OK, a couple of weeks ago, I got rear-ended at a traffic light. It was a straight-ahead bump, not some full-speed accident; I didn't go down, and the bike is (mostly) OK. The only thing that was damaged was the rear tail light assembly. So, I figured that since the tail light fender bracket assembly was bent, I might as well replace it. I ordered a Corbin Gunfighter seat, and tail kit, which only took about two weeks to get here. At this point, I thought everything was cool, and I'd be on the road in a couple of days. That's not the way it's working out.

Corbin did great on their part of this repair; Harley, not so much. The Corbin tail kit uses the stock Harley taillight and turn signals, relocated up to the rear fender. That tail light was damaged when I got rear-ended. That's all I need to get back on the road, but the part is back ordered. The dealer says they can't get one until April. APRIL! ****. I have called several Harley dealers, and I get the same thing from all of them, so it doesn't appear to be a dealer-level problem.

So, if anyone on here has some kind of Secret Squirrel, back-door supply connection, I would really appreciate some help with this. What I need is Harley part number 69202043.

I'm pretty pissed at Harley right now; if they can't plan their stock situation any better than that, then just take one off of the assembly line, and sell one less bike today. ****.

 

Got your back buddy. That was the FIRST thing I replaced on mine - hated it - Harley's pretty close to getting a SUPER bad rap too. From all the stories I've heard on this forum, they don't seem to care about the buyer. I'll bet they're gonna want an arm and a leg for it anyway. I've also seen issues with parts from the factory vs the dealer. They don't seem to communicate very well. Tell me where to send it or you can call me whenever convenient. 505-379-3863

 

Brian, Good talking with you -- you're sainthood is now assured!

Bill W

 

Good friends are hard to find - no money can ever buy that!

 

This should be all I need to get back on the road!

My Harley dealer said they were back-ordered until April. When I contacted Harley directly, they said they couldn't get me one until June. Thanks to Brian (and this forum), I now have the new part.

Brian, can't thank you enough!

 

I'm so glad I could help sir. I know I wouldn't want to be rideless for too long - and as they say, enjoy the ride!

 

[QUOTE=wlwoodruff;
I'm pretty pissed at Harley right now; if they can't plan their stock situation any better than that, then just take one off of the assembly line, and sell one less bike today. ****.[/QUOTE]

No offense, but that ^ is a totally unrealistic expectation.

 

I couldn't agree more. I'm even afraid to take it in for svc for fear they might find something that needs replacing but they can't get the part.

 

It might be unrealistic to expect the Motor Company to do this, but it is not unrealistic to expect a well-run company to do this. Pissing off your present customers is not a good way to get new customers. Clearly, HD is getting enough taillight assemblies to build new bikes. At the same time, they told me it would take almost six months to get me a replacement. At this point, if someone asked me if they should consider buying a Sportster S, I would tell them that it is a great bike, because it really is a great bike. That's good for business. But I would also tell them that they might want to consider some other bikes because, at least for now, Harley's after-sale product support is non-existent. That's bad for business.

In contrast to HD, my local HD dealer, Patriot Harley-Davidson in Fairfax, VA, has been great. I bought a used Roadster in September. It had V&H short shots on it, which looked, and sounded great, but they were a bit loud; so one month and 1000 miles later I got some quiet baffles and took it back so the dealer could replace them. When the dealer tried to replace them, they found out that the previous owned had drilled out the original baffles, and screwed them up so badly that they wouldn't come out. The dealer could have said "caveat emptor," you bought it as is (which would be true). Instead, what they said was that the pipes were not right, and they would fix it. They gave me a choice of waiting for a new set of pipes from V&H, or getting a like-new set of identical pipes off of another used bike they had is stock. (I took the used pipes because they were treating me right, and it would cost them a bit less.) The result is that when I decided to get a second bike, they got my business. They earned it.

Pushing bikes out the door without supporting them is a short-term business model; it maximizes immediate profits at the expense of long-term new, and repeat customers. Taking care of customers builds loyalty, repeat sales, and positive word-of-mouth advertising. It is the basis for the Deming management model that gave rise to modern Japanese industrial success, and it would be worth a bit of consideration by HD. One of Deming's quotes applies directly here: “The dissatisfied customer does not complain: he just switches.”

 

It might be unrealistic to expect the Motor Company to do this, but it is not unrealistic to expect a well-run company to do this. Pissing off your present customers is not a good way to get new customers. Clearly, HD is getting enough taillight assemblies to build new bikes. At the same time, they told me it would take almost six months to get me a replacement. At this point, if someone asked me if they should consider buying a Sportster S, I would tell them that it is a great bike, because it really is a great bike. That's good for business. But I would also tell them that they might want to consider some other bikes because, at least for now, Harley's after-sale product support is non-existent. That's bad for business.

In contrast to HD, my local HD dealer, Patriot Harley-Davidson in Fairfax, VA, has been great. I bought a used Roadster in September. It had V&H short shots on it, which looked, and sounded great, but they were a bit loud; so one month and 1000 miles later I got some quiet baffles and took it back so the dealer could replace them. When the dealer tried to replace them, they found out that the previous owned had drilled out the original baffles, and screwed them up so badly that they wouldn't come out. The dealer could have said "caveat emptor," you bought it as is (which would be true). Instead, what they said was that the pipes were not right, and they would fix it. They gave me a choice of waiting for a new set of pipes from V&H, or getting a like-new set of identical pipes off of another used bike they had is stock. (I took the used pipes because they were treating me right, and it would cost them a bit less.) The result is that when I decided to get a second bike, they got my business. They earned it.

Pushing bikes out the door without supporting them is a short-term business model; it maximizes immediate profits at the expense of long-term new, and repeat customers. Taking care of customers builds loyalty, repeat sales, and positive word-of-mouth advertising. It is the basis for the Deming management model that gave rise to modern Japanese industrial success, and it would be worth a bit of consideration by HD. One of Deming's quotes applies directly here: “The dissatisfied customer does not complain: he just switches.”