Was it dropped?
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 82
Likes: 0
From: WV
I am looking at a 2003 Fatboy to purchase with 29,000 miles and they are asking $8700.
What concerns me is a scrape along the front, left edge of the front fender, approximately 3/4 of an inch in height and 3 inches across. The damage itself does not concern me as I can get that repaired, however I am concerned that the bike may have been dropped. I do not see any other signs of damage that it was dropped (scraped transmission case, edge of handgrip, clutch handle, turn signal, etc.).
Any advice on further inspection that it was dropped? Is it possible that the damage was caused by something else?
Please excuse my ignorance on this.
Thanks in advance for any help.
What concerns me is a scrape along the front, left edge of the front fender, approximately 3/4 of an inch in height and 3 inches across. The damage itself does not concern me as I can get that repaired, however I am concerned that the bike may have been dropped. I do not see any other signs of damage that it was dropped (scraped transmission case, edge of handgrip, clutch handle, turn signal, etc.).
Any advice on further inspection that it was dropped? Is it possible that the damage was caused by something else?
Please excuse my ignorance on this.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Why not just ask how the scrape got there and see if the story and the visable damage seem to match. Usually one can tell when the story is BS.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 6,913
Likes: 87
From:
Seems to me that different people here have different ideas about what a "drop" is. To me, going down at speed or from hitting something like a deer is not a "drop". That is a crash or wreck. A drop is when a bike goes down when stopped or at very, very slow speed like when coming to a stop, turning, or starting off.
A dropped Harley rarely receives any significant damage, if any. Today, I would expect any used bike to have been dropped.
A dropped Harley rarely receives any significant damage, if any. Today, I would expect any used bike to have been dropped.
Road Warrior
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,892
Likes: 3
From: New Hampshire
I dropped my previous bike a couple of times. Every time it was at a stop. the mirror and clutch lever got scratches from one of the drops. I replaced both before I sold it for cosmetic reasons. Nothing else was damaged and if I had been asked I would have admitted the drops. But, as others have said, a drop is nothing and doesn't affect the bike. A crash, yep I'd be worried about, not a drop.
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Road Master
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 946
Likes: 511
From: NH / VT border
Dropped my Ultra last summer on my first test ride after doing 14" apes and cables. Was pulling away from a stop sign on a hill that was off camber and realized that I forgot to glue my left side grip as well as not having my clutch adjusted just right. The bike was creeping forward with the clutch all the way in and when i muscled the bars to keep it upright, the grip spun in my hand. Resulted in a light drop onto the right side engine guard. What pissed me off was a large group of nylon clad BMW riders (maybe 20 bikes) were approaching on the main route and definitely saw the whole thing but never slowed, much less stopped to help. That would have never happened if they were on Harleys....
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 3,156
Likes: 56
From: Milwaukee
Droped my bike 3 weeks after I bought( used). My wife and I were ridding in a park and had a sudden unexpected stop. Over it went. Wife was off before it touched the ground. We picked it up, looked over and road on.
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