The dealer found my frame was bent in three places from the factory. The bike is six months old with accessaries and engine stage II mods. they want to strip the frame and put a new frame on the bike. Is this common pratice among Harley dealers with a new Harley ? I thought they would give me a new one ? Wouldn't stripping my bike down be asking for more problems ?

 

Depends on the dealers help...... Thier guys might be more meticulous than assembly line folks , then again , could be lazy and leave out some stuff.... like tie wraps that keep things from chaffing...and wearing thru paint

 

Well, I dont want to say anything bad, but they worked on the bike two other times and both times things weren't right. Plus there having help problems.

 

Personally I think a hand assembeled bike SHOULD be better , more care and tourque being done with a real wrench not a preset airgun, but like I mentioned before.... requires a good wrench to start...can u choose a dif dealer you might be more comfy with?

 

Have you considered asking how much it would cost you to trade their defective bike (as is) for a new one??? It would certainly be worth my paying something to not have that weighing on my mind.

 

The bike is brand new, why would i pay money for something thats not my fault ?

 

Something sounds "fishy". What symptoms did you ride in with for your dealer to "look" for bent frame conditions?

If, in fact, the frame is bent in three places, I would think that the MoCo would be all over this claim. Any mention of HD Reps being called-in to investigate? You'd think that a few QA groups would want to "see" this one.

Like others have mentioned, changing the frame is major surgery. In fact, you'd be getting back a hand-built bike. MoCo isn't going to like absorbing the Dealer's fees associated with a major overhaul like this will be. Any mention as to how long the dealerwould take?

A lot of this would make more sense to me if the dealer was asked to ship you bike back to somewhere. Did THIS dealer do your stage II mods? I wonder if it is something THEY messed up to begin with (somehow).

Best of luck! Please keep us informed!

 

I would let them make the frame change,and see how it goes.As far as being bent from the factory,that is a new one.The frames are all jig welded.

 

+1

 

Six months old is not brand new. I agree it would be nice if they would just roll over and give you a new bike. However, since they won't do that I would be willing to pay something to not have my bike laid up that long and in the hands of a tech I didn't know or trust. For example, would you be willing to give them your bike (as is) and $100.00 for a new one?=Perhaps. How about your bike and $10,000.00 for a new one?=Never. I assume somewhere between those two numbers is a figure that would be acceptable to you. There would be for me. If there's an amount you can live with, could it be acceptable to Harley Davidson? You won't know unless you explore the possibility.