Originally Posted by GTK

But they have not fixed the current issues yet, have they? I don't deal in the future much. I prefer the "here and now". Keep in mind that I own one of these bikes affected and so far neither the dealer nor the manufacture has made any effort to fix it. After 3 months all I hear is let's continue to monitor the fluid levels. They won't even admit to the problem.
Until they admit to the problem and step up to the plate and fix customers bikes, my council will stay the same- STAY THE HELL AWAY. If they fix the bikes I will change my recommendation.

Originally Posted by hattitude

I've been following the M8 closely on two forums. I planned to buy one in spring '18...

The good...

Excellent engine performance. Per tuners working on aftermarket parts, it has a lot of room to grow. Most who own one love it and consider it the best HD engine they have owned..... It makes great torque in the areas where most people ride. Many have mentioned they think the OEM performance is more than they need, and won't bother with Stage I, II, III, or IV upgrades.....

Early M8 resolved issue:

Some oil pressure issues popped up early on. MoCo was all over it. Appeared that a cam plate vendor left manufacturing debris in cam plate passages... Most with the problem have been dealt with quickly & fairly by Moco


Current Issues:

Oil migration from transmission to primary- many reported cases. Can be reliably duplicated in bikes that have the issue. Somehow oil is migrating to the primary, from the transmission, via the clutch push rod in the main shaft... MoCo is aware, but not admitting to the problem. The cause hasn't been identified, or the fix... at least not that the MoCo is admitting to. They have replaced a few transmissions, but I have not read that the few with new trans has fixed the issue. Some aftermarket shops and tuners are working to try and figure out a cause/fix... some guesses, but nothing definitive. Only new things on the trans are the case, main shaft bearing, and scissor gear for backlash... problem has to start with one of those...?

Oil sumping- A few people with upgrade kits complaining of oil sumping and reduced power because of it. If they idle for a few minutes, the oil pump catches up and symptoms go away. The MoCo is aware of it, but is not admitting to it. The cause has been been found to center around two issues. 1) The piston oil jets have come loose (one fell off) causing much more oil in the sump than designed. 2) At some higher rpm riding, the oil pump is not scavenging enough to avoid sumping. The fix: MoCo has increased the torque value of the piston jets to avoid them getting loose and 2nd hand info thay have redesigned the scavenging inlet to the oil pump, to increase scavenging efficiency. Both should avoid sumping. Unfortunately, the MoCo is remaining closed lipped on this.. it appears there is a new oil pump that is being used in new production engines, along with new torque spec..

Balancer bearing issue- I have only heard of 5 cases, but the roller cage to the balancer bearing melted on five 107s with 114 kits. I saw pics of the damaged bearing. Per the bearing number, a couple techs said that bearing number uses a "polyamide" cage with a max temp of 250°.... I haven't heard anything more of this issue... Obviously, the MoCo is silent on this also.

The way I see it.....

The oil transfer is most troubling to me. It would be a pain to manage, and the MoCo is not forthcoming on this issue. If you go on a long ride, who wants to continually fill the trans and have to occasionally drain the primary!?!?

It appears the sumping may be handled, but again, MoCo won't say anything. I have learned that the M8 went from piston jets with o-rings (twin cam) to piston jets with a gasket... kinda of a step backward from a technical standpoint... Why!?!? With the MoCo's silence, there are several customers who may not realize the issue or have it, until warranty is over.... then what?

Too little info on the bearing to know if it is a real issue, but this is one where my concerns are based on whats at stake, not the odds of it happening.... If that bearing should go, and the bike is off warranty... what, 15 hours for just the labor, not counting what parts it could take with it... If reports on the bearing are correct, I would hope they go to a higher rated bearing... But we will never know...

I put my plans to buy an M8 on hold. A good friend is using this to try and get me to buy a BMW 1600TGTL instead.... not there yet, kind of a die-hard Harley guy...

As far as I'm concerned, the MoCo better deal with these going forward and take care of the those with 2017 bikes, or they'll lose my M8 purchase in spring....

Originally Posted by jpooch00

You might think about a leftover '16 Rushmore. You could save thousands of bucks and avoid paying a premium price to be an unpaid MOCO beta-tester. It usually takes the MOCO years (decades?) to even admit that they screwed up, let alone to do anything about it. I doubt if these well-known and documented issues will be corrected anytime soon, certainly not in 2018. If ya wanna to hold off buying one till, say, around 2028-2030, then maybe...

I love my '15 Limited. It's the last new H-D I'll ever buy. No interest whatsoever in an M8 bike - now or ever.

A Beemer? Fuggidaboutit!