Hi

Anyone know if you have to earth braided spark plug leads on a 2009 Fatboy?

Why im asking is i bought a set of braided spark plug leads off a Harley Dealer. In package the earth wires where there to earth. I didnt get a Harley Dealer to fit em, i took the bike  to a bloke who works on Harleys. He said they dont have to be earth. So i took his word, thinking well, he must know his job.Well anyway after a while, the speedo stop working, blinkers wouldnt return & it wouldnt idle.. I took it back to him, he put a new speedo sensor in, still had the problem.  So i took it to a Harley Dealer, not the dealer i bought the leads off. They found the problem after 30 hrs of searching........Spark plug leads they said, so they took em off & replaced with the normal ones. Bikes ok now. But guess how much i paid for this search..over the $3000. So i want to take legal action, but who do you think i should sue.......The Harley Dealer that sold em to me, or the harley mechanic that fitted em?

 

My opinion only, but i think you'd be hard pressed with any legal action against the person that sold them to you, how would they know that you (or someone you employed) installed them incorrectly? or for that matter what they were going to be used for.

The mechanic that fitted them, well you supplied the materials, he just installed them for you ....

The only thing I'd question is the 30 hours of searching, and why they are charging $100 an hour to do it.

Instead of laying blame you could always suck it up and put your time and effort into learning some basics about your motorcycle, buy some manuals ask questions, dragging someone through the courts will only cause stress and bitterness, learn from it and move on, I reckon anyone who has ever owned a Harley has been ripped at some point, that is what this forum is about, ask and learn and then share, i bet no one else will be taken in by your problem as you have shared it with us all.

ps not trying to be a smart ass. 

When it started playing up with the braided leads did you not think about swapping them back to the originals to see what happened???Did you tell the fault finding dealer that this started when the braided leads were installed and that the fella that installed them said they don't need to be earthed???$3000 seems a bit excesive to me...

i was gunna get some of those fancy leads to match my other braided lines - maybe not now since ive read this....

You've got to be kidding haven't you ???? $3000 a learning experience, BULLSHIT.

Sometimes you have to walk away and move on, the moneys been handed over, the invoice accepted,the thing you have to prove is they ripped you off, its a bitter pill to swallow but you have to move on, people constantly put dealers up against independant shops and expect to come off the winners and save a few quid,    hello............its not going to happen, stick with one or the other.

You can rant and rave, have your day in court, threaten everyone but in the end your responsible for your actions or your inactions.

 

Ok. Thanks for all the replys fellow Harley riders.....To answer some of your questions. Every body including Harley Australia thought it a warrantry job,thats why i didnt complain about the so call search hours finding the problem. As bike only a year old. But as it turn out, after the Harley Dealer, got down to looking at braided sparke plug leads. & phone Harley Australia, telling them the leads are a aftermarket product they said, no warrantry, there not original. I rang up the company that supplys em to dealers. They told me they took em off the market. So looks like other riders have had same problem. Harley Australia, also told me Harley Dealers should not be selling aftermarket products, but they cant control that matter.
Conclusion is i appreciate you replys, but i still going to try to get some of my cost back
Regards

Good luck with it. You might have some action against the supplier of the product ... a recall of the product may be evidence enough to get something (probably just the cost of the leads).

anytime a Harley comes into my workshop with similar problems,one of the first things i look for is faulty leads,as would most mechanics,have never had anything but problems with braided plug leads,never come across good ones yet. if the dealer that sold you the leads knew they were discontinued because of a fault you may have some chance,but proving it would be tricky, you would think if they were fitted with an earth lead any sensible mechanic would use them. but the problem is yours,you supplied the part to the mech,you bought the parts. maybe next time a bit of homework would be in order.  remember,if it says it will bolt straight on,it generally wont. braided leads wont make your bike go any better,most of that bling shit is just crap,usually poor quality and not worth the money or the hassles.