Has anyone out there had any issues with the rear shock, specifically the adjustment accumulator? I have 10500 miles on my 2018 Heritage, bought it in September 2018, and typically put on 75 miles a day to a from work. I have taken it on a couple of out of state trips on the way. This started when the left rear signal quit working. I worked my way up to the harness plugs under the seat, and discovered that the adjuster had broken off of the bracket (bolt head sheared), had fallen down and wedges between the rear of the mono shock and the front of the rear fender, severely bending the fender, and pushing on the harness hard enough that it unplugged the left rear. I hadn’t noticed any really unusual noise, and no noticeable change in ride. I haven’t hit any potholes or rough bridge transitions, although the HE Bailey turnpike I run a lot in Oklahoma is quite rough in places. The bike is at the dealer, scheduled to be looked at tomorrow. They initially tell me it will be warranty work, and should be, although I’m curious to see how they handle the damaged fender. Anyone else had similar issues out there?

 

Yours is the third or fourth one I've read about here. I wonder if the bolt was over torqued at the factory?

 

I’m not sure about the bolt being over torqued, although that is definitely a possibility. The bolt is sheared just below the head, right where the threads start. I’m thinking maybe it needs some added support out there on the open end, since all of the weight of the adjuster is hanging out there on a single bolt. This is the only issue whatsoever I’ve had with this bike, and I love it, ride the wheels ( and the rear preload adjuster) off of it.

 

Wow, the packaging of wiring and components under the seat looks like a real mess.

 

Yes it is, that’s a drawback of the mono shock suspension I would say. It leaves room for little to nothing under there without some creative placement. I was able to fit the custom dynamics brake light strobe module easy enough, but it’s very small too.

 

It’s the sloppy packaging and little thought given to ease of maintenance that has kept me from buying one of the new Softails until now. Unfortunately I have little choice now seeing that the ‘94 FLSTN I’ve owned, ridden, and cared for over the last 25 years was totaled by a careless driver last month.

 

Good luck with your issue. Keep us posted on the results.

 

Uncle G that does suck, that’s time and effort you can’t buy back right there. I can say, I’ve ridden a friends 96 Heritage a few times, and the throttle response and torque my 114 has is no comparison, yet at the same time, I bet you never had to hook a tuner or a laptop to it to troubleshoot or repair.

 

No, I never did, and I’d have no idea in Hell how to go about it even if I owned a laptop. As far as power goes, I proved that 65 HP and 80” was nearly enough to get me killed.

It boggles my mind that we nowadays have to have a dozen sensors, a computer and a bunch or proprietary software to get a fuel injector to do what a carburetor could do all by itself. I’m just trying to figure out how all this additional expense and complexity is making my life “better” and I’m drawing a blank.

 

Going out on a limb here. IMHO I think it comes down to fuel economy and emissions. The carb on my '94 xl gets the job done certainly... but... you get the idea. Complexity mandated by politicians.