention this was an English guy on a tour from ChCh, he and a mate have the only two Harleys. All the others are on Beemers, ALL the Beemers have had some sort of problem during the tour - Harleys nil.

Flyingpony
27th January 2006, 11:52
What's made me mention this was an English guy on a tour from ChCh, he and a mate have the only two Harleys. All the others are on Beemers, ALL the Beemers have had some sort of problem during the tour - Harleys nil.
So you saying that Suzuki and Harleys rule the roost for undying reliability!

Good thing I own a Suzuki and dream about owning a Harley. Probably get a GSX-R 1k next though or a Guzzi.

Lou Girardin
27th January 2006, 13:06
So you saying that Suzuki and Harleys rule the roost for undying reliability!

Good thing I own a Suzuki and dream about owning a Harley. Probably get a GSX-R 1k next though or a Guzzi.

Suzuks are on a another, much higher, level altogether. Reliable, stylish and a true indicator of good taste and discernment.

buellbabe
27th January 2006, 13:22
Pre-evo Hardleys weren't exactly known for their reliability but things have definately changed since then. I have only ever owned evolution Harleys so my comment comes from reading about them and having mates on older bikes...
Buell has had some teething problems but considering they are still a relatively young company ( not to mention eager to push boundaries ) you can cut them abit of slack.
NEVER had any probs with my HOGs and my Buell has just had its 76,000 km service. It has been a blissful ride so far and looking forward to many more!:love:

In The Breeze
27th January 2006, 13:37
Suzuks are on a another, much higher, level altogether. Reliable, stylish and a true indicator of good taste and discernment.
I agree Lou and I also agree with Rashika too. Time have changed and for the most part Harleys have got things sorted. Not my cuppa though but they dont deserve the near 100% bad rep given :confused:

Waylander
27th January 2006, 18:05
Suzuks are on a another, much higher, level altogether. Reliable, stylish and a true indicator of good taste and discernment.
Shame so many wankers ride them.

Badcat
27th January 2006, 18:46
Shame so many wankers ride them.
yes - perhaps if they all bought overchromed chopped out prehistoric pieces of shit, they'd become much better people.
doesn't seem to have worked for you however.

Buster
27th January 2006, 19:10
I run the rentals at AMPS, for those that don't know. The bikes are 1 - 2 years old and average 2000 - 3000 k's per month. In nearly 2 years the sum of failures has been 2 broken drive belts through stones getting trapped in them. Plus one mysterious case of a clutch cable coming loose and wearing a hole in the oil filter. This wasn't a mechanical failure, someone had loosened the clip.
What's made me mention this was an English guy on a tour from ChCh, he and a mate have the only two Harleys. All the others are on Beemers, ALL the Beemers have had some sort of problem during the tour - Harleys nil.
Clutch cable wearing through oil filter??? Who the? what the? how the?

Waylander
27th January 2006, 19:34
yes - perhaps if they all bought overchromed chopped out prehistoric pieces of shit, they'd become much better people.
doesn't seem to have worked for you however.
Meh, wankers ride all sorts of bikes but from experiance, an overwhelmingly large number of them ride gixxers as apposed to most other kinds of bikes. It could be that there are just so many more gixxer riders.

98tls
27th January 2006, 19:42
Meh, wankers ride all sorts of bikes but from experiance, an overwhelmingly large number of them ride gixxers as apposed to most other kinds of bikes. It could be that there are just so many more gixxer riders. funny thats what i say about harley riders:motu: yea dont get all excited you harley riders,my best mate rides a harley an old sporty,hes got the money to buy a big block etc but just wont change,he loves the old girl and in the face of public opinion about those old things it just keeps on going,never ever breaks down,he gives me shit about rideing a jappa i return with the harley thing but i cant fault the thing for reliability.

SixPackBack
27th January 2006, 19:55
Meh, wankers ride all sorts of bikes but from experiance, an overwhelmingly large number of them ride gixxers as apposed to most other kinds of bikes. It could be that there are just so many more gixxer riders.

Perhaps you need a little help extracting your foot out of your mouth AGAIN:tugger: .........Harley's, Gixxer's and every other are cool...period!

Lou, good to know harley's are that reliable, they certainly look and sound great...the V-rod is a special bike IMO.

98tls
27th January 2006, 19:57
well said that man.

Flyingpony
27th January 2006, 20:52
I agree Lou and I also agree with Rashika too.
:scratch: :scratch: Rashika hasn't posted above your post :scratch: :scratch:
Which KB poster or thread are you referring to?

Rashika
28th January 2006, 06:41
:scratch: :scratch: Rashika hasn't posted above your post :scratch: :scratch:
Which KB poster or thread are you referring to?
I'm guessing Buellbabe is who he is refering to....we are close but not quite interchangeable eh BB? :hug:
altho having said that I concur with BB anyway, so I guess maybe it was just premonition on In the Breezes part ;)

Lou Girardin
28th January 2006, 08:44
Clutch cable wearing through oil filter??? Who the? what the? how the?

We said the same. Want a job?

Motig
28th January 2006, 17:05
Well Harley should just about have it right now. After all they been building the same bike for about 90 odd years:blip:

sennandy
3rd February 2006, 01:27
I run the rentals at AMPS, for those that don't know. The bikes are 1 - 2 years old and average 2000 - 3000 k's per month. In nearly 2 years the sum of failures has been 2 broken drive belts through stones getting trapped in them. Plus one mysterious case of a clutch cable coming loose and wearing a hole in the oil filter. This wasn't a mechanical failure, someone had loosened the clip.
What's made me mention this was an English guy on a tour from ChCh, he and a mate have the only two Harleys. All the others are on Beemers, ALL the Beemers have had some sort of problem during the tour - Harleys nil.

I was chattin to a guy the other day who has 2nr new Ducati's one 999r the other his everyday bike a 998monster, I asked him how he was gettin on etc, having the craic and he said he had a harley wide glide for 3weeks brand new out of the box, took it back to the Harley shop for an oil leak it had a porous engine casing, and was told it would take 8weeks to mend, he told them to keep their bike and give him his money back and went for the Duc's, now that was a close call.

They should stick to the old days and massey fergusson engines, sums up a harley.:rolleyes:

Rashika
3rd February 2006, 04:31
I was chattin to a guy the other day who has 2nr new Ducati's one 999r the other his everyday bike a 998monster, I asked him how he was gettin on etc, having the craic and he said he had a harley wide glide for 3weeks brand new out of the box, took it back to the Harley shop for an oil leak it had a porous engine casing, and was told it would take 8weeks to mend, he told them to keep their bike and give him his money back and went for the Duc's, now that was a close call.

They should stick to the old days and massey fergusson engines, sums up a harley.:rolleyes:
me for one, am glad they didn't or else the Buell never would have been... and that would have been a huge shame for me.
So does he think italian bikes are reliable then? :laugh:
Sorry mate i know 2 people that have made warrenty claims in new eyetie bikes, one 3 so far, the other 2... seems to be a common thing with bikes that have a bit more individual attention when built :cool:

dangerous
3rd February 2006, 05:18
They should stick to the old days and massey fergusson engines, sums up a harley.:rolleyes:
'All' brands have the odd rotten apple in the barrel mate....... even Suzuki had a problem with the k5 frames, SV water leeks, VTR cam chains... mate list goes on, so what ya mate got a dodgy Hog, my new Itialian bike has had 3 warantee clams and 1 break down in 6000k's........... thats motoring for ya:sunny:

98tls
3rd February 2006, 05:38
thats interesting reading dangerous,i have a few mates with older guzzis and they keep on keeping on with no problems,out of interest were they very serious problems or just niggly annoying things?

dangerous
3rd February 2006, 05:47
thats interesting reading dangerous,i have a few mates with older guzzis and they keep on keeping on with no problems,out of interest were they very serious problems or just niggly annoying things?
Guzzi probs..... older bikes have been sorted by now (dodgy wiring) but ECU controled bikes have a few extra probs, nothing big relays need replacing and I had a speedo cable bust (pissed Iti hadent had enough Coffee in the morning after a night on the Vino) and put the wrong one in.... the other isent a Guzzi prob as it was the Ohlins fork seal leaking.

98tls
3rd February 2006, 05:56
good looking bike i reckon,hows it go through somewhere like the hundalees,i only ask as i am from up that way and its a great bit of road,the only guzzi i ever rode through there was a 1100 sport found it nice and torquey,i could just about own a guzzi i reckon its just that i like my vtwins facing the other way.

buellbabe
3rd February 2006, 06:05
Generally speaking Harleys ARE reliable, but like any brand there will be the odd lemon. Hey I don't mind admitting that I have heard of quite a few Buells that fall into the Lemon category (mines 1 of the good ones!!!) but when you consider the sheer number of units that Harley produces per yr I think their successes outweigh the failures... Lou? you would have an idea of those stats??:ride:

Troll
3rd February 2006, 07:55
,i have a few mates with older guzzis and they keep on keeping on with no problems

strange I had a guzzi once, most unreliable piece of junk I have ever owned

compared with the iron sporty I had had previous to the guzzi the harley was more reliable, had better gas mileage, higher top speed, better acceleration

guzzi had better brakes but it usually broke down before you needed to use them anyway

problems with the guzzi shrunk in sleeve in the rear wheel to hold the bearings in place unshrunk itself, two piece mainshaft in geasr box decided to grow and push a gear out into the gearbox casing

have a friend who has the misfortuine to own a new breva, its now almost 3 years old and still having warranty claim after warranty claim, he should have bought a sportster and if the guy in the shop had told him about the rubber mount sporties due out the next month he would have bought one instead of the breva he now has

tracyprier
3rd February 2006, 08:03
Having worked in the automotive industry for my first 6 years of work (mechanic at Schofields) I learnt that no matter what badge is on a car (and bikes are the same) you will always get dodgy ones. Mass production + budgets + human involvement means there will always be a percentage of "dogs" rolling off the assembly line and that it's unfair to write off a whole brand because of it.

On a different note; a while back I was looking at buying another bike and was thinking about Harleys. In the end I decided that it wasn't what I wanted BUT the thing that really struck me was the totally negative, derogatory comments I got from biker mates when I mentioned Harleys.

Once they had wiped the rabid foam off their mouths I asked them one question, "have you ever actually RIDDEN a Harley??"... and they ALL said no!

Funny how some people allow others to dictate their opinion on things, things they personally have no experience of.

Personally I like Harleys, I just think they are overpriced for what they are, which is no reflection on the bikes themselves.

buellbabe
3rd February 2006, 08:08
Once they had wiped the rabid foam off their mouths I asked them one question, "have you ever actually RIDDEN a Harley??"... and they ALL said no!

Funny how some people allow others to dictate their opinion on things, things they personally have no experience of.



So so true. Don't knock it til ya try it I reckon. Know a guy who was Ducati mad and 1 day 1 of his HD riding friends said why don't you try a Hog?. Ducati sold, now happily getting around on a Nightrain. And LOVING it

Rashika
3rd February 2006, 08:33
So so true. Don't knock it til ya try it I reckon. Know a guy who was Ducati mad and 1 day 1 of his HD riding friends said why don't you try a Hog?. Ducati sold, now happily getting around on a Nightrain. And LOVING it
yeah, nice bike that is too!
Is it this one BB?

buellbabe
3rd February 2006, 08:35
yep sure is...

Rashika
3rd February 2006, 08:36
yep sure is...
:innocent: funny... wonder where that pic came from? :msn-wink:
I guess he's still loving it

buellbabe
3rd February 2006, 08:41
Rashika you are a bad girl... he he he

thehollowmen
3rd February 2006, 09:07
Pre-evo, when the manufacturing was outsourced was abosolute crap.

Post evo manufacturing has higher tollerances than most of the jap bikes. I'm a jap bike owner and lover, but on seeing an 88B engine and the video tour of the plant where they're made ... wow. They're measuring down to microns in some cases.

That's like a grandfather clock. Looks a little bit honkey but with such perfect tollerances that everything runs like a work of art.

sennandy
3rd February 2006, 11:36
I forone have ridden a Harley(oh and did all you harley riders know that Davidson was Scottish) just a little bit of useless info. I rode a harley wide glide from Las Vegas - Hoover Dam and back loved it because the road was straight.

I also note that someone said that Harleys are as reliable as Suzuki, usually when we talk of reliability we use the phrase Honda somewhere, never heard of Suzuki being used in this sence before, Honda is know for being reliable No2 Yam, No 3 between Kwaka and Suzi and all the rest dont sell as many bikes as the top 4 so dont usually get rated(info from www.motorcyclenews.co.uk).

I have had 3 Kwaka's, 3yams, a triumph and 2 Ducatis, and themostunreliable believe it or not was 2 of the kwakas, the most reliable was the Yams(except for the car I hit head on, the bike didnt like that). 1st Duc the regulator went, then the brake hydrolics, 2nd duc the rear hub sheared, but the handling is superb like nothing else, so worth the hassle.

We will all know of problems with all bikes, but still love them, I will know doubt one day buy a Harley when I cannot or can'tbe bothered with slinging my leg over and sitting in the featus position but until then I will enjoy.

dangerous
3rd February 2006, 15:47
Rashika you are a bad girl... he he he
And just how 'bad' is she?


strange I had a guzzi once, most unreliable piece of junk I have ever owned
And what was it and how many miles were on it???


good looking bike i reckon,hows it go through somewhere like the hundalees,
the only guzzi i ever rode through there was a 1100 sport found it nice and torquey,
Loves the hill work bit harder to push than the 1100i sport but more comfortable by a long shot just taks a bit of getting used to aint like no jappa.
Whos sport did you ride?

98tls
3rd February 2006, 16:52
i worked in a bike shop in dunedin for a while,the guy was guzzi mad,i was going away up to nelson for a weekend and the owner said take this so away i went,totally different bike than the TLS but i enjoyed it,i am originally from just up past parnassus so know the road up to kaikoura pretty well so gave it a good thrash through the hundalees and it did better than i thought it would.i will never sell the TL,have and am spending alot of money on it and just love the thing but i need something else to pack up me and the missus and gear and bugger off on,shes been a real trooper and done lots of miles on the back of it but its just not a two people bike,not sure what would fit the bill but a guzzi does appeal.

Edbear
3rd February 2006, 18:47
Always liked the look of Harleys, but think they are too highly priced for what you get. Would like a new 1200 Sportster though. My old Suzuki just starts and runs and goes like a cut cat any time I want. Nothing's broke down on it and all I've done since buying it is replace the battery and rear tyre and adjust the chain. Boring, maybe, but riding, as opposed to fixing, is the fun bit isn't it?

Troll
4th February 2006, 07:25
did all you harley riders know that Davidson was scottish.



yes and the last new motor designed for indian was designed by some guy Franklin who was Irish

Pixie
4th February 2006, 11:10
Saw a guy pushing a Harley on the NW motorway towards the western springs exit last week:rofl:

Rashika
4th February 2006, 11:21
Saw a guy pushing a Harley on the NW motorway towards the western springs exit last week:rofl:
geez wouldn't laugh too hard mate, could be you one day when you run outa fuel. :whistle:

Troll
4th February 2006, 19:47
And what was it and how many miles were on it???




82 california with 30,000 miles

my 86 glide has over 100,000 miles and is 100% reliable

Timber020
4th February 2006, 20:49
Harleys ought to be reliable, as someone mentioned its not like they put out a new motor every couple of years, and the engines that they do put out are hugely understressed for their size. Low revs and low power output generally equates to a long life for any engine but alot of the reliability would come from the servicing and how they are kept and ridden.
Generally Harleys are brought new by older guys who have alot of money in the bank, use them to cruise on when they have free time. They generally dont get thrashed (although the engine is made so even when thrashing them they are only doing about 6,000rpm), raced, wheelied, stoppied, jumped or ridden on crap roads in crap weather or get parked outside. Heck if these kinda guys brought RGV's brand new there reliability rate would have skyrocketed.
I know some guys ride them hard and fast and treat them badly, but this isnt the majority of owners.

Swoop
6th February 2006, 13:16
Low revs and low power output generally equates to a long life for any engine but alot of the reliability would come from the servicing and how they are kept and ridden.
I believe this is true of most motors. High km's cages attest to this. Heaps of distance can be attained so long as particular attention is given to changing the oil.
2c worth.

skidz
8th February 2006, 10:33
It's all like going out and bying a washing machine, you either get a good one or a bad one. Any mass produced product is going to have its bad ones.

scumdog
15th February 2006, 08:00
I believe this is true of most motors. High km's cages attest to this. Heaps of distance can be attained so long as particular attention is given to changing the oil.
2c worth.

Too true, my 'toy' cage (F100 pickup) has over 100,000 miles and over 30 years of use on it, (as an ex-USA engine I don't know how many it had before I got it) and while it is starting to fume a little it runs real strong still.
It's been drag-raced - a lot earlier in the piece - and had all manner of bad shit happen to it but I change the oil and filter regularly (always both, don't believe in just the oil but filter every second change crap) and always let it warm up before giving it the big boot.

Low cruising revs and regular oil/filter changes is the go.

Rashika
15th February 2006, 08:43
Too true, my 'toy' cage (F100 pickup) has over 100,000 miles and over 30 years of use on it, (as an ex-USA engine I don't know how many it had before I got it) and while it is starting to fume a little.....

ahhhh i guess THAT explains the blue smoke as you took off from Dangerous's pad the other day huh? :laugh: :spudbooge

scumdog
15th February 2006, 08:59
ahhhh i guess THAT explains the blue smoke as you took off from Dangerous's pad the other day huh? :laugh: :spudbooge


Of course! yes, that explains this mysterious trail of smoke from the rear of my truck, all is explained now!:2thumbsup :whistle: :msn-wink:

Smarty-pants!!

dangerous
15th February 2006, 19:01
Of course! yes, that explains this mysterious trail of smoke from the rear of my truck, all is explained now!:2thumbsup :whistle: :msn-wink:

Smarty-pants!!
funny......... smelt a hell of a lot like rubber to me :rolleyes:

Divot
16th February 2006, 20:52
Had my 883 for nearly three years now. Brought it with 18500k on the clock and it now has 68,000k on it. Been around the South Island on it. Broken two belts and one carb diaphram holed. Still riding and having fun.