Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Harley's Problems Not "Orange Man Bad"

The current Harley CEO likes to blame Orange Man Bad's tariffs for Harley's zip-zero-nada net earnings.

Really?

Maybe he should be looking at the serious--and multitudinous--design and manufacturing errors.

Harley has experienced a spate of recalls in recent years.

A year ago, the company recalled more than 250,000 motorcycles for faulty brakes. That recall, which Harley said would cost it $29.4 million, covered CVO Touring and VSRC bikes — model years 2008 through 2011 — equipped with anti-lock brakes.

Last fall, Harley recalled approximately 238,300 motorcycles for a clutch problem — the fourth recall for a clutch issue in five years.

The voluntary safety recall included all model-year 2017 and 2018 Touring, Trike and CVO Touring models, as well as some 2017 Softails.

In 2017, the company recalled about 57,000 motorcycles because an oil line could come loose, spewing oil into the path of the rear tire.

The recall covered certain 2017 Electra Glide Ultra Classic, Police Electra Glide, Police Road King, Road King, Road King Special, Street Glide, Street Glide Special, Road Glide and Road Glide Special motorcycles....

Oh yeah--today's news?  Another 200,000++ recalls for brake problems.

1 comment:

  1. I'm in the market for a Harley, but I want an Evo engine (Wide Glide, by preference). Or older. The last one you could really tear apart in your garage and fix, front to back, was the Shovelhead -- but that one had a lot of problems, and was cast iron heavy.

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