Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire What's happened to Harley-Davidson reliability??

What's happened to Harley-Davidson reliability??

Something tells me this will be a Leupold thread before long.

My current Leupolds all work fine, on record.

Not a single problem with any of my HDs to date - and I've had about 6-7 of 'em since .04. The one I ride the most ('14 Ultra Classic) now has about 46K on the odometer and I've only had routine services performed on it since I bought it.. I'll probably hang onto this one until I can't ride any longer..

My newest Harley is a 1974, so really can't speak to the last 45 years...

The Shovelheads, Panheads, Knuckleheads, Flatheads, were never "reliable" in the sense of turn the key and go like Jap bikes. They were, however, simple enough that a rider could usually keep them running.

I know the early carbureted Evos were pretty bullet proof.

Then came fuel injection and computers.
What could go wrong?

I have two HD motorcycles. One is twelve years old.

Never a problem.

Harley seems to be holding its own.... so far.

Have you dialed them?

just fired up my 90 fxrs the other day during the warm snap. thing seems to run better every year. probably sell it in the spring though. people in cars scare me too much anymore.

I was waiting with bated breath for you to drop another H-D video.

Good way of putting about Shovelheads and the rest. Heck my 03 Heritage is fuel injected and it is a running SOB never a hickup as long as the battery is hot.

I went to a harley dealer and bought a turn signal light bulb they charged me $9.99 plus tax.. a month later I was in Radio shack and they had the same bulbs in a plastic bag with 2 bulbs in it made in china for 0.99 cents Fuch Harley... Yes I am still riding a Harley Sportster, I just don't deal with them anymore than I have to..

Lucky it wasn't a Toyota, you wouldn't even have got the thank you kiss.

you get robbed buying parts at a stealership no matter what the make of the vehicle is

^^^ This ^^^

Replacement OEM dual beam headlight for a late 70's Yamaha from a Yamaha dealership was priced several times higher than the GM vehicle headlight that was the very same exact headlight but with a GM logo instead of the Yamaha logo.

Harley reliability has not been a problem for me (grin)

Having owned a carb Harley and fuel injected, I'd much rather have the fuel injected. Just touch the button and go.

as far as reliability, I guess I've been lucky, I haven't had problems with any motorcycle I've owned, but in fairness I swap out about every 3 years so I don't get much wear and tear on any of them.

Over 30K on my 04 Road King Custom. Never a problem. Never a problem with the 3 I had before this one either.

I find mine to be very reliable. Brakes, tires, and fluid changes. The turn signal bulb burnt out. Nothing unusual. The stock headlight is a joke though. 2009 Lowrider. An old flashlight is about equal. Got an LED one. All is well.

2018 Street Glide and 2019 Ultra Limited in the stable. No problems at all.

I've owned 10 Harleys over the years and the only one that gave me minor problems was the 1987 Sportster 1200. It vibrated so bad that bulbs blew and parts cracked. It also stretched the chain too much. Had to be adjusted at least once a week. A conversion to belt final drive cured both problems.

I seem to love what some folks love to hate, (or are jealous of).

ie; My favorite motorcycles are Harley-Davidsons (I've had Japanese and British bikes too).
my favorite 1911s and rifles are Kimbers (I also have SA, Colt and Dan Wesson 1911s and many other rifle brands).
my favorite scopes are Leupolds (multiple other brands at one time or another).

Do I need some sort of therapy??

I had a 77 LowRider. What a dog! And an oil slinging one, at that. I bored and stroked it, changed the cam and gears in the tranny, went to solid lifters, re-jetted the carb, put a belt on to the rear wheel and it ran acceptably. But it still slung oil! No one could fix that. I sold it and 30 years later bought a Victory. It's MUCH faster and responsive than my bored and stroked Harley ever was and all I have to do is push a button and go. Harelys are a way over priced image of conspicuous consumption in my book. Too bad Victory went under so Polaris could focus exclusively on their image of conspicuous consumption, the Indian.