Harley Davidson Is Getting Sued!! This Affects All Motorcycle Owners!

[Halfnormal]

Harley Davidson Is Getting Sued!! This Affects All Motorcycle Owners!

 

[FRR]

I hope Harley loses this case big time.

 

[FRR]

That video is just about useless

 

[Papa Zook]

It's from two years ago?

 

[Jack Klarich]

That is 5 minutes I will never get back, did anyone notice all of the non Harley bikes in the video?

 

[pwhoever]

Interesting but it should have been taken care of by Magnuson Moss all along. IMHO, many of the Harley Owners I know have been diehard supporters and will only buy Harley or Harley approved accessories and then let the dealer handle installing. They wouldn't dream of going anywhere else to let their bike get serviced. And that's their choice but not everyone feels that way and should also have the choice as well. Kind of sucks that the Harley brand has to be dragged into court to make this a reality. Sounds a lot like John Deere and their proprietary software and dealer only fixes.

 

[Jack Klarich]

Magnuson Moss Warranty-Federal Trade Commission Improvements Act

Title I of this Act authorizes the Federal Trade Commission to develop regulations for written warranties.

www.ftc.gov

 

[Papa Zook]

Interesting but it should have been taken care of by Magnuson Moss all along. IMHO, many of the Harley Owners I know have been diehard supporters and will only buy Harley or Harley approved accessories and then let the dealer handle installing. They wouldn't dream of going anywhere else to let their bike get serviced. And that's their choice but not everyone feels that way and should also have the choice as well. Kind of sucks that the Harley brand has to be dragged into court to make this a reality. Sounds a lot like John Deere and their proprietary software and dealer only fixes.

Exactly, and how did that work out for John Deere?

 

[bikerbillone]

John Deer, used to be good words for farmers, now, not so much.

 

[Bugman]

Harley Davidson Is Getting Sued!! This Affects All Motorcycle Owners!

I was told by dealership if I have a hitch installed on my Tri Glide, it voids the drive train warranty. Is this true?

 

[pwhoever]

I was told by dealership if I have a hitch installed on my tri glide voids the drive train warranty. Is this true?

Only if they can prove that the hitch or using the hitch caused a failure to a drive train component. That's on them to prove it. They can try to flat out void drive train warranty just because of the mere presence of the hitch but can be asking for problems if they do. It is illegal. Read the Magnuson-Moss act.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Pretty sure that the warranty can be voided, legally, because of a hitch installed.

HOWEVER, the Dealerships saying your warranty is void because of this or that aftermarket part is the Reason why the FTC spanked HD a couple of years ago, due to their illegal warranty practices.

Check out the video below, that was made the day or so after HD got spanked.

If you have a Dealership violating the FTC order outlined in this video...REPORT Them to the FTC.





Kevin

 

[pwhoever]

Pretty sure that the warranty can be voided, legally, because of a hitch installed.

HOWEVER, the Dealerships saying your warranty is void because of this or that aftermarket part is the Reason why the FTC spanked HD a couple of years ago, due to their illegal warranty practices.

Check out the video below, that was made the day or so after HD got spanked.

If you have a Dealership violating the FTC order outlined in this video...REPORT Them to the FTC.





Kevin

You could be right after doing a little reading. I think it still could be challenged but might require another legal battle. It would have to be proven that damage was a result of the hitch. Granted a reasonable person would assume that a hitch was put on to be used for towing. But it's the act of towing that could result in drive train damage and not the hitch. What if nothing was ever towed but hitch was installed? There is no way that just a hitch would ever damage the drive train by itself. Harley is making the assumption that the hitch is being used to tow which could be a rather misguided assumption.

Just playing devils advocate

 

[DK Custom Products]

You could be right after doing a little reading. I think it still could be challenged but might require another legal battle. It would have to be proven that damage was a result of the hitch. Granted a reasonable person would assume that a hitch was put on to be used for towing. But it's the act of towing that could result in drive train damage and not the hitch. What if nothing was ever towed but hitch was installed? There is no way that just a hitch would ever damage the drive train by itself. Harley is making the assumption that the hitch is being used to tow which could be a rather misguided assumption.

Just playing devils advocate

Yes, it could be challenged, but almost assuredly one would lose (after spending more than the cost of a new HD on lawyer fees). The reason HD would win is because trailers do put a significant extra load on the entire drive train (more than it was designed for). It if was a switch or something else, unrelated to the drive train, one might prevail.

Kevin

 

[pwhoever]

Yes, it could be challenged, but almost assuredly one would lose (after spending more than the cost of a new HD on lawyer fees). The reason HD would win is because trailers do put a significant extra load on the entire drive train (more than it was designed for). It if was a switch or something else, unrelated to the drive train, one might prevail.

Kevin

Well there is the tale of 2 bike manufacturers...

With Honda, particularly the Goldwing, the manual does state that towing a trailer is not recommended. And there is a big market providing many different choices for hitches designed for the Goldwing. And I have yet to hear of any Goldwing owner who has been denied a repair because they had a hitch installed.

And when it comes to trikes, I know that at least with CSC, they have a proprietary hitch that can be installed designed to be used with trailers. I will admit that a trike suspension is not the same as with a bike suspension so that could make it a non issue.

I would have to argue about trailers in general putting a "significant" load on the drive train. Trailers that normally get pulled by a bike do not weigh in the thousands of pounds. Something like that I could understand adding a strain. Motorcycle trailers might add a hundred or 200 extra pounds but probably not much more, even loaded. Some of the motorcycle campers (Aspen, Bunkhouse, etc...) do weigh considerably more but still can easily be towed by the Goldwing and are. And again, I have yet to hear any GWing warranties being denied because of doing this.

Now this next part is not meant to fat shame but the reality is we are all built differently. Some weigh more than others and some are slender. I would say that bikes are usually designed for those with "average" weight. I have seen riders that are on the larger side and easily come in at 350+ lbs. Then sometimes the passenger will also be up there as well. The driver alone is about the weight of an "average" driver and passenger. Adding even an "average" sized passenger in that situation should be considered stressing the drive train but I dare Harley to try and deny a failure of the power train in a case like that. And again, nothing above is meant to construe that I am in any way fat shaming, just acknowledging known differences.

So my argument is that the average motorcycle trailer towed behind a motorcycle truly is not causing any true additional stress. If tongue weight is done correctly, only an additional 30 to 40lbs is added to the suspension. That is a negligible amount of weight added to the bike or trike. And then trailers are on rolling wheels and not just being dragged by the bike or trike. Once moving, it is not adding any additional stress. Starting off may momentarily add some stress but once rolling, you really don't even know it's back there.

 

[pwhoever]

Now just to take it a slightly different direction. Honda GL1800 and the Harley Ultra Classic both come in a curb weight in the upper 800lb range. Now the Triglide and the Honda GL1800 converted to CSC Viper curb weight both come in around the mid 1200lb range. So from bike to trike, there is roughly an additional 400lbs not including riders. Add in riders and you go well beyond the initial 1250lb weight. And both handle this extra weight just fine. Harley doesn't change out and put a "special" engine or transmission in their Triglide. And the GL1800 stays stock for everything in front of the conversion as well.

Basically by Harley saying that towing a trailer with their Ultra Classic is adding an additional strain to their drivetrain is obviously bull hockey or they wouldn't be doing a factory conversion. Does Harley deny any claims of drivetrain failure on any of their Triglides?

If the Ultra Classic can handle a Triglide trike kit, it can easily handle towing a traditional motorcycle cargo trailer. If anything, a trailer is going to have less impact than what their trike does on the drive train. I know the Goldwing has no issue pulling a trailer or dealing with extra weight of a trike conversion. And I can't say I have heard of Honda denying a claim because of it being converted to a trike. I know that anything in the rear that has been changed will not be covered by Honda and is up to the trike manufacturer to make it right. But obviously everything up front is still stock and is still covered by any manufacturer warranty unless " it can be proven that the conversion caused drivetrain failure". And this is consistent with Magnuson Moss.

 

[pwhoever]

Sorry, one last point. The gross vehicle weight rating on a Ultra Classic is 1360lbs. The rating on a Triglide is 1700lbs. So the Triglide allows 340 extra lbs which is more than the average motorcycle cargo trailer. Still, basically the same engine and transmission but can mysteriously be rated to handle an extra 340lbs???

 

[bikerbillone]

HD has bigger problems, as in the wrong path to DEI.