I bring my bike to HD a while back and ask the tek to start it because it feels weirdespecially when hot. So he starts it a number of times but can't hear anything wrong.

Have them check the battery and charging system = everything great no problems. I changed the battery regardless because something felt wrong nothing wrong?

So when I start it and it cranks but goes... uh... and just stops i took to holding the button down till it turned. Boom two weeks later bring it by HD and another guy tries starting it and it was working normal again, but then the starter clutch went south nothing wrong?

Get that changed out and they tell me i need to pay them extra time and a gasket for the primary case plus a quart of oil in order to ensure me the ring gear was not damaged, So i play along and happily get the news all is good and i can pick up the bike, nothing wrong? Nope all good now.

A week and a half later It does the ...uh... thing a-gain when hot, bring it by ( dealer is close to home) and they tell me something is wrong I should check the battery cable for wear, I take it apart, looks good , no wear,clean it heat it and solder the wire at the starter end, put three coats of shrink tube on either end it looks like a brand new cable put it on and get all together again starter goes tick tick. Put it on charger next morning starts like a new bike wow I was really happy. turn it off start again tick tick and then turning but real slow , not fast enough to actually start the bike. nothng wrong?

Discouraged I bring it byHD again and the tek ( fourth one now) starts checking it over and tells me my starter is fried.

well how is that possible you guys just had it apart to change the starter clutch last week? four teks have had a go at it, and your telling me it's bad luck and I now need a new starter 540$ besides install and tax plus the eval gonna bring me to 820$ plus the 380$ I gave last week for the starter clutch, well that's 1200$ if my math is any good.

So now I will have a new starter and get to keep my old one as a paper weight with a brand new starter clutch in it to fiddle with at my leisure.

Hence the question does this not suck fiercely?

 

Get it running and trade it in now while you still can.

 

Buy yourself a Harley repair manual and learn how to work on and troubleshoot your problems yourself. Quit giving your hard earned cash to the stealer.

 

If you don't know how to do diagnostics and repair yourself you need to learn to follow some rules for your protection.

First - always demand an estimate for diagnostic work (typically this is $60-80 and hour) so expect to put out some coin just to figure out what the problem is. Also don't feel like you need to stick with the dealer just to troubleshoot what the problem is even if it is for items covered by warranty. You can bring a repair estimate to your dealer and ask if that part or repair service would be covered under warranty and if it is bring the bike in to them for the repairs.

Second - never agree to parts or labor charges, only the labor cost for diagnostics, until the mechanic can explain to you in detail why and how the repairs need to be done and you should make sure to state it up front very clearly that you do not want nor do you agree to any parts or labor costs unless you agree to them by signature after discussing it with the mechanic, not the ******* at the repair shop front counter. The guy/girl at the front desk needs to sell parts and repairs to make the shop money so if you ask him/her chances are they will recommend $100k in custom upgrades and repairs. Sometimes you get a straight shooter who knows repeat business is more important but don't count on it.

Third - Know the basic concepts of automotive repair even if you aren't that good at it you still need to understand what the shop rep is telling you rather than just smile and hand over your credit card. In your specific case they should have been able to diagnose that it was a starter problem but because you agreed to it your paying for their stupidity or them training some ****ing retard who passed the Wyotech course and needs to actually learn to work on bikes. A seasoned well trained mechanic should have been able to troubleshoot why the bike is acting up and eliminate what is not part of the problem then start troubleshooting what is left on the list to narrow it down and find the culprit. That is exactly what automotive diagnostics are for. Eliminate what can't be the problem and locate the source of what is most likely the problem. The best mechanics know within a short while what the problem is because they have dealt with so many bikes or cars that they recognize the symptoms.

(edit: FYI some ****ing retard hearing your complaint and just hitting the starter button on your bike for themselves a few times is not professional motorcycle repair procedures)

Fourth - if you have a friend who really knows their **** when it comes to working on bikes ask them for advice and tips and try to learn as much as you can from them about doing the work yourself

but, and this is a big one, never pay for them to do any work on your bike. Beers and or pizza only to bro's who offer to help with repairs, never money unless its a favor because it tempts people to think getting their money's worth and keeping a friend are a good mix. Debt and friends never mix, its part of the bro code.

Live and learn man, anybody who has been into expensive toys long enough has had a bad day at the track and lost more money than they care to admit over repairs. I am into building guns, building Jeeps, building computers, and building motorcycles and at one point or another I have an awwwww **** day with each of them that wound up costing me more money that I want to admit.

 

Yep. You may have a lemon. Trade it in on a new one,then the dealer sells it,new owner hopefully buys some form of extended warrantee and then gets stuck fixing it.
Sucks yes

 

thanks for that xantasm, I couldn't agree more, I do have the manual, but not all the answers are there. I'm generally good at finding and boiling down to get the answers. I knew it was a starter prob after changeing out my 4 year old battery , which turned out not so much the problem. then the pre-existing condition ( i suspect) burnt out the starter clutch which was changed out but the prob persisted, and that's why I'm here now. If I knew I could get a better,cheaper (in price) , after market starter I would install it my self and play with my old starter on rainy days.
They have loaned me a bike in the meantime but won't have the part untill wednsday, and I am open to suggestions.

BTW two of the teks tapping the starter switch are actually competent, the cough just didn't happen while they were looking at it, but your right I could have left it to them to check, but end result would still be the starter is gone. We were actually looking for a short because it seemed the starter wasn't getting enough juice, then the starter became very hot , No Kidding right?


I do not have a lemon. Just a bad starter.

 

I don't think so the only lemon here is the dealer. This dealer was either stupid or screwing him. Avoid this dealer and learn to do a little wrenching yourself

 

That definitely sucks, unfortunately a all to common occurrence.

 

My first thought on this is spark timing incorrectly set in the 750 - 1000 rpm range. I see you have a 2008. Are you the original owner? Has the engine been modified and or tuned? I'm not an expert in this area but had a similar problem with mine when doing a hot start like when stopping to get gas for a few minutes. I spent a great deal of time troubleshooting and talking with dealer service shops as well as a couple of local indys. All except one dealer suggested starter clutch was failing but I just couldn't believe it since it was only during hot starts. I decided to go over my tuning file that was uploaded during the dyno tune and found the spark timing to be effed up. Only had 6 degrees of advance on both front and rear cylinders in the 30-40 kPa / 750 rpm range. I put them back to the reference value of 18 degrees and had no further issues even on the hottest of days (105 + degrees). I was dangerously close to getting a new starter clutch and starter as the issues was frustrating as hell.

Crap, after writing all that stuff I realized I should have read your post again before replying. It could be the starter relay. Have you removed and reseated it? They only cost a few bucks. I might just replace it as long as the battery isn't the culprit. Make sure the battery is fully charged and have the dealer load test it for you.

 

Couldn't have said it better myself...