BEFORE YOU BUY A HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLE

Reprinted from : James Russell Publishing




Part One:

  "I love Harley-Davidson, but you got to know the truth!"

I know you love Harley-Davidson motorcycles (I do too) and I know you want to buy one just because it is the cool thing to do and all your riding buddies ride one.  That's okay, I had them too and I still own a 2012 Sportster 1200 Custom, but you still need to know exactly what you are buying so there are no expensive bank-busting nasty surprises.  And before you judge wrongly, at the end of this article, I have written strong reasons why you should buy a Harley-Davidson motorcycle!

Blogger's Note: J D Redneck rides a 1981 Shovelhead. It has the original 80" engine with matching frame and 4 speed transmission. But there have been many modifications to the appearance and the running gear.

  For most of you Harley-Davidson riders this article will be a "awful truth" revelation, but one only need read V-Twin motorcycle magazines over a long period of time to verify what you read here is indeed not only shocking, but true. 

 "There are serious defects in the Harley-Davidson Twin-Cam engines."

 What defects?  Plenty of them.  Enough to alarm you.  However, you can fix some of these defects and end up with a nice bike.  Yes, even the new Harley's have serious problems.  Even the expensive CVO (Custom Vehicle Operations) bikes have issues not to be taken lightly.

The Code of Silence!

Those who know, don't tell.  Those who don't know, don't want to know.  Those who find out the hard way are broke and ashamed to admit their bike is defective.  Worse, they believe it is not a defect and will not break again.  It is a sin to reveal defects in Harley-Davidson motorcycles.  Dealers are silent.  Salespersons are silent.  Parts people are silent.  Mechanics are quiet.  All fear losing their job by management if they dare speak of the "defects" so the roar of their silence is deafening!

Okay, here we go...

1.  The biggest problem is the poor design of the cam chain system.  It still uses "shoes" riding on the cam chains that can still wear out, even with the new hydraulic tensioning system, for that is not a true and lasting fix.  What is the problem?  The soft plastic or nylon shoes rub against the two chains and the shoes wear out.  When they do there will be metal to metal contact and this grinding creates metal shavings that creates a catastrophic engine failure.  So bad the entire engine is destroyed; cams, pistons, crankshaft, engine cases broken.  It is a wickedly serious engine design defect.  Be aware... it can fail at 15,000 miles.  Even the new hydraulic system can fail at 40,000 miles or less and those nasty little shoes need replacing at 40,000 miles due to its inherent weaknesses.

"You may hear a sound like the starter motor is running, but if your pipes are loud you may not get even this warning.  The oil pump passages can clog up without making any noise whatsoever except when the engine starts tearing itself to pieces." 

 

What is the fix?  You can purchase a gear set that eliminates the cam chains and shoes.  Harley-Davidson should, in my opinion, make this a standard fix and not an after the fact option.  If you can't afford to install the gear system, then you need to disassemble and inspect the inner and outer shoes every 15,000 miles or risk total engine failure.  The shoe material can also clog the oil pump totally destroying the engine.  There are plenty of motorcycle magazines explaining how to fix this nagging problem.

"Every Twin-Cam engine has the cam chain follower defect, even the new models.  If it has a cam chain it has a problem!  And every single one of these engines will seize up without warning.  Will it be today, tomorrow or next year?  That is the question you have to ask yourself.  It may be ten years from now depending on the miles on your engine, but rest assured it is going to fail 100% guaranteed and guess who is going to pay for it?"

Note:  Be aware that pre '06 Dyna's and the 1999 to 2006 Twin-Cam Harley-Davidson engines are seriously defective and they will blow up.  How?  As the spring loaded cam chain follower fails is shreds plastic material that fouls the rotary gear oil pump cutting off oil flow to the engine causing sudden catastrophic engine failure and destruction.  Also metal to metal contact produces metal filings to disperse into the oil prior to being filtered by the oil filter.  Be prepared to buy a completely new motor.  Rebuilding the engine may not be feasible. 

New Harley Engines Will Fail Too!

 And don't think you are out of the woods if you have the new hydraulic cam chain tensioners for model years 2007 to present.  They will fail beyond the factory warranty period.  The problem was not fixed, it was only delayed to, on average, fail above 50,000 miles.  Check the fine print in your extended warranty as this cam chain related failure may not be protected.  Yikes!  You may be required to endure expensive periodic inspections to retain the warranty.  The fact the hydraulic cam chain adjusters still have nylon pads rubbing against chains the pads will still wear out and big-time havoc happens!  

"Believe it or not!  When the engine fails it is not covered under warranty!  Dealers will tell you it is a failed maintenance issue.  In other words, you failed to pay the dealer to tear your engine apart to inspect the condition of the cam chain followers on a routine basis.  This is not fair dealings, but it is what you will get when buying a Harley-Davidson. 

It's the price you will pay to play." 

Did you read that right?  Imagine if you bought a new car and they tell you you must have the engine disassembled every 15,000 to keep your warranty!  Nobody does that to customers, but Harley-Davidson?  Not cool, bro.  Not cool at all.  This problematic engine defect in the Twin-Cam engine is terrifying, at least I found it so, there is no way I will buy another T-C engine bike.  And that's just one engine defect... read on!  It gets scarier. 

Note:  Are the 2007 and newer Twin-Cam engines safe?  No!  Do not be fooled.  Hydraulic cam chain followers are now used getting rid of the stiff spring that put too much pressure on the followers rubbing on the cam chain, but this is "no cure" as it only "delays" the problem.  Instead of the engine failing at 15,000 to 30,000 miles it now fails at 50,000 to 75,000 miles.  There is only one cure... get rid of the chain system entirely and switch to gear driven cams.  Do your research now and budget your repair.  Do not wait until the engine fails because if you ride a Twin-Cam Harley the engine is going to blow up! 

"You won't get a straight honest answer from Harley dealers regarding this awful engine defect.  I have been lied to by dealers and given a run-around by dealer employees.  It just happened again July 2, 2011 in Carson City, NV Harley-Davidson dealer.  The service writer would not answer my questions, gave me a song and dance and refused to forward my questions and concerns to the mechanic or management and frankly upset me with sarcastic comments.  Problem is a problem exists and Harley-Davidson dealers are actively not giving straight answers to customers.  That is a deceptive business practice and it is against the law under false and misleading advertising and dishonest business practices concealing known facts from the consumer prior to sale!" 

 Note: You will not hear any rubbing sounds or receive any indications the cam follower has failed even is you have quiet stock exhaust pipes on the bike.  The engine will fail suddenly and catastrophically and it may even take you down to the pavement as the engine oil coats your rear wheel.  This is a dangerous and expensive engine defect nobody wants to talk about, but it is a real threat to your health, safety and your finances. 

New Development on Cam Follower Problem:  Installing a gear drive system is not the cure and may actually cause severe engine damage in the future if installed.  First, the crankshaft run out (up and down, left and right motion, not thrust of the crankshaft) must be within a tight tolerance.  The problem is the gears are "stacked" one upon another instead of side-by-side so if the crankshaft is out of alignment (and it will get out of alignment just with normal wear the crank and camshaft bearings) the gears will "compress together" and that can break the engine cases, bearings, crankshaft, cams and it devastates the engine to near worthlessness.  So, it there is now cure now for the Harley-Davidson Twin-Cam engine.  This indicates why Harley-Davidson has no cure "real" for this cam chain tensioners shoe problem.

DO YOU HAVE LEGAL RECOURSE?

If your Twin-cam engine grenades and Harley-Davidson never told you in writing how to prevent such a catastrophe and how to fix the problem at Harley-Davidson's cost you can win in small claims or Superior court a refund of the purchase price of your motorcycle.  Consult an attorney.  That's what I would do if my engine exploded due to a known manufacturing defect and nobody told me about it in writing when I bought the new or used motorcycle from an authorized Harley-Davidson dealer.  A dealer can not conceal known defects to sell a defective product upon an unsuspecting consumer, but that is what Harley-Davidson and its dealers are doing.  They are even charging riders money to "inspect" their defective engine profiting upon innocent consumers who have no choice but to pay and obey which is illegal to profit from a corrupt business transaction and a bad contract.  I would sue Harley-Davidson and the dealer in small claims court for a full refund of all such recommended inspection costs and/or make them buy the motorcycle back at the full purchase price, tax, license, registration, insurance, etc.

WHAT IS THE TRUE FIX?

There is only one fix for this cam chain follower problem and that is to convert the entire cam drive system to gears.  Don't bother with aftermarket fixes that will convert and update your "spring" tension cam chain follower system to the newer "hydraulic" cam chain system for both of these systems are defective and both will fail because it really does not fix the problem, it only prolongs the problem to fail later down the road and usually out of warranty coverage on new bikes.  The hydraulic nylon hydraulic cam follower will still wear out and the plunger piston will exit the bore and no tension will be on the cams and valve float can swallow the valves breaking pistons, rods, crank and cases and the oil pump can be blocked by debris to totally ruin the engine.  A horrendous expensive mess!  The gear cam drive system may be a tad noisier from gear whine but it is way better than a wrecked engine!  But in all reality there is no true fix other than Harley-Davidson redesigning the cam drive system to get rid of those cam chain shoes and not stacking vertically gears to drive the cams.  The cam gears must be aligned horizontally as the Sportster engine so does intelligently.  The crankshaft pinion shaft can be bent when the bearings wear causing the gears to slam against each other... yikes! 

Bloggers Note: If you have a Twin-Cam engine that is ready for rebuild or if you just want to upgrade your existing Cam chest with new reliable parts, then go to : http://www.feulingparts.com/

Stay tuned for Part Two.

Happy Trails.....

J D Redneck