Yup H_D engineers said the same thing when the dealer called then about the 883. Look at it this way... I buy a bike to ride not on what I can get on a trade in.

 

If you're putting around at 2500 rpm alot, that would explain the service manager's comment. You're beating the bottom end to death.

 

And for those who are wondering about if I am being upfront about the mileage.... here is a screen shot from my HOG 365 page....

 

I have owned and ridden Harleys since the early 70's. I never lost an engine and never been stranded along side the road. I serviced them myself every 2k miles and didn't beat them.

2 customs
1 Lowrider
2 Superglides
1 sportster
1 street bob
1 RoadKing
1 Electraglide
didn't keep track of the miles

 

I'm confused. You had a 2012 883, and put 52k miles on it in 2 years. So it "blew up" in 2014? Please define "Blew Up", Piston rings? Spun a bearing? Dropped a valve? When someone says "blew up", I'm expecting a windowed block with a chucked rod or busted crank.
80k miles is very high mileage for any brand of motorcycle engine. Time for a rebuild, which luckily is direct cheap on motorcycle engines.

 

Your understanding of the timeline is correct. Engine lost all compression. Service used the term "blew". Engineers of Milwaukee requested engine be pulled and ship back as they had never had the opportunity to see such a young engine with that mileage. New engine was installed in less than 4 days. It was at that time I decided to move up the line to bigger bikes. Expected more than 110K out or a touring bike.

 

Wow. I know a few guys with close to 100k but they have had them for years.
Mine has 65k on it. Previous owner put a 103 upgrade at 40k so partial new top end. I dont lug it. I get nagged a lot for what some consider high rpm but I grew up on metrics, dirt and sport where higher rpm were totally normal.

I guess I cant really comment on mileage expectations other than maybe the low rpm but maybe you have bad luck. There are certainly lemons in every batch.

Perhaps your next one should get a full build custom suited to your riding style. They can build anything these days

 

So how old was the 883 when it died? What did the "Engineers in Milwaukee" say? Did they replace it under warranty? Why did it loose compression? Valve, Spring, cracked ring land? How low was the compression? Back piston, front or both? Any modifications?

As for the 2011 CVO with 63k miles that you've owned for 18 months. So that means someone had it for 7 years before you, what was the mileage when you bought it? Was it used for towing? What is the "major engine repair"? Some people think a clutch is "major engine repair".

 

I'm going to take you at your word regarding the amount of miles you put on the bike as I put quite a few on myself.

That said, there are so many other variables to be considered such as shift points, average rpm, clutch usage, state of tune, etc. that an easy answer to your question ain't there.

I've got over 600k on an '88 FXRT and 150k on my 2002 FLTR without anywhere near the problems you have described. I have several Brothers with similar mileage and no major problems.

Can't tell you whether you have a rider problem or are just jinxed when it comes to HD but, 110K out of any bike (or any motor for that matter) without a thorough knowledge of all the contributing factors is not that unexpected.

 

The 883 was repaired under warranty. I never could find out from the dealer anything about the engine.

The 2011 had 43K on it. Was never used for towing...