IMO, the MOCO will only change vendors if they can find one who'll produce an identically ****-poor part even cheaper (and then sell it to the public as the "improved version" at a higher price than the original).

Surely the aftermarket suppliers will come up with a quality replacement soon!

 

What I don't understand is, when the Rushmore first came out, they were supposedly put through extreme test, for days on end, before releasing. Now I don't know what the% is of failure, of the pump, but it seems to be growing, and the newer bikes are still having failure ? Mine went out some time ago, it was out of warranty, by a little bit, and it was replaced under warranty any way, so , I can't complain to much,.

 

Sounds like your dealer went to bat for you. Good for him, and you!

As for the MOCO's claim of doing "extensive, extreme testing" of the system, AFAIC, that's just one more instance of the MOCO's endless, BS propaganda. They get a new model "tested" enough to get it out the door and off of the dealer's lot and that's good enough for them.

The beta-testers who eagerly line up to buy their products do all the actual testing on these things. It's always been that way, and will continue to be.

Just my personal opinion. Other's will surely vary.

 

MOCO, and most other manufacturers; design, engineer, and test new designs. Then the finance department takes over, outsources for the cheapest bid, has parts resigned to save costs; the result being a POS.

 

Helluva plan for guaranteed failure right there! Typical of MOCO ops, though, I guess.

 

The water pump/thermostat has also just failed on my 2015 Limited with 9900 miles. Dealership is recommending changing both of course, for about $700. This is on top of the COMPENSATOR shim kit that was installed about 4 weeks ago during 10,000 mile service after riding to Sturgis (another $500). I bought the ESP for my 2007 and 2008 and never used it, so I didn't buy it for my 2015. Could it be that one of the reasons that Harley sales are down is because the quality SUCKS? Compensator issues have been going on since 2009 and until 4 weeks ago, I didn't know what one was. Everybody I saw at the dealership during my 10,000 mile service was having compensator issues, even at 5000 miles on a 2016. And water pumps are failing everywhere; when the pump failed on my friend's 2014 Limited at 16K miles, he was told by the local dealership that they had replaced 6 in the last couple of months. Evidently HD is maintaining their profits through the lucrative business of bad part design and profitable replacement without problem resolution. Feels like the 1970's AMC Harleys, where if you weren't riding them you were working on them. The more I think on this the more steamed I become.

 

Sorry for your problems but that's a pretty bold statement, you might want to do a little research before posting...just sayin'!

 

You're preachin' to the choir, Bro.

The MoCo has ALWAYS gone the cheapest-possible route on every single part on their bikes - and to hell with the customers who pay good money for their products.

It's always been that way and always will be. Just a fact of everyday life at the ol' MoCo, and as long as people keep lining up to buy their bikes knowing full well that they have design defects and other issues, then why on earth should they change?? 115 years of the same old thing have proven this to be an acceptable business model.

 

Yes, my statements may have been a bit over the top with my fustration, but the existence of this forum topic, and similar water pump failures in other HD forums, plus the feedback from dealerships and my own personal experience, does add credence to my statement that the failures are happening everywhere. I learned of the widespread and longterm compensator issue through this and other forums dating back to 2009. The compensator failure ($900) on my friend's 2010 Ultra led to the research, and the personal experience of observing my own compensator diagostic at the dealership, and the witnessing of two other riders in the same day at the dealership being diagnosed with compensator issues, should also qualify towards research on the topic. Also the admission of dealership mechanics about the compensator issues and the existence of HD service bulletins and service shim kits also constitute admission by MOCO that they know about the long term problem and are happy with it. Anyway, I do appreciate your feedback, best wishes.

 

Don't know about the water pump failures, other than that they're cheap, Chinese POS units, but most of the comp problems are caused by the auto-tensioner over-tightening the chain. A Baker Attitude Adjuster permanently eliminates this, along with several other ****ling PITA issues on these bikes.

Based on personal experience.