Starter

[ultrascooterdave]

Brought bike home from dealer on Monday and rode it until Wednesday without issue and it was amazing. My girl followed me Wed. evening in my car to drop it off to have brakes done. Checked the car in, my babe got her helmet and gear on got on the bike, nothing, didn't try to crank, nothing. We bought the extended warranty called them because we were told we have towing. That was a joke I guess that we didn't find funny, because we don't have towing. The car mechanic came out I pulled the seat he tested battery, tested fine. He then tapped the starter lightly while I hit the start button and shazaam she fired up. Went to my dealer Thursday told them what had happened. Again, $1200 for an extended warranty we paid for. Was told I could drop it off Monday they would get it in Tuesday, but if started, there was nothing they could do. So I said your telling me you wont fix or change anything until we are broke down on the side of the road. Short answer service manager gave me was that is correct. This is our first harley, I've had a ton of japanese bikes including royal star, road star, and goldwing. I have a bad taste in my mouth about the Harley customer service I have received in my 5 days I've had the bike. They could learn alot from Yamaha, and Honda customer service. I do love the ride, but Harley reps have dropped the ball on me very early on. Confidence level is low.

 

[Jack Klarich]

Brought bike home from dealer on Monday and rode it until Wednesday without issue and it was amazing. My girl followed me Wed. evening in my car to drop it off to have brakes done. Checked the car in, my babe got her helmet and gear on got on the bike, nothing, didn't try to crank, nothing. We bought the extended warranty called them because we were told we have towing. That was a joke I guess that we didn't find funny, because we don't have towing. The car mechanic came out I pulled the seat he tested battery, tested fine. He then tapped the starter lightly while I hit the start button and shazaam she fired up. Went to my dealer Thursday told them what had happened. Again, $1200 for an extended warranty we paid for. Was told I could drop it off Monday they would get it in Tuesday, but if started, there was nothing they could do. So I said your telling me you wont fix or change anything until we are broke down on the side of the road. Short answer service manager gave me was that is correct. This is our first harley, I've had a ton of japanese bikes including royal star, road star, and goldwing. I have a bad taste in my mouth about the Harley customer service I have received in my 5 days I've had the bike. They could learn alot from Yamaha, and Honda customer service. I do love the ride, but Harley reps have dropped the ball on me very early on. Confidence level is low.

Dave, find another more user friendly dealer, let them have the bike until they can duplicate your problem. A bad starter will rear its ugly head again, The dealers know the TSB's on the starters and what to check for, they are lazy as warranty work does not pay as much as other jobs, stand your ground there is a dealer out there hungry for your business

 

[biscuit]

That would be EXACTLY the reply i would expect from H-D.

I cant understand why you expect anything different.Surely you understand that they are doing you the favour by allowing you to buy one of their bikes.

In the course of my life ,i've had Australian,Japanese and French cars; Italian,Japanese,English and American bikes-and Harley by far, has given me the most angst with regard to MY consumer rights.(not saying the others are perfect--)

The sheer arrogance with which they treat their customers never ceases to amaze (and anger) me.

I for one, will never buy another H-D which is a shame for both of us;as i fit their demographics and income stream pretty well.When i have to fight for my inalienable consumer rights after paying Forty grand for a lousy Motorbike,then something is rotten in the state of H-D.Customer service in the Motorcycle industry is basically 'Lip Service'.

Feel free to pillory me;i really dont care.I'm fed up with these overpriced behemoths.

 

[TQuentin1]

Sorry about the negative experience with the Dealership. Happens all too often I'm afraid.

But I would suggest some simple PM before getting all twisted off. Remove the battery cables (neg off first, on last) and clean the mating surfaces of BOTH ends of BOTH cables with a wire brush. Inspect the ends of the cables for signs of corrosion (white or greenish powdery substance) where the wire is joined to the lug. Resecure both ends ensuring they are tight, but don't twist off or strip the bolts on the battery. Check this:

Harley Davidson Community

Check that the grounds are tight. Mine are under the seat, and so should yours be too.

A last option you might take if you are worried about being stranded somewhere is a solenoid push-button. See here for an example:

Starter Switch for Solenoid Housing | 3800353 | JP Cycles


TQ

 

[HDSickness]

There are good and bad dealers. Harley or Japanese or European. Just go to a different one or indy eventually they will get the message. No better bike on the road then a Harley. A bad dealer experience would not make me never buy another one.

 

[ultra limited]

Its all about the sale. Customer service does'nt seem to exsist much anymore. HD is happy to make sales, customer relations seems to be on the back burner.

 

[btsom]

Intermittent problems are the most difficult to find and fix. I doubt that your extended warranty covers the dealer for throwing parts at your machine until it accidentally finds the right one. Things YOU didn't cover in your op and probably would not cover with the service department: By "nothing", did you mean no head light, no fuel pump, no starter relay click, no solenoid click? This could be a bad battery (not likely), bad battery connection, (already mentioned), a starter switch starting to fail, starter relay starting to fail, sticky starter solenoid, or just a bad connection in any one of half a dozen connectors. If YOU were the dealer, what would YOU do, knowing you had a supervisor to keep happy? As an owner, what do think YOUR responsibility is? Are you willing to pay your deductible several times until the correct item is stumbled upon?

 

[ultrascooterdave]

Diagnosed by a CAR MECHANIC, had lights, radio everything but wouldn't start. Happened again today. Excuuuse me I think they should fix the problem, STARTER! I gave it a little tap and it started. I don't think its rocket science and I don't expect to see these problems on an $18000 motorcycle with 14,000 miles on it. At least in no other world except Harley

 

[Bodeen]

Try a different dealer. Some are helpful some are not unfortunately.

 

[wannaride]

See if the starter bolts are tight. The starter uses the body of the starter & the bolts for a ground & when you tap the starter it might be just enough to ground the starter and start. Have a friend that has a 2007 that did the same thing, I told him about the starter bolts so he went out & checked to see if they were loose (he said that they may have turned less than a quarter turn) and no more problems. That was 3 years ago.

Toby