I went to the dealership today for my 1000 mile service. I brought in a perfecly good non leaking 08 HD 1200N. I left with a bike that was blowing oil all over the place out of the inspection cover on the primary. I failed to notice this until I got back to my house (30 min ride). Oil all over the rear tire and the rear brake. I called the dealership and they told me to just go ahead and "skip" back up and they would fix it. So being a litle upset that I have to head back up (wife wanted to spend some time together and I was at the dealership from 8:30 until 1:00) I made my way back. I walk into the parts department and explain what is going on....First thing the guy says to me is that I am going to need to pay for the "new" part to make it stop leaking, I almost lost it.... are you kidding me???? When I brought it in it wasn't leaking!! I payed 200+ bucks for a service to ride away with a bike that is blowing oil, only to pay more to fix a problem that wasn't there when I brought it in. I began to "discuss" this with the service guy, remaining as calm as I could. About this time a service dept. lady walked in and asked me about my problem. I explained everything to her and she offered to pay for it out of a "comp fund she gets to help out customers". She insured me she would'nt be out any money. She also wanted me to call HD and let them know what had happend and the this should be covered on a recall or something, and not charged to the customer who 1000 miles ago payed 10,000+ grand for a bike..... Nice lady. Here is the number for customer service if anyone else hase this problem or just wants to call. (414-343-4056) I will be calling first thing Monday morning...
Sorry about the rant but I had to let people know about this.....

Sounds to me like they put the inspection cover back on without the gasket ($3.00 part). Or maybe over torqued the inspection cover bolts (torque values are only 40-60 in-lbs). Hard to believe they wanted to charge you to fix it and the idea that a recall is needed sounds like total BS from their service department.

John

All this oil was coming just from the primary inspection cover, the little one or the derby cover?

If its the little one then that's a pretty hefty gasket and I'm surprised they managed to damage it. If its the derby cover then that rubber gasket can be tricky to keep in place whilst refitting the cover and if you get it wrong you do spew oil. Doesn't need a new gasket to fix though, just needs to be reseated.

Sounds like a load of bollocks about recalls and whatnot.

Just do the work yourself next time or find a good local indie.

Fox

Sounds to me like they put the inspection cover back on without the gasket ($3.00 part). Or maybe over torqued the inspection cover bolts (torque values are only 40-60 in-lbs). Hard to believe they wanted to charge you to fix it and the idea that a recall is needed sounds like total BS from their service department.

John


Have to agree there the Gasket not being set or torqued properly has nothing to do with a recall but if you want to play along thats your call...

Having relitives in the 414 area code that's a MILWAUKEE, WI area code.....mmmmmmmmmm.
You would think dealers would all be on the same page. I had a horn that went bad they said they fixed it.....there is No fix, but it worked for about a month. This was done along with other warrenty work. I went back to the dealer and they replaced it with NO HASSLE......all is well. And never charged any $$$$$

It was the inspection cover, not the derby cover.... All is well now with the dealership, they even put some gas in my bike for my troubles. It's HD that I need to call.

It was the inspection cover, not the derby cover.... All is well now with the dealership, they even put some gas in my bike for my troubles. It's HD that I need to call.

First let me say that I have been a H-D customer for over 25 years. I currently have three Harleys including a 2008 Nightster. There was one time I had an issue with the factory. It was over a brand new set of SE mufflers. They were slash cut and were mis-fabricated. One pipe was a slash up and one a slash down. :wonderlan I bought them in the Fall and did not open the box until the following Summer. I called the MoCo's customer service number. First, I had to wait a really long time before I actually was able to talk to one of their reps, about 30 minutes. Then in a three minute conversation, they told me the P&A warranty was only six months and I was out of luck. They were totally unwilling to satisfy a customer who purchased two new Sportsters and two new Big Twins at that point in time and had a legitimate complaint.

I went to another dealer and purchased a new set because I was set on having those particular pipes on my FLST. The new set was OK, but I had to pay full price (summertime) and the "bad" set was purchased at a 20% off sale seven months prior. Anyway, I decided to tell the owner of the dealership about my problem. His employee would NOT satisfy my claim, but he did. He took the bad pipes back, paid me in cash for the set I bought at another dealer and added $40 for gas. :clap

So what happened with your call?

My new '08 1200L leaked oil out of the inspection cover gasket at 300 miles and again at less than 1000. A friend of mine had similar issues with his 1200C. I guess the '09 models have a re-designed cover and or gasket.

Apparently HD made changes to these inspection covers, read about it here (http://www.xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/showthread.php?t=311239) in CaptEvo's thread...or here (http://www.xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/showthread.php?t=334852) in SmokeyDrifters thread. Kinda a crappy thing to do...no...a VERY crappy thing to do to their customers.

Let me make sure I understand. You have a 2008 model with a 2 year factory warranty that is leaking, and they told you that you would have to buy that gasket to fix it. Is this right?

I'd have lost it too, and it wouldn't have been pretty either.

I had this same thing happen after a service, dealer took care of it without any issues. When I picked it back up, they told about & showed me the H-D tech bulletin. Though they didn't have the updated parts in, they said they would by my next service. And that if it leaked between now and then, to just bring it in.

I think it has a lot to do with the dealer you go to.

I had the same problem. In August I bought an '05 sporty custom that only had 600 miles on it. Three weks later, I took it in for the 1000 mile service. When I got it back home, I noticed oil all over the side of the bike and my new saddlebags. So, I rode back to the stealer and was told the same thing about obsolete gaskets/ none in stock/ have to order blah blah blah.
Afew minutes later the parts guy came out of the work area and said one of the mechanics had one of the old style gaskets in his tool box. So 30 minutes later I was ready to go. They even washed my bike and cleaned the saddlebags.http://www.xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/images/smilies/clap1.gifhttp://www.xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/images/smilies/banana1.gif

I was told last nite at Pomona Valley Harley that there is indeed a recall on this !
Gasket is obsolete and is replace by a cover plate and gasket for 22 bucks !

They pulled the same sh!t on me. After service I noticed oil dripping out of the primary coming out the bottom of the derby cover. They said they had a new guy servicing my bike:doh:doh:doh and he didn't set the gasket right. I guess it was pinched therefore it was not getting a proper seal. These guys fly through so many bikes a day, but they need to slow down and make sure all of the steps are done properly with care.

Sincerely,

Another frustrated HD customer