cdynaco

Harley's always were junk and apparently still are!

Biker claims Old Glory 'wind resistance' prompts Harley-Davidson to void warranty

Published May 22, 2014


A hog-riding former lawmaker from Wisconsin claims that Harley-Davidson voided his motorcycle's repair warranty because of the patriotic flags he let fly from the back of his chopper.

However, Harley-Davidson says the warranty is still in effect and just his warranty claim has been denied.

David Zien, who served in the State Senate from 1993 to 2006, said he was told by the motorcycle behemoth it would not honor the warranty after the clutch and transmission failed on a recent ride to Dallas, claiming that that the American flag-- as well as other banners-- caused unneeded wind resistance, according to the Journal Sentinel of Milwaukee.

“All they said was, because I fly flags on the bike, there’s no warranty on the powertrain,” Zien told the newspaper.

Harley-Davidson told the paper Zien’s warranty is still valid, but the claim he filed had to be denied because the bike was not made to handle wind resistance from multiple flags at highway speeds.

“The issue isn’t that the flags are heavy,” Harley spokeswoman Maripat Blankenheim told the Journal-Sentinel, “but they provide terrific drag on the engine and the transmission, especially when the bike is at highway speeds.”

She added that the flag mounts that Zien used were not Harley products.

“When you alter a motorcycle with non-compliant products, that does impact your ability to make a warranty claim," she said.



http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/05/22...ntcmp=trending

El Coyote GT/CS

The bikes are not made to handle the "unneeded wind resistance"!?

It would have been a smart move to fix his bike and suggest he cut back on the flag waving to avoid further problems. But instead...

...it sounds like they're telling him he needs to buy a well-built [Japanese] bike if he's going to be towing all those American flags behind him.

I guess it's true; you can't fix stupid!

JonW

The amount of drag those big flags place on the bike is huge. But I see Patriot Guard riders flying them all the time, so I suspect this guy must have been flying them constantly, instead of just on runs like the PG riders do. If so, that is placing an unreasonable demand on the drivetrain.

Saying Harleys are junk because of this incident is like saying Mustangs are junk because someone added nitrous and blew up their motor and had a warranty claim denied. I'm on my 6th Harley and they most certainly are not junk.

StangMahn

If wind resistance from a flag is causing that type of a problem, then they're junk.

Aside from the V-Rod, Harley's have been pretty much unchanged from what I see in the last 30 years. They're fat, slow, sound obnoxious with the exhaust that most Harley riders put on them, and archaic.

I live close to Myrtle Beach, I was down there last week (Unknowingly so) during Harley bike week. The riders are terrible and obnoxious, and I don't recall seeing any of the thousands of them wearing so much as a helmet. People say the sportbike riders are bad (some are...doing super high speeds and wheelies on the road) but they're better than the Harley people for my money.

And loud pipes don't save lives. You don't hear exhaust until they're either right next to you or in front, and if you're riding next to a car for any extended time as a motorcycle rider, you're asking for it.

Mickstang

I've been riding Harleys for pretty near 35 years, and I've had good luck with the brand, although I confess that I use them for transportation and not as a high-speed parade float. And I guess I ought to fess up to being terrible and obnoxious, but then I have always been so, and it's unrelated to motorcycle riding, I suppose. Anyway, it's not one of those "Which came first-- the chicken or the egg?" things.

Getportfolio

I'm going to stop wearing long sleeves. I'm pretty sure their drag is what is causing my back pain when I walk.

Moosetang

HD's messaging isn't the best in this, and they'll probably end up caving just to save themselves a lot of grief. But ultimately, they're correct in this.

I mean, vehicles are designed to handle certain conditions and the warranty is intended to cover usage in those conditions. This is fundamentally no different than the rich dingbats jumping their Raptors at 90+mph then moaning about the frames bending. If he were carrying around flags that said "no fat chicks" nobody would give this story a second thought, he should be ashamed he's exploiting the Stars And Stripes for personal gain.

2 Go Snake

I think there is more to this story than wind resistance. If the wind resistance was so great that damage was caused to the bike , I would think the bike owner would have had a hard time keeping the bike on the road and would have slowed down to a speed that would make wind resistance a none issue.

David Young

I don't know what to say about this. My Mustang is only a v6. All my bikes in the past and if i ever buy another, one thing for sure it will have 4 cylinders

future9er24

HD tried a bunch of times to make more modern and up-to-date bikes over the years. Unfortunately the last time that idea was financially successful for them, it was the mid-60s and the sportster was rollin out.

The problem is (post 60s at least) that HD had created such an image that the image was the thing selling more than the product. HD has tried, but its the owners that are clamoring for more ancient, heavy and slow bikes.

I would LOVE to have a sportster someday and do it up XR1200 style, but its just so hard to justify a HD's cost, in addition to the (in my experience) absolutely garbage service you get at the dealers. then you throw in the fact that the majority of their bikes are slow, huge and heavy... its not a pretty picture. I hope they figure out how to keep HD active and active for the future, but I really hope they figure out how to modernize their bikes as well.

and as a side note, loud pipes definitely save lives in this day and age considering how quiet modern car cabins are. someone in a car dealing with loud pipes is always preferable to someone without loud pipes getting maimed or killed because the majority of car drivers have no situational awareness. and if you think its loud in our car, think how loud it is for that guy who is riding the thing lol. I rode my bike mufflerless for almost the entire duration I had it and it definitely kept people out of my way or at least made my existence known to the plethora of moronic drivers out there. I just think a human life is worth more than the annoyance of loud noises.

going back to the original post though, even though those flags probably do cause a fair amount of drag, i can't imagine it compares to the drag/weight of the people I normally see riding the bigger cruisers anyway, especially in touring guise with all their gear and clothes and whatnot. That dealer clearly is suffering from the same service issues as... well most HD dealers.


/rant lol

Outlander

I don't agree that Harley's are junk but they aren't for everyone.

It was fair for them to scrutinize the warranty claim. Manufacturers can be ****** but so can customers.