Ok, I made a commitment to see that I follow through on this issue and I completed that a few minutes ago. I called the NHTSA and filed a complaint. The complaint number is 11000009 and they will begin the process to evaluate the situation and if they feel like there needs to be an investigation they will start it.

I was told there are no guarantees that one will be started but given what I started here and the number of people that sent pictures, posted here, or emailed me that the more people that complain about this the better chance there will be that an investigation will happen To file a complaint for myself I called but I was told they prefer their website but she did take the complaint over the phone. I left people and dealerships names out of my complaint. I do not believe in passing that information on,

Please go to https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/ to file a complaint and feel free to reference my complaint number shown above.

 

I wonder if spraying them with silicon will improve the situation. Probably not urethane but should be.

 

I've searched high and low for information about this and either I am an idiot or I just am not putting in the right keywords. I'm not seeing a lot about this on the two forums I've been searching. Some one in this thread did say that topics started about this issue are all over the place which is probably what is hampering me.

Given the pictures that were posted in the thread I originally started which shows a new rubber bushing and the whole the pivot shaft (right from my trike supplement) passes through I agree the position of the shaft in my trike is normal. I do not think all the debris being found behind those caps is normal though. My trike had 8000 miles on it when I got it and 10000 now but it has always pulled hard right to the point that relaxing your right arm on the grip would be an instant and possibly deadly off road adventure. Others who have emailed me photos or just said they see it to have less miles on their trikes than I have on mine. One of them had 3500 miles and the other around 4000 miles.

I was at the point the trike needed service and looking at the belt I could see that needed adjustment both for deflection settings and lateral adjustment. The axle alignment fore and aft and belt deflection occur with each other and lateral alignment is dependent on the belt deflection/axle alignment.

All attempts to set the belt deflection failed. Something moved every time the pinch bolts were tightened. Ratchet straps where even used to hold the axle in place and something still moved. My dealership helped along the way so that I could find out what was moving. The last time I talked with talked the tech wanted to know who far the rear end was askew and he told me what to do. I then called a friend who does machine work and does some very nice woodworking as well to help with the measurements.

We needed to drop a carpenters plumb down to the floor from the center of the axles where the tires mount. So my friend did all of that work and said he was done and I pulled that caps off the frame and we found what I have posted.

My trike was picked up on 6/20 by the dealer that we got it from and I've been told it will get fixed.

I had a dealer evaluate my trike and what I was seeing and they told me that this issue has been seen before but on bikes with significantly more miles than mine. They said the bearings in there are designed and built to last the life of the trike. They said they would be glad to tear it a part and look it but I would have to pay for that work if a warranty problem wasn't found. They quoted me 4.5 hours at $54 per 1/2 hour. I can't pay for that and then there is the fact that others are seeing this. Something is going on inside the swing arms on the trikes that are seeing all of this debris behind those caps. There is no way to know how many people with trikes are riding around with that stuff floating around in there because the visibility of this issue is constrained to internet forums. I ride with a lot of different groups supporting the causes that are important to me and I would venture to guess a small number of them participate in forums.

As I said above I opened a complaint with NHTSA targeted at Harley Davidson. They asked for dealership names and I refused to provide them. I don't think this is a dealership issue unless their situation is like mine where pre-sale inspections and state inspections were not done properly in my opinion. Any dealership with competent techs who saw belt issues like I have would have/should have corrected it and in doing so would have experienced what I did. The belt deflection can't be set because something is moving when the pinch bolts are tightened down. Investigating that would lead them to where I am at. My swing arm is moving and the debris is evidence of that.

 

I don't think the NSTB will get involved with a issue like this to be honest. HD is offering to evaluate and fix the issue but the question is about who pays, or is it a warranty issue. The NSTB goes after manufacturers that ignore defects which have widespread safety concerns.

Example, in 2014 Keystone RV produced thousands of large 5th wheel RVs that had a defective escape window latch. Many of these latches broke, including mine, within the first couple months of ownership. The only way to keep using the RV until the latch could be replaced was to wire the window shut. Keystone would not produce new latches. NSTB took complaints from hundreds of owners and within a couple weeks these latches were flowing through dealers and everywhere else.

If Harley is refusing to fix or acknowledge a defect and it effects a large number of owners safety then this government agency would probably jump all over it. This issue just doesn't sound like it fits that to me.

 

Sooooo......where are these pictures.

 

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/tri-g...ng-simple.html

 

The problem is to get some kind of exposure so a large number of people even know to look in that area. I only found it because I was having issues getting the rear aligned and the belt deflection set. Every time I tightened up the pinch bolts something moved and the belt would end up being too tight. I had asked the dealership that is local to me (not the one where the trike came from) for some help and was executing what they had suggested when I found what I found. The only time anyone needs to be in that location is when a lateral adjustment of the rear end is needed to put the belt in the proper place on the sprocket or if someone is taking a swing arm out they would need to get in there. I recently read that the whole assembly, shaft, rubber mounts. and bearings are designed to last 100,000 miles without maintenance There is nothing in there to maintain.

I started with the NHTSA because another member suggested it and for the lack of a better place to start. If I could find somewhere else to report this that would draw a larger audience I would. I don't think this forum is going to have a large enough audience especially because the majority of of people don't participate in forums. If anyone has another suggestion on where to go to try and get a larger audience of trike owners involved I'll do thaat.

I also didn't open my complaint with NTSB it was with NHTSA and I was given a complaint number, told every one having the issue needs to open their own complaint and reference my compliant number. They said that there are no guarantees that an investigation will occur but the more complaints they got the better the odds. If I remember correctly, a tough thing for me to do, they said I will be interviewed in 5 to 6 weeks so I guess that would be my opportunity to make my case.