Harley Davidson quality control or lack off !!

[El Lobo]

Hello Gents

So this is going to be a long story. So my brother in law and I were riding to the memorial day run in Red river NM, when we arrived in Taos we pulled into a gas station, my brother in law noticed that his 2019 Tri-glide was leaking anti freeze from the left side of the Trike. We checked the reservoir and it was empty, having no anti freeze we added water to the reservoir and started off again, we rode about 2 miles when the engine coolant temperature light came on, we pulled into the nearest gas station and checked the coolant reservoir again the reservoir was empty so we filled the reservoir again and purged the radiator to clear out any air from the system. We let the trike run to make sure it would not over heat again; the trike had been running for about 4 minutes when all of the coolant just poured out of the left side, We had to get the trike towed back home. MY brother in law later on had the trike towed to his Harley certified mechanic.( he will not have any work done at the Santa Fe Harley Shop) We had thought that maybe the water pump had gone out, or a water hose had busted. When the mechanic checked the trike, he found that Harley had not installed a clamp on one of the hoses. Causing the hose to come loose. SO MUCH FOR QUALITY CONTROL!!!!

Ride safe.

El Lobo

[Jack Klarich]

So much for the Trike having been PDI before buying

( Pre Delivery Inspection) It happens more often than one might think

[Mykneesbehurtin]

I have had so many issues with my 17, I know how aggravating it can be.

[Notgrownup]

It happened to a brand new truck I bought 5 years ago. 4 days after I got it it started to leak antifreeze, called the toll free# they picked it up fixed it and brought it back to me the next day.

[Marc H]

I'm amazed it stayed on for 3 yrs with no clamp.Talk about a tight fit.

[2K1200LTS]

Who's to blame the workers or the union or Harley for not hiring competent workers. Then the dealership for not doing a proper set up or the tech when servicing the trike for not noticing it was missing. I had a new Indian with a hose clamp was not tighten. Happen to catch it on the first warm up.

[PosseRider]

I'm amazed it stayed on for 3 yrs with no clamp.Talk about a tight fit.

Same here.

[rhino 2]

Who's to blame the workers or the union or Harley for not hiring competent workers. Then the dealership for not doing a proper set up or the tech when servicing the trike for not noticing it was missing. I had a new Indian with a hose clamp was not tighten. Happen to catch it on the first warm up.

If you don’t pay the workers with incentives and job security what you get is worker’s who don’t care because management doesn’t care…And the customer has some blame….. Always price shopping for the cheapest labor price/parts Harley charges too much I’m gonna go to the internet and get the parts from some guy selling from his No overhead garage in Cheboygan… but for #Warranty work I’ll go to the Harley dealer with the high overhead..

[Old Road Dog]

If ya'll think its bad now....come step into my time machine. We're goin back to 1976 when I bought a brand new FXE ( $3000.00 OTD). See the chicks wearing bell bottoms and halter and tube tops? ( Yum) CB radios were all the rage. Lip gloss, Farrah Faucet, N.Y. Shag hairdos. Group sex in Chevy vans.....um y'all did that right? Anyway, HD was in the throes of manufacturing issues. AMF dragged them kicking and screaming into the space age from the Model T age.They also alienated a majority of the work force especially the line workers. I believe there was outright sabotaging goin on. Sucked valves, disc brakes locking up in the middle of nowheres Nevada. It took me years to work out the bugs. But there she sits in the garage. A hose clamp seems like a minor inconvenience.

[El Lobo]

Yes; the mechanic could not believe that it had lasted this long without coming Loose.

El lobo

[hydraglide]

Just a thought… I too find it difficult to believe the hose stayed on without a clamp for three years. My thinking is that possibly the clamp fell off the hose AFTER it came loose from the pump.

I had an oil line hose start to leak on my 99 Ultra in the middle of Idaho. Not pouring out but leaking enough to notice.

One of those crimp clamps “gone bad”. Hit an auto parts store for a worm gear clamp and away I went.

The hose slipped off the nipple rather easily even with the crimp clamp in place.

My money is on the speculation that the crimp clamp became loose, and when the hose, under pressure, blew off the nipple the clamp fell off.

Crimp clamps, while saving a few penny’s, suck.

Just my 2¢.

[DOKK]

Just a thought… I too find it difficult to believe the hose stayed on without a clamp for three years. My thinking is that possibly the clamp fell off the hose AFTER it came loose from the pump.

I had an oil line hose start to leak on my 99 Ultra in the middle of Idaho. Not pouring out but leaking enough to notice.

One of those crimp clamps “gone bad”. Hit an auto parts store for a worm gear clamp and away I went.

The hose slipped off the nipple rather easily even with the crimp clamp in place.

My money is on the speculation that the crimp clamp became loose, and when the hose, under pressure, blew off the nipple the clamp fell off.

Crimp clamps, while saving a few penny’s, suck.

Just my 2¢.

As a mechanic and 30 year industrial maintenance tech, I wouldn't bet against you on this. I've seen it happen on new machines after install.

[2K1200LTS]

Would of being easy enough to tell by looking at the hose to see if there was an imprint left from the clamp in the hose.

[cycle7447]

Interesting thread - in over 3 years and all of the inspections and 1000, 5000, 10000 etc mile checkup - no one ever saw this missing.

Seems a little odd to me - but anything is possible

[rhino 2]

Interesting thread - in over 3 years and all of the inspections and 1000, 5000, 10000 etc mile checkup - no one ever saw this missing.

Seems a little odd to me - but anything is possible

Paul Harvey Summed it up pretty well!

* And the rest of the story?*

[El Lobo]

I want to thank everyone for their feed back, yes it is difficult to really know what happened.

El Lobo

[Zigzag]

Always no fun when problems arise with any bike, car , truck of any brand. I tend to agree with some that have already stated, no problems in several years and now this happened. I believe before I pointed fingers at HD, Unions or individual workers I’d question who’s been maintaining the trike. I know in 51 years of riding I’ve learned no matter what brand all bikes need to be serviced properly. Sounds like someone missed something at a service but honestly we’re all human and things can happen. Wishing you better luck in the future and many safe miles.