Just pulled the rear gaurd and lights off my 3 year old Nightster and alot of the paint / powder coat is peeling off and rusting have to repaint every peice NOT IMPRESSED at all

sounds like a good excuse for sum custom paint - at least you will know its done right this time....

thats crap for the money we pay you would expect a "lot" more.

mate send HD aus and usa an angry letter, proberly won't do any good, but fuck, it'll make ya feel better...

 

good thing you pulled the guard off before too much damage. what made you look ? must check mine.

Notwithstanding that everyone is entitled to feel pissed off with poor quality, I am a member of several forums and am amazed at the number of people on "Harley" related forums who pull the piss out of Harleys for whatever reason.

No-one held a gun to your head and made you buy it. Suck it up, fix it up and stop whining or move on and don't let the door hit your arse on the way out.

 Now this will seem a little harsh and it is not aimed at this thread or those that have posted on it in particular, but for me this is the straw that broke the camel's back.

As a young fella dreaming of Harleys in the 70's to a current 16 year owner of an AMF shovel, I feel qualified to comment. I own a ,70's FL, an '80's XL and a "naughties" springer and I can vouch for the progress that has been made, as well as the corners that are now being cut.

I also have an alternative perspective on AMF Harleys - everyone seems to reckon they were the low point however they saved Harley from going to the wall. They were by no means perfect however if looked after, they are still in this day and age a simple, uncomplicated bike that when on song are a pleasure to ride.

My advice is buy it, ride it and love it or fuck off and buy something else.

Rant over.

Philthy

 

ps: the shovel is hopefully a couple of weeks off being back on the road and I will gladly post pic's when finally off the workbench for anyone who is interested . . .  .

Im a spray painter by trade and if i did the quality that you say that i should just except from HD i wouldnt be in business very long i just expect what i pay for to be what HD says that they are giving me

Pulled the back wheel off to get new tyres

Christ Skin...You shoulda split that up into 5 sections so I can consentrate long enough to read it all....

Sorry Filthy but thats absolute crap. Advocating that shit quality is okay and you should just suck it up or fuck off is nonsense.

I have an 18month old Sporty which is wracked with electrical problems. Is that good value for a $20k bike?

I say tell HD Aus and USA exactly what you think and if they get enough grief they might wake up and do something. All of us on here love HD, but if these quality issues persist it will go the way of Indian and just how would you feel then.

Rant over

G'day Blackadder.
A couple of things -i said my post was "harsh" (which you clearly agree with) and also that everyone is entitled to be pissed off with poor quality.
What I possibly didn't clearly convey is that yes - Harleys are outrageously expensive however they are NOT by extension necessarily top quality. While my experience of them is generally very good, you can buy better "quality" - be that performance, handling or finish - for much less elsewhere in the marketplace.
In my warped mind, when you buy a Harley you are entering into a "for better or worse" contract and that is part of the mystique of the brand that separates Harley riders from everyone else. If you find it unpalatable or unacceptable that some $30,000+ motorcycles have quality control issues then the answer is quite simple - don't buy one.
I for one am prepared to pay the price and enjoy the pride of ownership - for better or worse.
Each to his own
Philthy

As I have stated before there is rust under Harley paint and I have only noticed this happening since around 2000 models....
As for the older models Pans, Shovels and Evo's it was simply clean fresh metal, now i believe the US is tightening there legislation for spraypainters so maybe this has something to do with it.... Waterbased basecoats are all the rage over there, but, water and heat produced from the 2 pak clears and baking ovens could be the cause.... The clear coat they are using now is absolute CRAP you only have to look at it and there goes another scratch, and fuck trying to polish it out only makes it worse......
Dont know what process they use for there painting as havent been to the factory yet, but will do very soon, if anyone knows anything of there process / paint used / hand painted or robot it would be good to hear ???

I've had six harleys over the years and my 92 FLHS was the most solid of them all. As the years went by, the fittings seemed to get tinnier and where they still look horn, the chrome was getting thinner. I would say it's when the bean counters took over and if they could save fifty bucks manufacturing cost on every bike, it's a lot added to the bottom line over the years production run.

The MOCO is image driven these days, just look at the fag stuff they are trying to sell you to wear to look the part. Fucken nonces ,the fucken lot of em....where was I.... With the importing of near new bikes being done by small companies now, the artificially inflated value has just gone out the window on new bike values. Corporate greed will eventually come back and bite them.

My turn. I am reasonably happy with my Deluxe. After 50,000k's she has been reliable, does not leak oil, or blow smoke. I do use full synthetic oil, change it regularly, and I do wash and polish her monthly. I broke a pinch bolt on my triple trees ($400), I've spent $1000 on aftermarket cams, and replaced those damn tensioners and bearings. That was my decision, and I could have left it. I do get PISSED OFF though, when I buy chrome, premium quality axle covers, and they are made in China. A chrome rear fender strip that said made in USA, and the fucker was so badly made, plastic shit. My spoked rims also are rusting, and the zinc bolts look shit. I love my bike, and I'll keep it for a few years, but I will NOT spend $32K on a machine that is made in India or Taiwan. Good marketing will not work next time, they'll have to work hard for my business. In the meantime, I will continue to ride my girl, and enjoy putting on 100,000k's.