These are the excerpts that cause me the concern. Hence I assume my warranty is pretty much shot. If they cover it, great. If not, I am prepared.

Now, for the trickier part of this discussion. Does adding performance products to my new motorcycle void my warranty? No, not necessarily. It must be reviewed on a case by case basis.

If you want your Harley-Davidson® motorcycle to perform at a much higher level than the manufacturer intended, part of the responsibility now falls on you. Make sure you understand this before you make your decision about adding performance options to your motorcycle. Performance products also will affect Extended Service Plans

 

The Magneson Moss Act is federal law and it does work. The dealer HAS to prove that a modification caused the problem.

If you take HD to court and get a judgement against them, they either have to pay up or file bankruptcy. If they refuse to pay you can go back to court and get a court order authorizing the seizure of their assets to satisfy the judgement.

Harley used to try and pull this crap if you didn't use Harley brand oil. A hand full of MM act lawsuits put an end to that nonsense.

 

My dealer flat out told me that new parts aren't waranted unless you buy the bike that way new... Said the only thing to look out for is if you change the pipes and AC they might hold it against you if you don't have some type of tuner on it.

 

Therein lies the problem. Are you willing to take them to court?

Oil is going to be harder to prove but power enhancing mods? Obviously it is a far stretch to say your oil caused the seat to fall off but just asking, is it very difficult to say that your AC caused the bike to run leaner than it was designed and thus your piston burned? IDK. I know the headers and intake and tuning was blamed on my trans dying early. Not sure I could have fought that and won but didn't want to bother over a couple thousand bucks.

 

Look if you sell a lawn mower to some guy at a garage sale and that guy puts the wrong damn spark plug in it and smacks the piston and junks the motor, are you going to give him his money back? Hell no but if he takes it home puts fresh gas in it and a new air filter and it doesn't start, you might think twice. Just be smart about what you do to the bike. Do research, hell that's what this forum is for.

HD isn't a company that's out to screw you. This is a company that allows veterans to stop payments when they get deployed and resume when they get back home, and even extend the warranty out for the amount of time they are gone. This is a company that gives a big middle finger to the credit bureaus and says if you have good credit with them they will sell you a bike regardless of FICO. I highly doubt they will throw a stink over an aftermarket part and question the integrity of the very people that makes the company what it is today. Hell do you know how much revenue they would lose if they didn't allow off the floor modifications. It would be staggering. That's why the AM sector is making billions of dollars. By appealing to the gear heads of the world that wont say yes to stock. They are protecting their investment, that's all. But the definitely need to prove the part caused the issue just like cHarley stated.

 

I thought I read somewhere that the SEPST, not the Street Tuner voids warranty even if done at a HD dealership. Any idea on that?

 

Actually, when I sell something like a car, you WILL sign an "AS IS" agreement. I warranty and imply NOTHING. That gives me the option to do something or nothing as I see fit. Before money changes hands, you can check it, test it or even have your mechanic check it though. Anything short of destruction is fair game. After that, my call which can be influenced by boob size, mood, how much I like you and so on.

I'm not sure how HD thinks but my experience with GM and Ford has been not so nice when it comes to mods. I have even witnessed a tech calling in mods after he noticed them while doing an R&R on a trans. They seemed to take some perverse pleasure in ratting out those who mod their trucks and cars. Maybe HD is different but I wouldn't count on it. I assume the worst first and see. Dad & I were at a gas station when he talked to a Dodge owner who had to pay for his trans on his stock 3500 Dodge because he towed. WTF did I buy a 3500 dualy truck for if not for towing? Stories like that make me think the company might be ok but some dealerships might not. Again, IDK for sure about HD.

Assume the worst and you can only be expecting or pleasantly surprised.

 

With all do respect you are comparing HD to automotive manufacturers that nearly went bankrupt and had to borrow billions of dollars to get out of financial hardship. Apples and oranges my friend. The problem being you only hear the horror stories in regards to warranty claims. So everyone automatically jumps to conclusions. Why are people bashing Harley...... On a forum dedicated to the very thing that brought all of us here? Am I on some metric bike forum. Lol! It's so hypocritical...

 

Beg, not borrow. They had to beg to the point the CEO of GM is basically an Obama appointee. IIRC, only Ford stayed out of that joke.

I hear the horror stories. I also prepare for their worst just in case. If it comes to pass, I am prepared. At this point, they can only exceed my expectations. I guess you can say I lost my faith in people a long time ago and have lowered my expectations.

I don't think I am singling out HD. If we were on a metric bike, SUV, etc, etc forum, I'd still feel the same thing.

BTW, how do you account for the fact that GM and Ford have given me warranty issues? Perhaps you are right. They are different. However, I have also been told by a HD dealership that my wiring chaffing was caused by the Mustang Seat and that I should work with them to fix my issue. Are they really different? I did find a different solution but that still didn't make me think that they were different.