No sympathy here for the MOCO and their self induced problem.
There is absolutely no need for a hydraulic clutch on these motorcycles.
They had a good system that was made even better when they introduced the EZ pull clutch and then the teflon lined clutch cable.
Those two changes made the clutch pull much easier and made cable wear and replacement practically a thing of the past.
The only possible reason for going to a hydraulic clutch would be that it is cheaper to produce.
It is certainly being proven not to be better.

 

Boeing and Airbus bought out the 787 and the A380. Initially there we issues with wing cracks, battery fires etc etc. always happens with any new change. It's a learning process that gets tweaked along the way.
Incidentally, those aircraft are totally fly by wire. No cables. All electronic signals and hydraulics. And the 737MAX will be the same. So why not bikes?
MOCO are recalling 46,000 bikes due to 27 reported incidents. I would take those odds.
I was at local dealer today putting 2015 SGS in for 1k service. Asked them if they had the kit in the service dept as my VIN was on the list. He said they were still waiting for them over here in Lil' Ol' Europe but should be in by the end of the week. So I will need to go back and get the work done. And here is the thing......it takes around 15 minutes. Yup....a whole 15 minutes. Those robbing ****'s of a MOCO stealing 15 mins of my time as they try to improve the safety of my bike as they try to improve the design.

Seriously folks......it makes me chuckle to myself that on here everyone rips the dealers, slates the MOCO, etc etc....but all ride a HD.
It's the biking equivalent of when people comin that Facebook have changed the layout of the website and state how good it used to be and complain.....on Facebook.

Anyone else want to go back to clutch cable changes in the rain or kick starting their bikes?

I'm not ranting. I'm just observing. Have a look at the 'similar links' on this post. HD recalls in 07, 11, 14. Happens all the time

But here's the thing.......the clothing is expensive, the riding gear is hugely expensive, the bike costs more than my 1st house, it's expensive to maintain, strangers want to sit on it and touch it, and now there are recalls happening.
So why did I even buy one in the first place..........because it's a f*ckin Harley Davidson. That's why

 

My '06 cost five times more than my first house. Heck, I have a lawnmower that cost more than my first house! My dad likes to remind me that it (the lawnmower) cost more than his first farm!


One observation I would make is this: People who have problems complain, and often get lambasted here on the forum. They are vindicated, however, when Harley announces a recall, or a "fix" to a problem that was often reported here. I'll use the '07 models as an example. Some complained that the gearing in the new six speed was too high. Others complained of a drive train vibration.

Guess what? Both turned out to be legitimate issues addressed by MOCO. The drive train vibration issue was "fixed" with the rubber cushions in the rear wheel in 2008, and the gear ratios were lowered in 2009.

gs34doc, I would think that a hydraulic clutch set up would be more expensive to produce than a cable system. You need seals, a reservoir, and a high pressure hose, as well as the mechanism itself when you squeeze in the clutch. My '84 Venture had a problem free hydraulic clutch---that's 30 years ago!

 

Not to mention the costs involved in transforming the clutch from cable to hydraulic, I'd guess that is a significant expense. I do not believe that hydraulic is cheaper than cable, if it is, it can't be by much. So simply to recapture the expense of converting would take forever. HD will probably trickle down hydraulic clutches to the rest of the line eventually- possibly costs them extra money to have both systems, when one may be more efficient, and they're probably not going to abandon the hydraulic.

I suspect the same type of complaining took place every time HD made a major departure from what they had. Cable brakes to hydraulic, drum brakes to disc, carburetor to fuel injection, carbide lights to electric, kick start to electric, etc..... No doubt in my mind that at each step there were those who didn't like the change, especially if it took a bit to work out the bumps.

 

I'd still like my kick start back.

 

The article I read stated there had been injuries on bikes that sat and had not been ridden when the rider started the bike in gear. Hmmmm. If there is a defect HD needs to fix it, but sounds preventable to me-ride your bike and start it in neutral.

 

Visited my dealer today and he told me that my 14 Limited is not part of the recall.
Good news!

 

So somehow they know which ones are ridden or not?

 

Thanks for the link. I am going to search mine now.

 

....... only in America