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Old May 22, 2014 | 08:38 PM
  #21  
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This whole thing is the owner's fault. Everybody knows that if you use HARLEY flag mounts, there is much less drag at all speeds.

Yup, MOCO stupidity on national display
 
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Old May 22, 2014 | 08:40 PM
  #22  
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Originally Posted by RIDERED67
How do you figure a flag at "highway speeds" generates 30lbs? You must be one of them physicist rocket scientist types. Haha. But seriously how do you figure? I know that I tried to hold a 3x5 flag out of a car window once at about 70 mph and I couldn't do it. I bench over 350 so not a nancy or nothing.
I was wondering when someone will step up and agree there is a lot more drag/down force than 210 lbs. Whos to say this guy wasnt 2 up and loaded for bear, plus the flags. And depending on how fast he was riding the pressure could be a lot more than anyone here is calculating. Just sayn.
 
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Old May 22, 2014 | 08:52 PM
  #23  
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I think there would be a lot more than 210 lbs of drag. I think HD should fix his bike this time, and tell him not a second time unless the flags come off.
 
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Old May 22, 2014 | 09:05 PM
  #24  
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If HD manufactures flagholders for these bikes, what is their argument? Their reputation for customer abuse is legendary, this simply reinforces what we have all known for decades.
 
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Old May 22, 2014 | 09:58 PM
  #25  
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I can't believe there is another thread on this issue.

HD flag holders aren't used to fly 3' x 5' flags. And even the small flags they do fly, they specifically state not for highway use (though I believe with those small flag, it's more of an issue of it destroying itself than anything else).

And 210 lbs of force? LOL what a joke. Why do you think PGR riders don't fly their big flags when traveling at highway speeds??? This guy is running seven flags, all over the place.

Everybody wants to jump on the MOCO about this when it obviously is the guy's fault for his contraption. And of course he, and the media, are making a big deal about it by saying he can't fly his American flag and expect warranty claim to be approved. You guys really need to get out more.
 
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Old May 22, 2014 | 10:26 PM
  #26  
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Originally Posted by DannyZ71
I can't believe there is another thread on this issue.

HD flag holders aren't used to fly 3' x 5' flags. And even the small flags they do fly, they specifically state not for highway use (though I believe with those small flag, it's more of an issue of it destroying itself than anything else).

And 210 lbs of force? LOL what a joke. Why do you think PGR riders don't fly their big flags when traveling at highway speeds??? This guy is running seven flags, all over the place.

Everybody wants to jump on the MOCO about this when it obviously is the guy's fault for his contraption. And of course he, and the media, are making a big deal about it by saying he can't fly his American flag and expect warranty claim to be approved. You guys really need to get out more.
I would think some drag would be there, not sure how it would be measured or how the MoCo could prove that it contributed to the failure.
I would tend to agree it's more about the owner's mods affecting the warranty, than his right to fly his flags.
 
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Old May 22, 2014 | 10:32 PM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by hdgzr
I would think some drag would be there, not sure how it would be measured or how the MoCo could prove that it contributed to the failure.
I would tend to agree it's more about the owner's mods affecting the warranty, than his right to fly his flags.
Yep, they've never refused any warranty claim of mine and I fly a flag all the time. Just not SEVEN of them, and certainly not 3 foot by 5 foot ones.
 
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Old May 22, 2014 | 11:01 PM
  #28  
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I'm with H-D on this one. It has nothing to do with the American flag - that just seems obvious. It has to do with 3'x5' flags in large numbers stressing the machine at highway speed, in ways that the machine was never qualified to handle. They can't warrantee against things that have never been tested or quantified.
 
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Old May 22, 2014 | 11:37 PM
  #29  
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How about them little airplanes that can pull a large streaming banner across the sky, that has to be some drag. How do those dinky little planes handle the forces on the airframe and engine? Something doesn't smell right.
 
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Old May 22, 2014 | 11:40 PM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by willbilson
I'm with H-D on this one. It has nothing to do with the American flag - that just seems obvious. It has to do with 3'x5' flags in large numbers stressing the machine at highway speed, in ways that the machine was never qualified to handle. They can't warrantee against things that have never been tested or quantified.
I think H-D should have quietly paid the claim and had the owner sign that it's a one time customer satisfaction / customer loyalty repair.

Did the flags put too much stress on the drivetrain? Probably. By having this as front page news, does Harley have a big black eye? Absolutely, and since it's over American flags, Harley loses. Sometimes companies should take one on the chin rather than exposing themselves to such negative corporate publicity, especially to the non-riding public. And for Harley to reference the use of non-Harley after-market accesories makes them look really petty, even if the flags did contribute to the failure.

And did Harley actually prove this was the cause, and the only possible cause, for the failures?
 

Last edited by UltraClassicElectraGlide; May 23, 2014 at 10:24 AM.
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