We are in the market for a touring bike.......fell in love with the 14 CVO Limited.......but reading a lot of complaints on the 110 motor.............should we stay away from the 110 completely? Or on models after year '15 has Harley gotten their act together?

Decisions, decisions!!!!!!!

Help

Thanks!

 

the 110 has been a problem engine for HD for people who actually ride the bike 10 to 20k a year.

if you are only going to ride a few thousand miles per year you may not experience any problems with the 110, however if you ride 15 to 20 k a year you probably will experience engine failure due to some inherent design problems.

problem areas include, inferior lifters over heavy valve springs, steep cam profiles, heat and shoddy valve guides/seals.

so, if your target bike has more than 10k on the clock and has no service history these have been replaced with better parts, my advice run don't walk away from the deal.

my 110 experienced engine failure at 18k miles due to lifter failure

 

agree with everything said. Early models also had cam bearing issues. I addressed all the above when my bike had 5K miles....been trouble free ever since

 

Are these problems inherent to the 2014 year 110 motor? Are the 15, 16, 17 and soon to be released 110 motors better? Or has HD not done anything to resolve these problems?

Thanks for the input!

 

The '17 CVO will be the new M8 114.

 

I heard there were some issues with the 07 and 08 that may have been resolved with a head change in 09. I hear others complain about lifter noise and other issues. I am hard of hearing and do not notice noise. I am an Iron Butt member and ride hard. I have ridden at a buck 10 many miles. Because I ride hard my dealer would leave the oil slightly below the full mark, otherwise it would seep out the air cleaner. The engine is stock, has cat removed (96 header) and Thunder Cone tips. It has been SERT tuned by Mikey in El Cajon, by far the best tuner IMHO. Mikey took 9 hrs and tuned at 10%, 20% 30% etc. SERT - Max Power = 96.55 Max Torque = 116.96. I get 42MPG cruising at 80. Drops below 40 at higher speeds.

I had no engine issues until 52K miles when I spun a bearing. Dealer rebuilt and installed the newer High Pressure oil pump. I am now at 92K miles and all is well. I attribute the success I have experienced to regular maintenance and I stick with SYN3 in all holes.

That said; I would not buy another 110 when the Milwaukee 8 is available. IMHO the condition of any used motorcycle is dependent on the care given by the previous owner. If the 2014 floats your boat and if you have confidence in the previous owner and its condition, go for it. But consider the fact that like you many others question the 110 reliability. So when you decide to trade up you'll likely take a financial hit. The 2018's are due out the 3rd week of August. Dealers continue to be dealing on 2017's. Consider the cost difference between the 2014 and a 2017/2018. Ride the 2014 and then a 2017 and you will likely not only see and feel the difference. But probably justify spending a bit more.

I hope this is helpful! Best wishes whatever you decide,

Bob

 

guy i ride with every weekend has a 2015 streetglide CVO with around 38k on it, we have been up to the dragon, through blue ridge and all over, not a min. trouble out of that 110 at all, just saying

 

Great advice, Bob............well, not knowing the owners of the '14's makes it a no brainer as to whether I should "go for it"..........do u know anything about the motor in the '18's CVO?.......although, i guess the Sticker on that guy will be around 45K? Dats a lotta coin! But then again, spending 28 to 30 for a 14 and then having to put 10 or so more in an engine rebuild/upgrade..........a lotta change either way! Can an extended warranty be purchased on a used bike? (I am thinking, as long as the original warranty hasn't lapsed?)

 

Gibill, what is the mileage on the bike and is it bone stock or anything done to it?

One option to consider is working into the deal having the lifters replaced with S&S standard lifters (best choice IMO). While they have it open you could also have them measure the crank run-out and make it a condition is needs to be 0.003" or less (don't agree to within Harley spec,which is way to high at 0.012"). This way you only take the bike with new lifters and with the crank runout measurement.

On the other items, the cam bearings were upgraded in 2013 so you are probably OK. As for valve springs, these can wait until you're in the head for something else later, if ever.

On the typical stage 1, this may already be done to the bike, but you don't say anything about any mods or mileage.

Harley's track record on perfect engineering is far from perfect. Don't bank on 2018 being trouble free.

 

The 2018's will be announced on the internet at the same time they are presented at the Dealer Conference the third week in August. That comes from a dealership owner I have known for years. He has always been truthful. When I bought my 2009 CVO FLHTCUSE4 in 2008 the MSRP was $36K. I haven't paid any attention to the price progression because I did not like the colors of any of the newer models better than mine. MSRP on the 2017 is $41K so I doubt there will be any increase on the 2018. Harley-Davidson has forecasted a drop in sales as much as 8 percent and recently announced layoffs. Raising the MSRP would IMHO futher reduce sales especially when the average age of Harley riders on the rise. There was a time when you were hard pressed to find new CVOs. But today you can still find New ones with a little effort. During Rolling Thunder ride Memorial Day I saw a new 2016 CVO Limited at the Washington DC Dealership. I did not inquire so no idea what they wanted.

We will all know about any changes from 2017 to 2018 in a few weeks. Wait and see is what I am doing. I have my 09 on Craigslist for $15K but I doubt I'll get any takers. I'll see what kind of a deal I can makes in a few weeks. My local dealer sells several hundred Harley each month so I know he deals. But there are other dealers I will contact too. Our local HOG chapter had 2700 members the last I heard. However there are somewhere around 140 active members.

As for warranties I purchased a 5 year extended warranty when I purchased my CVO thinking I might upgrade before that. After that I purchased a 2 year extended warranty or maybe I extended it to 7 years. Not sure. The only caveat was the total mileage had to below 75K when I got the additional 2 years. You should check with your dealer on what they offer. Mine was with Fidelity.

I hope this is helpful,

Bob