wheel bearing failure..warranty or not? after 100 pages and 1000 posts on the trans fluid transfer here

 

Because they paid for it he got his money's worth? That's a pretty low bar you gave set there. With expectations like that, H-D will never see fit to getting around to fixing something as obscure as transmission oil migration.


In contrast, I just bought a car that cost the same as a Limited, and it has a four year bumper to bumper, AND all service for the first two years is included. Given the reliability of the brand, I do not anticipate seeing the dealer for anything other than oil changes and tire rotations.

 

Well, I popped open the clutch inspection cover and met about 4 oz. of fluid.

I grabbed my handy-dandy baster and the tube off my oil filter drain funnel and went to work.


In total, >8 oz. was removed from the primary.


This is the level afterward.

 

Wow Brandon, your build date is after me..... I'm susceptible. I'm sorry to hear that you are having issues. It seems as though, when you find out that it's happening to your bike....it takes the wind out of your sail. I rode mine hard today, I will start checking.....

 

Yup... I don't even know why I checked. Just had an inkling. Thought to myself, "I'm going to be going to BFE, Montana and North Dakota with no cell service and no one with me and the wife anywhere nearby... Might want to check all the fluids!" Sure as ****, trans dipstick was bone dry. Sucked out the extra from the primary with my baster setup, and put new fluid in the transmission (~8 oz.).

 

I never saw, where he said he had a fix. He said he did a modification to one of his bikes and he slowed the transfer down. Had a customer with the issue and went a little further with his modification and after 4600 miles it appears to be working. I spoke with Steve last night, that's not proof enough for him to call it fixed.

 

Durwood posted exactly what he is doing on HTT, even with pictures. I know for a fact HD is watching that forum and you can bet they've tried his fix as it's simple and cheap. I would venture to guess that if it worked they (HD) would be shipping out new top cover gaskets to dealers and there would be a service bulletin. As fir them calling Steve, IMO the time and effort he's spent on this is to much to just give it to them. If they want it they should pay for it. I seriously doubt that will happen, they'll wait to see if he posts his fix then take it.

 

The way this thing's probably going to go down is the government's going to eventually have to get involved with a safety recall. With Harley-Davidsons resources and engineers I have a very hard time believing they don't know what the problem is. I think they're struggling and I don't think they can face it. I think the government needs to stop them from selling them until it's resolved. The vast majority of their customers don't even know this is going on

 

I have no doubt the reason the MoCo is silent on this issue is because they don't yet have a clue as to the cause and potential fix to the problem.

What company would want to say, "Hey, we have found this problem with our new engine platform. We will fix any affected bikes, as soon as we figure out what is causing it and then develop a fix."

I have written the MoCo (Hey, I was bored), and they read these forums... they are well aware that a "Bunch" of people are holding off buying a new M8, waiting to see how/if this gets handled... they know they have a lot at stake with this problem....

 

Cole hinted that he tried to add drains between the outer tranny cover where the clutch slave goes.. I would assume that the next mod was to increase the clearance.. The way I see it, oil is likely getting pushed through the trap door mainshaft bearing into a region there is only a gasket thickness of clearance (looks to be about 0.060 inch) for the oil to escape. The simple fix which Cole tried was to cut drain grooves..

If the slave cylinder supports it, the simple fix would be to use 2 tranny cover gaskets. That would double the clearance between the 2 machined surfaces..

I'm not really worried about this issue even tho my bike shows some transfer. Guys blowing up stage 3 and 4s is the more serious issue since my bike will get similar after market mods once the warranty runs out..