V-ROD OWNERS BEWARE!

I live in Grenoble, France and am the (68yr-old) proud owner of a V-Rod Night Rod Special. I bought it in March 2014. In March 2015 I had logged 13,000km riding it. I thought it was now time to treat it to a grand trip, planning to ride to the Cyclades via Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Northern Greece and the port of Athens. Before departing I stopped over to the local HD dealership and announced my intention to travel some 2900km down to some Greek island, two on board with luggage. I needed the shocks tuned to that effect (which incidentally, can only be done in a dealership workshop).
A 'light' (quoting here) servicing was done, shocks, oil, tire pressure, etc. I took off, confident that everything was ok with the bike.

My wife and I had a terrific ride, traveling over sheer mountain passes, through tremendous crosswinds and superb landscapes. Through cold and heat, the bike worked beautifully.

Arriving in my favorite island in Greece, I felt the rear brake was ineffective. I consulted with a local bike mechanic. He said the rear pads were worn out. He said I should call the Athens dealership. I did. I also called the Grenoble dealership, who tried to make me feel guilty about riding the bike in such conditions. I didn't know HDs were sissy motocycles, esp. with this price tag. He also said the bike was supposed to be serviced when reaching 16,000km. Haha, then why didn't they do it before I took the trip, knowing I'd be in the middle of nowhere, hundreds of miles from a HD workshop when I reached that mileage?

Anyway.
The local Greek mechanic tried to put more fluid in the cylinder, having noticed there was a leak underneath the bike. Everytime he hit the pedal, fluid squirted out. He investigated, and found that the radiator hose, behind the radiator, is mounted dead against the pipe feeding the rear brake, they had melted together, causing the leak and the brake malfunction. That's deadly design and yet another fine demonstration of Murphy's law. Had this happened when descending the very steep mountain roads of Northern Greece, we would have died, and everybody would have written us off. Statistics, poor riding, whatever.
I should probably add that before I straddled a Harley I had three VN Custom 900 Kawasaki on which I logged some 90,000kms, mostly in hot weather, with my wife, with luggage, no problem whatsoever.

Two conclusions here. One is that, like the recent event with BMW bikes, V-Rods should be recalled and that design issue fixed. Second, those people servicing bikes should be trained to anticipate the mileage their customers will log, especially in summertime, and act accordingly, nobody will complain about a complete overhaul putting them on the safe side.

 

This is the first time I have ever heard of such a issue. The only problem with rear brakes that was ever discussed and noted, was a rear brake light switch that leaks and most upgraded to a non Harley aftermarket brake light switch to fix the issue

 

sounds like a minor issue, why are you making such a big deal out of it? brake lines fail all the time. that's why you have 2.


the dealership didn't check the brakes because you didn't ask them too, simple as that.

 

The dealer didn't do the early service because YOU didn't ask them to. They are not mind readers. You must request and pay for the service. Dealers are not baby sitters. You are the person in big boy pants and it is your job and responsibility to see that services are done based on what you are going to do. Man up!

I have had my NRS for three years now without a single issue. The Vrod has been around for over 13 model years and has an outstanding record of minimal issues. They are known to be a bike capable of going over 200,000 miles.

You don't think it was possible that going through the mountains some road debris kicked up and pushed the two lines together? Or that fully loaded two up touring could wear the brake pads down.,

The Vrod is only minimally equipped for a rear passenger. Yes it has foot pegs and a tiny pad (most females that I know would even consider riding on it for any distance at all) but it is very obvious that it is not meant to tour two up on.

I removed the foot pegs as soon as I got the bike.

Maybe you should reassess what kind of bike you need to fit the style of riding that you do. Just saying. A Vrod loaded with luggage and two up for touring is just plan dumb!

 

Wow, what a beating.
Impressive HD loyalty.

There IS a design issue. If the radiator hose melted with the brake line --and we didn't hit summer temperatures-- it's because they have been mounted too close together.
The boss at the Athens dealership admitted the incident was not normal, and was caused by faulty design.

Now you can continue insulting me, it doesn't change the facts.

Ride safe.

 

Here's a fact son. Neither the coolant nor the brake fluid can reach a temperature that will melt the lines. Any container with a fluid in it can not go higher than the temperature of the fluid. Apparently you never had a teacher in school science put water in a paper cone and place a Bunsen Burner under it and bring the water to a boil without the paper cone burning.

End of story.

 

i am glad you / and the wife were not hurt crossing some of the places you had gone with the bike - they do have little issues its the reason they warranty them, and some do things other never seem to do, maybe in its assembly it had been set next to each other by mistake -

but it happened and you were lucky - i hope in the future your machine serves you well

 

Wow, heckuva story.

 

 

No end of story,
Big Mouth.

I posted to this forum for three reasons.

One was, I was angry. Irrelevant, I know, but I had to give vent to that, being stuck in Athens with a bike I had always dreamed of owning.
Two, I was seeking information about my bike's breakdown. I got none. You guys beat the crap out of me, served me condescending bullshit and pseudo-physics theory but never helped.
Three, I thought if there was an issue with the V-Rod it was good biker practice to get the warning out to as many people as possible. You made sure the warning didn't get through. Congrats.

So here is the news from Paskalis, HD dealership Athens. He's tried to obtain spare parts from all over Europe, to no avail –a brake line, seriously??. He's phoned HD USA, who, he says, are "worried", and "investigating" what may be faulty manufacturing. The line simply ruptured. If it did go wrong there is no reason why it won't go wrong with another rider riding another V-Rod. In any case my motorcycle has been stuck in Athens for 4 weeks, and is nowhere near running again.


I appreciate your kind help, as you confirmed what I have long suspected, that forums like this are run by insiders on sales payroll whose job it is to destroy anybody that seems to criticize the firm's product.

End of story.