[Rev1up]

I bought an 09 Crossbones new this past week; I brought it home from the dealer to the house after a nice little drive of about 50miles(the dealer is about 20miles from my house) well when I got home My wife wanted a ride so she hopped on and off we went; we hit a few bumps going down the road and the bike kept acting like the rear tire was hitting the fender?? I pulled over and what do I find but a 2x4 that is about 5-6 inches long stuck under my seat pan so when the bike would compress its suspension hard enough(only with 2 people on) it would rub on this block of wood; SO I called and got someone to pick me and the wife up with a trailer and took it down to the dealer; It scuffed up the tire pretty badly but I couldn't find anymore damage.
I have been riding bikes on and off road since I was five; I Have never ran over something as large as a block of wood and not at least noticed it epsecially my new baby I was just bringing home.

The dealer doesn't know how it got in there and they are not giving me any reason other than I ran it over;(service manager told me it must of come up through the swingarm from the front?? I told him ya it must of been when I was going real fast in reverse!!) My question is how did it get in there; The liscence plate fram on the crossbones is so close to the tire the 2x4 can't make it around the whole tire; The way they removed it was to put the bike in nutruel and while one peron rolls the bike back another person was directing the board to the top of the tire then out the side at an angle at the top of the fender (I know confusing right)
The dealer says it was a road hazard so they will not pay for a tire and say the tire is fine but its my life and I only have one; The tire has grooves from hitting the 2x4 so it has flat spots on the tire; they will charge me for a new tire; I have bought two Harleys from this dealer and paid cash in less than 14 months(first was a 08 Night rod special); whats a tire $200 maybe??
I am going down there today to take an even closer look at the tire to see I need to trailer it to another dealer for a tire change and to ask them thier theory on how it got in there and to show me by trying to get the wood in there...
I Don't really know my options though
I know I would of seen or atleast felt a 2x4 hit my tire and hit my swingarm and hit my seatpan right??
What do You guys think??
I'll take pics and submit them of the wood later

I also should prolly say I have the Saddlebags on the bike as well so It makes it even harder to believe it came from the side of the tire but what do I know right

 

[Craiger]

I'm leaning towards the crate the bike came in, the only way to know for sure is to get a look as soon as the dealer removes the cover of the crate. See if you can talk a dealer into letting you peak inside an undisturbed one w/camera in hand,(don't tell him why) just make up a reason. just an idea. good luck. and welcome,stop by the intro section when you get a chance

 

[Rev1up]

Thats what I told them when they called me was that it may have been from the crate but they said there is no wood on or in the crate?? I was thinking it may have been under the fender on the tire when they compress the rear suspension during shipping but I am not familiar with how they ship Harleys; I Could go take a look at another dealer maybe

 

[scol]

Thats what I told them when they called me was that it may have been from the crate but they said there is no wood on or in the crate?? I was thinking it may have been under the fender on the tire when they compress the rear suspension during shipping but I am not familiar with how they ship Harleys; I Could go take a look at another dealer maybe

How about calling Harley and ask them how they crate the bikes? Don't tell them why just say you're thinking of ordering one and you became curious as to haw the shipped the bikes. What are they going to do hang up you?

 

[Dave63]

I believe HD's are sent in Metal "crates". Not completely sealed...and not made of wood, although may have a chunk or two incorporated in it.

By chance, does the wood have any tooling on it to indicate where a steel band was strapped over it????

Nothing would be in between the tire and fender from the factory, or if compressed, it would dent the fender from the inside out.

There's no freaken way that got up under the frnder, from the swingarm..... you would have seen it on the road, before you hit it..... It's not a pebble.....it's a freaken 2x4....

The sad part is: Unless you can prove it came from the dealership, you'll have to eat it..... It's damage, which falls under your collision insurance.

Sorry to hear about another lame dealer experience.

 

[vlade]

Post some pics Rev1 Maybe someone will recognize something. the two by four,, bike too I guess

 

[mkd2914]

Sounds to me it was shipped on friday, serviced on Friday and delivered after happy hour! I'd be frigin' P.O>'D and someone would be puttin the frigin tire on the 16K+ investment!

 

[Darien1965]

Sorry to hear about that. It just goes to show us how they treat loyal customers. Talk till your blue in the face to the manager maybe he'll at least split the cost with you.

 

[hoofnhog]

I would sit on my bike outside the dealership with that freakin' chunk of wood in my hand tellin' everyone that you found it lodged up in your new bike after they delivered it and it has compromised your rear tire and this dealer is telling you that it is your problem! That should get you a new tire pretty quick.....

 

[Rev1up]

Well I went to the dealer to take a good look at the wood and my bike; I couldn't find any other damage other than some good scraping on my tire; they still couldn't come up with a good answer to how it lodged itself up in there; The service manager insisted that the rear tire was ok so I asked if that was the case and you are the one I am taking the technical info from then as long as they put something on the repair order that they inspected the tire and all was OK with it then I would have no problem with taking the bike; Well That opened up a whole new can of worms I tell you, the Service manager said there was no way that he could put that on the RO, so I asked if he had trust in his techs and his own knowledge then there would not be a problem with doing that; He told me he couldn't do that and then did a complete 180 and told me he was going to write on the RO that he recomended a tire and I refused to pay for one; I asked him what happened to what he was telling me before and saying that there was nothing wrong with my tire; He Just kind of stood there so I began to tell him that I had bought two bikes from here in less than 14 months in cash and I had no problems before and all I am asking is if they would put a new tire on a new bike with less than 100mi on it so I can go on my way and continue doing business with them in the future;

He again changed his ways and finally told me they would put a new tire on the bike free of charge; So an hour and a half later I had a new tire and my bike back with no worrys; I told him if he trusted the tire that much then he could put it on his bike;
So I guess I just had to sqeeeeeze the guy a little and he finally budged; They should have just put a new tire on it in the first place but atleast he finally did what I wanted right;

BTW when I was walking through the service dep. My dad noticed some 2x4s that looked exactly like the one that was in my bike and he asked if that was the board; The service adviser just said NO thats not it, its in the managers office; so maybe it came from one of the techs??; it had the same black markings on it as the one from my bike too hah; maybe they use it for something??

 

[scol]

Not to be paranoid but I'd give the bike a good look see before riding to make sure it was put back together properly. Just a thought

 

[Ols]

Glad it worked out for you. Some dealers need an extra shove to do the right thing sometimes.

 

[Traveller]

Some info on how Harleys are crated for shipping (I worked in a dealership last year and saw many a bike uncrated!):

There is absolutely NO wood used in the crating process. The "crate" consists of a metal frame with a floor that has a slot for the front tire. The bike is strapped down VERY securely to the floor using nylon straps just like you can buy in any hardware store. If the bike has a detachable windshield, the windshield is wrapped and secured in the crate next to the bike. If it's a dresser, the fairing is attached to the bike but the windshield portion is not. It's wrapped and secured in the crate as well. Once the bike is strapped in, a cardboard box is lowered down onto the frame (which comes up higher than the bike) and secured in place. The bike is then ready to be shipped.

I have no idea how that 2x4 got into your fender well, but I'm pretty sure it didn't come from the factory like that. What happened once the dealership uncrated it is another thing entirely.

 

[big worm]

Glad it worked out for you. Some dealers need an extra shove to do the right thing sometimes.

why do they need a " SHOVE" to do the right thing? its because there instructed to do as little as possible and we(the dealership) are not responsible for anything! THATS BULL ****ING SHIT!!! THEY DON'T NEED A "SHOVE" THEY NEED TO DO THE RIGHT THING! ANYMORE ****ING QUESTIONS?

 

[GOSHOXS]

The HD i have seen shipped out of KC facility, are on metal frames with tie downs, and cardboard box...the best I can remember

 

[EZE RIDER]

I cant believe how common this crappy dealer attitude is. Glad it worked out anyway.

 

[1984 FLHS]

No wood what so ever.

BTW when I was walking through the service dep. My dad noticed some 2x4s that looked exactly like the one that was in my bike and he asked if that was the board; The service adviser just said NO thats not it, its in the managers office; so maybe it came from one of the techs??; it had the same black markings on it as the one from my bike too hah; maybe they use it for something??

I was there when they uncrated my 09 and there was no wood what so ever. I agree that they used it for something. Glad it didn't cause an accident and you guys are ok.

 

[RubberDown]

I think my tire warranty covers road hazard. I guess I should check the paperwork. I wonder if they didn't fix it and put it down as a warranty issue. Since you wouldn't pay I bet somebody besides the stealership did.

 

[RubberDown]

and we(the dealership) are not responsible for anything!

Great customer service. Unfortunately almost every stealership believes this and leaves the customer out in the cold when they have a problem.

 

[Rev1up]

I think my tire warranty covers road hazard. I guess I should check the paperwork. I wonder if they didn't fix it and put it down as a warranty issue. Since you wouldn't pay I bet somebody besides the stealership did.

They said the Factory warrenty doesn't cover the tires especially due to a road hazard as they were claiming it was; They did say that the extended warrenty would of covered it but I don't ever buy the extended warrenty