Hello

I'm a Carolina country boy who followed a job to FL about 20 years ago. The job is long gone. But I'm still here! There ain't much more to it. But I got a little story. Goes sumpthin' like this...

Can you believe I've owned my first Harley for 99 hours and 38 minutes? That's just a little over 4 days! And it has been in the shop for the 3 longest days of my life. I managed to get about 150 miles on it. It's like a lap dance. No, that's not right. You KNOW it's just a tease with the lap dance. Anyway...

It was (..is..) an 05 Sportster. I've wanted a Harley since I saw one in a parking lot at age 11 (..nearly 40 years ago if you must know). I never had the means or the will-to-sacrifice until now. And I still couldn't afford anything nearly new except for a Sportster. A beautiful little blue and silver Custom with only 1689 miles on it and still under factory warranty (THANK ..enter preferred deity here.. !!). No modifications other than a sissy bar and a Live to Ride chrome engine cover, literally like new. An extended warranty was even included. (Why I didn't make the connection before the sale, I don't know. Lots of warranty -- not many miles -- probably spent most of the 11 months the other guy owned it in the shop. I think my hindsight might actually be better than 20/20.)

So, here I sit reading online epic posts about the adventures of Harley riders while I find myself losing faith in a name I have admired most of my life. And it was all going so well at the start... I picked the bike up at the sellers house. He lives 'bout half the way between me and the beach. So, you guessed it. First ride was to the beach and then back home. Filled it with gas as soon as I bought it but it seemed to be running out of gas on the way home. Flipped it to reserve and no problem. But I had been no more than a hundred miles at that point. Being out of gas seemed unlikely. After a mile or two I flipped it back to ON just to double check and, sure enough, it ran right on. Got home, no problem. After about an hour at home I just had to ride again and went out to find a lot of cranking but no running. It would turn over and turn over and almost catch and die. Finally figured I'd flooded it.

I removed a plug to look for flooding and tried the old spark test. Got no spark. I was a little flabergasted. So, I called the Harley dealership where it was originally purchased and made arrangements to call back the next day since they were about to close. Of course, the next morning before they even opened I tried to start it again and RUMBLE, RUMBLE. It started right up. Soon, I was out riding waiting for the shop to open so I could get some paperwork to transfer that extended warranty. Two blocks from the dealership, I stop at a stoplight, never to hear that rumble again. It just died. Well, there's nothin' more fun than a dead horse if ya know what I mean. Pushed it to the side of the road and walked to the payphone. Called the dealer and a truck (with a trailer) took us away.

Yes, I used a payphone. I loathe all these idiots and their cell phones and, well, ... that's a whole nuther post. But I might get one of those disposables or whatever it is you can buy for a one-time price at Wally-mart. There's something to be said for the old "emergency excuse". It was hot out there in the sun waiting for that payphone to ring when the dealer needed to call back. But you'll never hear it playing my favorite song instead of ringin' like a doggone phone should...

Sorry, got a little off track. But what's an introduction if you don't get to know the person a little. But back to the main plot...

Stayed with the bike most of the day waiting to find out what was wrong and get a repair ETA. Was told it was the "crankshaft position sensor". Sounded good to me. Until the mechanic finished with ".. but it's on order and about 5 days out."

Now, as I get older I g

 

Howdy from Dallas. That sucks. Understand your frustration. Every bike mfgr gets a bad part thru. I had similar experience on one of my Hendersons. I thought it was a CPS, but turns out it was that damn ECM, and they had to remap it. And the green Henderson is down til I find someone that can tear the parts out of it (i do not have the special tools to yank the big parts).

Hopefully they find it soon. And they should not be charging you for the diag, just the fix.

 

No offense taken. Sorry to hear about your bad experience.

 

Sorry to hear about your excitement being let down. However, remember, parts fail, new, used, GM or Harley Davidson. Light bulbs burn out. I know that doesn't make it any easier to be without your bike but I promise you will have MILES of SMILES before long.

Hope you get your bike back soon and in the meantime enjoy the time you get to read on the forum.... it won't be long before you won't have time cause you're out riding...

Mark

 

My creed is " Never Give Up." It will happen before you know it and you will be on the road. Lots of good reading here. So in the mean time...Read on.

[center]"Welcome to the forum, [sm=hiya.gif]
from[size=6] ALABAMA!"

 

Overnight is as I understand it "OVERNIGHT", like, you'll have it next day. I work GM parts and they're pretty good about it but not always. When I called about an overnight part I didn't receive next day they told me they only guarenteed it would be shipped in 24hrs. Go figure. Of course me, I have to ask why they call it overnight to which I get the reply "I don't know sir, we only guarentee it to be shipped within 24hrs". Whatever.

 

Underdog welcome to the HDF, glad your here ! Steve from Az. Ride safe and often !

 

Hello from South Jersey. Good luck with the bike. Had a Saturn that kept breaking down.

 

Thanks fellow riders.

I heard from the dealer. One of those "good news, bad news" sort of things. The good news is they found the problem and they're even more confident this is it than when they were sure it was the aforementioned sensor. But the bad news is that the problem stems from an aftermarket modification made by the original owner. Can't remember him telling me the handlebar was changed. But the dealer is certain the bar and internal wiring are not stock. And it is the shoddy wiring connections within causing shorts. Of course, warranty never covers a non-approved modification. So, the bad news continues in that the repair cost will be the reponsibilty of the new owner (me).

Actually, I had thought I got a pretty good deal on the bike anyway. Not spectacular, but fair. And this repair is estimated to cost less than $200 (got to be one of their cheapest). I just have to patiently wait with no ride while the dealer fixes the previous owners little mess. I won't pass judgement. But I think it is likely I'm just too trusting. That was really my reference to being an idiot in the original post. I guess it's true if I'm still trusting strangers to fully disclose in a vehicle transaction.

Anyway, I feel I should apologize if I disparaged the Harley-Davidson name in any way when venting over the dealer and the difficulty. Let's face it. The mechanic is just human and admits he made some assumptions. Regrettable but acceptable. And the guy I bought it from is just human too. Perhaps with the qualities of a used car salesman. But he would still be human, wouldn't he?

At least there seems to be hope. Thanks again for the positive attitudes. (I like the "Never Give Up". It ranks right up there with "Be Prepared". Both good credos.) Ride safe, all!

 

Welcome to the forums. Sorry to hear about your problems. I don't pretend to be a mechanic so I don't know if the aftermarket parts installation has any connection to the camshaft sensor.
I had some problems getting my running lights fixed at the dealer after installing them when I bought the bike. But they stepped up to the plate, especially after the suckers went bad again right after I picked up the ride. Turned out it was a pinched wire, but I have to give them credit for treating it like the emergency it was to me, haha.