[LPT 2]

Hey Everyone,

Had a bearing case come apart and the pieces damaged 4th & 5th gears in my trans. (2003 Road King Classic)

Trailered my bike to Harley the dealer on 9-29-08 and the dealer got the go ahead from my extended service plan on 10-2-08.

As of today the dealer has had my bike 20-days, I spoke with them on the phone this morning and they still are unable to give me a date when repairs will be finished.

The excuse is they say they're having trouble getting parts????

I'm begining to get alittle ticked-off but I'm not sure if 20-days is normal or not. I've been told that with parts in hand, this is a 4 hour repair???

If this time frame is not normal operations, what can I do, who can I talk to??? How do I get my bike back in a timely manner?

Can anyone advise? What should I do next?

[ironhorse]

sounds like they are ethier really busy or just plain dropped the ball, or there is a back order on parts which happens all the time. my only question is how much damage was there I would concern myself with the integratey of the case and which parts they are reusing I would try to push for a new complete assy, since the parts aren't coming in a timely fashion jmo

[LPT 2]

Hey, ironhorse,

Thanks for the reply,

They are not busy, they told me things were slow right now. They are replacing the entire cluster, and it's 5th gear they say that they are having trouble locating, they told me that they were trying other dealers to get the part also.

So, you don't think 20-days is out of the norm if parts are on back order?

I know the 20-days is driving me crazy, especially if it's true that the repair is a 4 hour repair once you have the parts.

[chucktx]

20 days is a bit long, but if they truely dont have the parts......well.....
call a few dealers your self, ask the parts person for "what ever parts" your dealer is haveing a problem with. if they have it on hand, let your dealer know, if they are on back order, then your just gonna have to wait.....sucks!

[cowboy]

How many dealers are in your area ? or get on the HD site & look around you can find all the dealers 7 start calling

[LPT 2]

Contacted customer service, find out thru tracking that the dealer actually placed the order on 10-3-08, and harley davidson finally shipped it on 10-17, ain't that some great customer service??? Dealer and I also contacted other dealers for the part, the dealers that had the part refused to sell it due to harley's inability to ship parts in a timely manner. I guess they didn't want to be the ones waiting 3-weeks should they need it, can't blame em. So, I get to wait another 3 to 5 days, that puts me somewhere around 30-days without my bike for a 4-hour repair.

[ironhorse]

no back orders are not uncommon I have been 5-6 mos out on a back order machine down and had to guaranty a three piece order to buy the part out from another buyer (aint i nice) cost went from 1200 to 3600 in a blink and still had to wait two weeks. when ya gotta have it ya gotta have it. most of my parts i get back ordered on me are only 4-6 weeks out, but if the demand is there and parts are not then your at thier mercey

[FLHTbiker]

I think if that was me in your situation I would have bought the after market
5th gear which does not give that 5th gear rattle and whine sound. Just my
2C worth.

[LPT 2]

5 to 6 months out, 30-days, how is that acceptable, in 6-months you could hand build an entire scooter. I did realize that back orders were not uncommon, just the way everyone just accepted it and talked like it was no big deal. I think it's insane, if I were to operate like that in my business, there would be no business. Harley I guess has the luxury of monster sales at $18,0000 to $30,000 per scoot to not worry really about providing proper customer service. They've got me by the short hairs and it grinds my a$$.

[skull2007]

i just had the the fuel pump on mine replaced under the extended warrt. took them one day to do it. after your repairs are finially done the people from the extended warrt. co. will call you and ask about the service, that will be your chance to really blast them

[hotroadking]

have to agree,

Baker makes a 5th gear replacement, bucks out of your pocket but no whine

Sometimes things get backorderd

Bud of mines still waiting on a trans mainshaft....

[ironhorse]

Originally Posted by LPT 2

5 to 6 months out, 30-days, how is that acceptable, in 6-months you could hand build an entire scooter. I did realize that back orders were not uncommon, just the way everyone just accepted it and talked like it was no big deal. I think it's insane, if I were to operate like that in my business, there would be no business. Harley I guess has the luxury of monster sales at $18,0000 to $30,000 per scoot to not worry really about providing proper customer service. They've got me by the short hairs and it grinds my a$$.

these parts were not for scooters just examples of what i have dealt with, a manufacturer that i deal with in italy, builds the parts as they are ordered, pretty much nothing for inventory, after finding this out i just have'em made here. and I agree with HRK and flhtbiker on the aftermarket course that brings up the warranty, installation issues through the dealer. the only thing i had back ordered on my scoot was a speaker that was two weeks out at most, but the service writer just up graded his on his new bike and shazam i was back on the road that day. the day of stocking anything but impulse buy items is heading out the door thats why ups, fed ex and the likes are so promainent, shipping costs are usually factored in or added to the part decreaseing the overhead. and thats why they have you by the shorthairs.

[norman]

Need your advice. Just purchased a 2008 Heritage Softtail and I'm very disappointed with it. It has a very noisy gearbox in 4th and 5th gear in particular. Will heavier weight oil correct this noise. Anyone with experience with similar problems please reply. Very frustrated with this problem.

[FLHTbiker]

Norman, first off get the crap that Harley puts in the gear box out and throw it away. As far as that goes same with their engine oil. Harley has been using that SYN3 crap in the Tanny's and it simply to thin.

You can use Amsoil motorcycle gear oil for the trans, Royal purple is another good brand and Red Line is another good oil to use in the trans.. There is a sheet load of info on motorcycle oils as there has been a lot of controversy about what brands are better. I still say for the gear box a proper gear lube is better. I had the same issue with mine and changed to a oil designed for the tranny (Red Line) and the noise did diminish. It didn't go away entirely but did help and it also made it shift much smoother. Harley's 5th gear is a piece of sheet as its cut differently then the other gears and makes a lot of noise. I wouldn't put the SYN3 in any of my bikes as they put out a bid and take the lowest bidder. Even Amsoil has a good chart showing how bad the stuff is. Good luck with it.

[LPT 2]

ironhorse,

I understand the supply and demand concept for keeping inventory under control, but the suits at harley are clueless. They have a world wide network of resoures and data that is at the touch of a computer key board. harley tracks everything. With all the info available, a program that provides proper customer service and also works for harley is simple stuff - even a caveman can do it. Somebody is dropping the ball, don't know what they're doing or don't give a $hit. Their current progam don't get it, just way too much stuff on back order for unaccetable amounts of time. We've all probably experienced some parts lag time on occaision with our cars and such, but harley is way out in left field on this one.

[LPT 2]

Skull,

If they call me I will blast them for sure, they have me so pi$$ed I could stomp a mud hole in their a$$.
I'm not sure it'll do much good blastin em though, absoultely everyone that I've talked to on the phone to date has a generic management seminar reply topped with a who gives a $hit attitude.

[hotroadking]

Redline heavy shockproof will quiet down that Trans a bit Norman, the reason you hear the noise is the straight cut 5th gear is designed to take a heavier load from more use, so it's a bit louder.

If it really bugs you, then Baker Drivetrain makes a 5th gear conversion that eliminates that straight cut gear (BTW all HD gears were straight cut at one time ie 06 and back) in the five speeds.

So it's nothing more than a gear doing it's job.

If you get a lot of rattles and banging then you're in 5th at too low rpm, downshift.

[skull2007]

Originally Posted by norman

Need your advice. Just purchased a 2008 Heritage Softtail and I'm very disappointed with it. It has a very noisy gearbox in 4th and 5th gear in particular. Will heavier weight oil correct this noise. Anyone with experience with similar problems please reply. Very frustrated with this problem.

sometimes you got break em in some. put it the road and run the crap out of it while it's still under warrt.