I'm looking for help from the community on how to deal with Harley concerning a lemon of a bike. I have a 2017 Street Glide purchased in April of 2017. It has had 1 recall and been back to the dealer 9 times beyond that. Between major engine problems and worse electrical problems, I cannot get the dealer or Harley themselves to do anything about fixing the issues. The problems are sporadic and come and go. Example; the bike will not start in gear. The dealer witnessed this and made a feeble attempt to fix it. I went 4 miles on the bike before the problem returned. Others are the blinkers work on and off, the flashers turn on all by themselves, the cruise control will not turn on sometimes and when it does turn on, the bike will accelerate by itself, the screen will flash on and off and there is a knock in the engine.
Most of these have been witnessed by the dealer, but not fixed. Any ideas on how to get Harley to fix these issues?

 

Welcome from NC.

Based on your use of the word "lemon", in your state, a lemon has to meet one of two basic criteria within one year:

1. The same nonconformity has been subject to repair more than three times by the
manufacturer, its agents or authorized dealers, and the nonconformity continues to exist; or
2. The motor vehicle is out of service due to repair for a cumulative total of 30 business days.

Good Luck!

 

Thank you. I am aware of the laws involved and haven't hit any of the criteria yet, but I am trying find anyone with similar problems and possible solutions to the issues with the bike. Harley is dragging their feet bad and I can't trust the bike for any distance.

 

Wait for the 18's to hit the floor and trade......

 

Sorry to read about all the problems you are having. Nothing worse than making a large purchase and not being happy with it.
Keep every conversation documented, use email when possible so you have a record of conversations, and continue to take this higher up the chain at Harley. If nothing gets done I would seek legal advice from a lawyer in your state.
If you can get a video of your bike accelerating on it's own I think Harley would be quick to react. They do not want that lawsuit,or publicity of an unsafe motorcycle.
Trading it in is an option, but you should not have to take a loss for Harley. I would start asking for a complete reimbursement toward a new bike if they can't fix it in a timely manner.
Keep us posted on how it works out.

 

Hire a mouthpiece...

 

Do you have another dealer close by? How many Harleys have you owned/operated prior to this particular bike? What is the major engine problem, your definition, that you are experiencing? Don't the '17's have a safety switch to prevent starts in gear? What does your owners manual say about this? When problems come and go it's hard to diagnose the symptoms when a problem isn't there. Ask the dealer if they would run a test on the body control module, I think the '17's have those. One more question, any mods been done to this bike?

 

A pal of mine had persistent problems with a new Harley a couple of years ago. He's a pretty forthright kind of guy and persisted for over a year IIRC, before eventually getting a replacement bike. Do you chaps have laws along the lines of 'not fit for purpose'? If the bike isn't functioning reliably and the dealer can't fix it, then ask for a replacement bike.

 

So the engine had a mis-formed head (bolt holes in specific) Harley was aware of the problems. There was metal in the piston chamber, that one was supposed to be fixed but now there is a knock in the engine that they have heard.
As far as the safety switch, yes there is one, however, that is not the issue. With the kickstand up, sometimes it will start in gear, sometimes it won't. The kickstand isn't the issue, they have seen that one too, supposed to have fixed it, didn't work though, the bike still faults randomly.
The blinkers work sometimes, sometimes they don't, flashers will turn on randomly, etc.. There are major electrical problems with the bike. The next closest Harley dealer is 160 miles, so not much to do about that. Unfortunately the problems come and go and unless I can get them to witness the problems, their concept is nothing is wrong. The worst part is they have witnessed numerous problems and made feeble attempts to fix them, but have failed.

 

Wear a GoPro on your chest and video the issue(s) happening.
Then call the Harley support line and ask them where they want you to post the video. In their inbox or on youtube?

This worked for a friend of mine after both Corporate and the Dealership stated they could do nothing unless their tech was able to obtain proof of the issue.