Harley warranty and trailer hitches

[msocko3]

I hear ya there!,
It's just I'm very disappointed that after 10 years of youthful wishing I owned a Harley Davidson and 40 years of giving my loyalty to only Harley Davidson has only earned me the right to be a numbered consumer. I get treated with more respect at the Local Recycle Center than I do that the Harley Cycle Center!
I'm not done with mother moco, nope, not yet. However, I really wish the desk jocky supervisor I spoke with would at least convincingly speak as though he had spent some time in the saddle in his life. Still can't believe that a supervising customer service rep at HD moco would or even could say to me that my fairing only seems tweaked because I'm not sitting on the seat straight. That's just plain blood boiling. The day before yesterday, Friday he said he'd get back to me this coming Wednesday. I'll let you know what kind of stuff he slings my way then.
Sometimes I feel like I have out lived my circle of normal and I don't much like this, "Welcome to the New Normal!", attitude that has become the usual.
Just got back from a putt before the rain came down, my kind of day. lol

Lot of dealers are taking on the take it or leave it attitude, they figure if you don't buy it someone else will. I've been to some really great dealers and some real bums, the bums will eventually get weeded out. The best advice is to check other dealers and see how they meet your expectations. The sad part is I've even seen some of the poor service start taking place with Harley Davidson it self. I can remember contacting customer service on past issues with other bikes and I would receive prompt service which always ended up with a favorable resolution. It doesn't seem like they want to go that extra mile like they used to.

 

[screwball]

I just posted this on another 'trailer hitch' thread, but I thought I'd repeat it here. Looked up the Gross Vehicle Capacity of a Tri, it is 1700 pounds. Wet weight is 1191 pounds. That leaves about 500# for driver, passanger, and whatever gear you want to tote around in the trunk and trailer. Some of the couples here (us) are pushing that wieght limit without baggage. May be one of the reasons for the warrenty restrictions on trailer hitches. Personally, I'd call it a bumper bumper. On there to protect the bumper when I back into a curb..........

Good Luck

 

[Sloufoot]

As a flag holder, they would have a real problem proving different unless you have the ball hitch with you instead of a flag holder plug-in. But some idiot would find a problem if it held more than one SMALL flag !
Trouble is who are ya going to argue with,,, Bikers ???? NOT !! Some idiot pushing buttons, & counting Beans !! The kid has forgotten why AMF was able to buy out Harley !
He has also forgotten the promises he and the family made to the public about taking care of their product and customers !

 

[BinIdaho]

I had an independent indy install my trailer hitch and they also do HD extended warranty work. When traveling last year had issues with trailer wiring. Stopped at Rattlesnake HD in Kennewick, WA and they spent an hour working on the trailer. On the work invoice they wrote down "traveler" and never said a word about pulling a trailer. Guess it depends on the dealer. I always took the receiver off my TG when having local HD dealer do work. I'm prepared with the "flag holder" scenerio!

 

[Sloufoot]

Barbara, what time of the year is that pix taken? Boise river sure looks brown . Or maybe not Boise river?

 

[DanDolfn]

I don't have it handy, but I think my owner's manual specifically prohibits towing.

It certainly gives Harley an out if they want to argue that a specific issue was caused by towing.

I think the bottom line is if you want your warranty to be clear, don't tow.

Of course, that's mostly for factory trikes.

If you have a conversion like mine, you're in an even tougher position re: warranty coverage!

 

[Memnoch451]

After dealing with Motorcycle companies, auto manufactures and the people who made my favorite blender!!! I have decided that Warranties don't mean poop! Sometimes they will fix your toy and sometimes they won't.. some companies work hard to void your warranty and some bend over backwards to take care of you.

I had Honda treat me like a king once and another time kick me so hard to the curb that I bought a Yamaha or two. Harley is run by Lawyers and corporate types ( just like all large OEM ) now and when ever there is a board of directors there is a need to show a profit. Profit can kill customer service like raid kills ants in my back yard.

I have found it best to pick a good shop and take it from there. Also remember for every good complaint about warranty there are 3 bogus ones and I have found that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. In other words be nice to the warranty person or the person helping you out..if they are on your side you'll get much further than with out them.

 

[Oldmsocko]

I am very fortunate in that I have an EXCELLENT dealer located in Jamestown, NY where I go.

 

[rae2012]

Purchased a 2012 TG a few weeks ago and told the same thing. Pull a trailer and void your warranty .

 

[OlBandit]

Hello Everyone,

If you goto the Bushtec website and look in the FAQ section you will find this question and answer from Bushtec:

Will my motorcycle warranty be void if I install a trailer?

Customers have protection from this under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975. The act is designed to “improve the adequacy of information available to customers, prevent deception, and improve competition in the marketing of consumer products….”

· The presence of aftermarket parts does not void a warranty or warranty service

· In cases where a failed aftermarket part is the reason for a warranty claim, the vehicle manufacturer must arrange a settlement with the customer, but by law the new-vehicle warranty is not voided

· The only time a new vehicle warranty can be voided is if an installed aftermarket product can be proven, without doubt, that it is responsible for the warranty claim

· The act only applies to consumer products which can be defined as tangible personal property, regardless of how the product distributed in commerce is actually used by the individual buyer

· The act does not apply to oral warranties; only written warranties are covered

· The act does not apply to warranties on services, only goods are covered, unless both the parts and workmanship in making that repair are covered by the warranty

So, it does look like a crap shoot when it comes to dealerships and trailers.

Happy Riding

Ride Safe and Enjoy!

 

[nytriker]

I am very fortunate in that I have an EXCELLENT dealer located in Jamestown, NY where I go.

Oldmsocko, I use the same dealer. Purchased my 2011 TG from them. Great folks. Recently, I asked about pulling a trailer and they recommended Bushtec. Also, said they can order and install the hitch for me.

 

[TheBobs]

Too bad we couldn't start a thread, like the Trike Dyno Locations thread, that we could use to share a dealer who is sympathetic to folks towing and wouldn't rat us out to big MOCO. It would be nice on a long road trip to know where those dealers were, but those dealers probably don't want this type of info to be public anyway.

 

[GARYD]

After dealing with Motorcycle companies, auto manufactures and the people who made my favorite blender!!! I have decided that Warranties don't mean poop! Sometimes they will fix your toy and sometimes they won't.. some companies work hard to void your warranty and some bend over backwards to take care of you.

I had Honda treat me like a king once and another time kick me so hard to the curb that I bought a Yamaha or two. Harley is run by Lawyers and corporate types ( just like all large OEM ) now and when ever there is a board of directors there is a need to show a profit. Profit can kill customer service like raid kills ants in my back yard.

I have found it best to pick a good shop and take it from there. Also remember for every good complaint about warranty there are 3 bogus ones and I have found that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. In other words be nice to the warranty person or the person helping you out..if they are on your side you'll get much further than with out them.

Couldn't have said it better. ThumbUp ThumbUp ThumbUp

 

[grapenuts]

I just posted this on another 'trailer hitch' thread, but I thought I'd repeat it here. Looked up the Gross Vehicle Capacity of a Tri, it is 1700 pounds. Wet weight is 1191 pounds. That leaves about 500# for driver, passanger, and whatever gear you want to tote around in the trunk and trailer.
Good Luck

Actually, Gross Vehicle Weight Rating is the total weight of the vehicle plus passengers, luggage and tongue weight only of whatever it is you're towing. So it's very easy to stay within the 1700 lb limit. In fact by taking stuff off the bike and putting it in a trailer it is easier to stay under the limit. Most cars & trucks also list a maximum towing capacity but obviously the MoCo didn't include this.

 

[TheBobs]

Actually, Gross Vehicle Weight Rating is the total weight of the vehicle plus passengers, luggage and tongue weight only of whatever it is you're towing. So it's very easy to stay within the 1700 lb limit. In fact by taking stuff off the bike and putting it in a trailer it is easier to stay under the limit. Most cars & trucks also list a maximum towing capacity but obviously the MoCo didn't include this.

+1, only the tongue weight of the trailer counts towards the total.

 

[screwball]

Aren't we saying the same thing?? 1700 Gross, minus the weight of the bike (wet) leaves about 509 pounds for everything else. My butt, dressed is very close to 300#. Most of the members here ride 2 up, so combined with wife they probably weigh as much as me alone, some others maybe more. Harley doesn't publish a Max Tow rate, because they don't rate their bikes / trikes for towing anything. I've seen LOTS of tri's towing a trailer, from some very custom ones to very basic home brew. None have ever said they had a problem with towing, or warranty stuff. BUT if you ran in with a burned clutch, or a smoked motor with a trailer hitch installed, there COULD be a problem. If I were a dealer I wouldn't much care, the Moco is going to pay me to do the work, Voiding a warranty wouldn't put any money in my pocket if you chose to go somewhere else.

 

[TheBobs]

Aren't we saying the same thing?? 1700 Gross, minus the weight of the bike (wet) leaves about 509 pounds for everything else. My butt, dressed is very close to 300#. Most of the members here ride 2 up, so combined with wife they probably weigh as much as me alone, some others maybe more. Harley doesn't publish a Max Tow rate, because they don't rate their bikes / trikes for towing anything. I've seen LOTS of tri's towing a trailer, from some very custom ones to very basic home brew. None have ever said they had a problem with towing, or warranty stuff. BUT if you ran in with a burned clutch, or a smoked motor with a trailer hitch installed, there COULD be a problem. If I were a dealer I wouldn't much care, the Moco is going to pay me to do the work, Voiding a warranty wouldn't put any money in my pocket if you chose to go somewhere else.

Ya, I think we are. Here's the way I itemized it for my roll-a-home:
GVWR = 1,700
-1,191 wet weight
- 390 2 up total weight
- 50 cargo on bike
- 30 Roll-a-Home tongue weight
39 lbs to spare. More if cargo is shifted to the trailer and balanced to keep tongue weight at 30 lbs.

Yep, we are saying the same thing!

 

[seabiz]

I was looking at a 2009 TriGlide still under warranty in Oregon. It came up in the discussion that the owner had installed a trailer hitch to hold a cooler. The dealer told me the hitch would void the existing warranty and prevent me from extending it if I were to purchase this trike. The dealer told me I could take it off and I would probably be fine as far as future warranty work.

 

[STG246]

Warranty, schmarranty, are you going to let someone tell you what you can do with your own bike? I've been pulling a Bushtec trailer since I got my trike in '09. I have to physically turn my head and look over my shoulder when traveling down the road to make sure it's still following me - it's that unnoticeable.

I drove into the dealership shortly after I put the hitch on and the service manager spotted it right away. He got down on his knees and looked under the bike and said "You put a hitch on, huh?" I replied "Yep. What do you think Harley put those two big pieces of flat iron under the box for anyway, if not for a hitch?" His answer was "$hit, I don't know".

I bought this rig to enjoy it. I'm not waiting 2 or 5 years for the warranty to expire. At the end of your life you don't get those years back, you know?

Amen! When I bought my first Harley in 02 I was naive and got sucked into wasting my money on the street legal SE pipes, paying the dealer to install them, and other than an air cleaner I did no other mechanical mods until my warranty was up, because the dealer told me "I'd void the warranty" then I rode a bike like mine with a big bore kit etc and have regretted wasting the 5 years on a stock bike since, the new TG I just bought is getting aftermarket pipes, air cleaner, tuner, and when I save enough lunch money, a big bore kit...If it breaks, I'll deal with fixing it...


Ryan

 

[beautebiz]

Harley got sued BIG TIME and are now very gun shy! My dealer won't do it either: he will sell me the hitch, but won't install it.
It also voids all warranty items related to pulling the trailer, but not things like the radio, etc.'