Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Other Bikes Harley Sucks !!!! :-)

Alright So Im in Arkansas without my TBA unfortunately I was visiting a buddy who happens to be a Harley man with a Dyna Wyde Glide 1320cc. I learn that he needs to go pick it up from the Harley Shop of course its a Harley its in the shop so we take a ride up to North Little Rock in his car and he wants to ride it back while I drive. So we start off sounds like its running strong then he signals me to pull over about 6 miles from the shop and he says non of his electrical is working not even his speedometer im like oh no so hes trying to ride it back to the shop me secretly thinking Harley Sucks . Well 2 miles from the Harley Shop im right behind him and it starts to blow black smoke out of the screamin eagles and out of the air filter and of course it dies thats my story we had it towed back to the shop and they are continuing to work on the same problem it had before he even took it to the shop. Harley is no doubt a good bike but I personally believe after the 10000 mile mark when it has its first problem its all downhill from there.

Glyn McManus

Sounds like the dealer forgot to plug something back in. They most certainly didn't test it when they got through. The 2 biggest problems with HD (besides lack of performance and handling) is the cheap imported electrical bits and the fact the the only mechanics worth a hoot at all are the old timers with no clue about all the newfangled electromagical garbage.

Forgive me Gmax for thinking you actually enjoyed your friends misfortune

Imagine how cool it would have been to take him on your bike to collect his, then take him back home on your's because his is a bag of sh!t ...

Well, it just sucks for ANYONE'S bike to break down right after a trip to the shop - especially in the heat of an Arkansas summer! Don't matter what kind of bike it is, it just sucks. I hope your friend gets things settled fast and cheaply.

Probably 'enjoying his friends misfortune' was a bit strong.

I've lost count of how many times the bike or car has had work done and I've had to go back because something wasn't done right. Or not done at all. Or in fixing the first problem they caused something else to go wrong.

Ha Ha guys na I didn't enjoy his misfortune too much it was highly unfortunate I was unable to have my Bonnie with me I could have towed the HD back to the shop GO TRIUMPH!!!

gmax,

You are right about the 10,000 mile mark. The last motorsickle I owned was a 98 Buell S-2. It was a good bike (after I addressed the myriad of recalls, - including faulty engine mounts), but I decided to sell it with 10,500 miles on it. I figured, "if I don't sell it now, I'm going to regret it." So, although it was running perfect when I sold it, I'm soooo glad I don't own it anymore.

BTW, my Speedy is nearing 13K, and I wouldn't even think of selling it. It's like a fine wine.

-BT

In years gone by, I used to do a top end rebuild every 90K and a bottom end every 3 - 4 top ends. It looks like the Japs did teach the world something afterall. At least they fixed it so you can't make roadside repairs anymore.

Oh well guys my being a youngin I only have 1068 miles on my bonnie I am so pleased with it I have been riding motos since i was 5 and I will be riding motos until someone tells me I have to stop Triumph is indeed one of the best bikes on the market today. One thing I must comment on is the Reliability of the In line Twin engine design and the superior stability in which it delivers.

Glyn

i don't know guys...here's MY story (and one man's humble if still undecided opinion). I bought an '02 black and silver BA 3 months ago...1 year off warranty and with 7000 km...spent a few grand on chrome and performance stuff, and put about 2500km on. Last week it died and left me on the side of the road about an hour from home. My troubleshooting has led me to believe (about 90% sure) that I have a defective coil AND a defective ignition module...about a $1000 touch. I contacted Triumph UK who said "we can't help you...go thru Triumph NA." Triumph NA says, "too bad, so sad, sucks to be you...take it to your nearest dealer, and maybe, just maybe, we might cut you some slack"...except, the nearest dealer is 10 hours away, and travel/accomodation expenses will be in the $600 range...sucks to be me alright...so, I fix it, sell it, and get back on a Harley? my '83 XLS never let me down...

Fix it and ride it. You'll never look back. There is someone here who has the tech bulletin number that lists VIN numbers for '02 bikes that were built with defective ignition modules. If you can get that, and yours is one of those bikes, they owe you a new module, says so in the TB.
I have a 2 year old America. No problems, and it is a much nicer riding bike than the new FXDLI that I got for the OL.

Hum, The ignitor is $545.95. The coil is $129.00. Total cost, $674.95.

Please find a friend that has a like bike and swap out those two components to see if indeed they are the culprits. I read your past post re this. Your coil does appear to be bad per your trouble shooting. But the igniter as well?

The price for the ignitor was quoted to me way back in 2003. I paid $129.00 for one coil March 15, 2005.

Gosh. Jimmy crickets, and Shazam! If I could cuss I would but all that would come out would be:

Well I'll be damned. What a forked up bunch of ******.

The software doesn’t catch the f word, almost made a big oops...

hi moe,

nice to meetcha...my prices are CDN $...up here the dealers want about $800 for the module and about $175 for the coil. one of the dealers i've dealt with for accessories/clothing say they'll give me 20%...so taxes in, it'd cost me about $850...not many like bikes around here...in fact, i think it's highly likely that i have the only BA in town. you see, there was only one triumph dealer in the whole province for only a few years, then he died and nobody else wanted to pick up the line, i guess...but this dealer has offered to test the parts for me if i ship 'em to him. he'll charge me an hour's labour and test them by putting them in a bike to see if they work...sounds like a good plan before, just to be sure, before i drop that kind of coin...thanks for the advice.

Have you checked the coils with Ohm meter? You should have .03 Ohm on the primary side-plug to plug on the secondary you should get somewhere around 6000. If you have access to a scope disconnect the coils-hook scope up to the leads coming out of the igniter going to the coils and see if you get a nice square wave-you can also check sidestand switch[bypass to ground]this has been a problem for some.I hope this helps-Later!

If I may, I suggest that you place the ignitor in a static free envelope. The kind you get computer parts in. Then bubble wrap the heck out of it. The Coil you don't have to be too particular with. But the ignitor: Be way cautious with!

Gosh I hope all it is the coil. Glad that a dealer is willing to work with you, even if it is only a little. I would be interested in learning how they test the ignitor. I guess they'll check the coil with some sort of electronic pinger.

Put pen to paper and write Newnan GA a letter, write English corporate one too. Letter them to death. Then write again. Pretty soon they may just do what honor dictates especially given the Technical service Bulletin they issued in November 2001.

i have checked the coils with an ohmeter...if i recall, the primaries were about 1.1 or 1.2 ohms...i wasn't sure about how the secondaries were wound, so i don't think i got meaningful results...decided at that point just to swap coils from side to side...great idea on the scope...did it, and could clearly see the ignition pulses to the LH coil...nothing to the RH coil...thus my assumption is, bad coil AND bad igniter...thanks for the suggestions...the kickstand kill switch wouldn't affect just one side, would it?

thanks moe...Mr John Bloor will definitely get a letter from me once i wrap this up...and i will take your advice on the anti-static bag, just in case i'm wrong and the igniter is still good! great idea, thanks!

they told me they would check the coil on the bench...i assume you're correct, with some kind of pinger. the igniter they will simply pop into a BA that's in for service and see if it starts and runs. btw, one positive thing about this nightmare is the friendly people in this forum that are offering words of advice and encouragement...thanks to all, i appreciate it muchly...

I have a T100[one coil] so the sidestand swith would effect igniter pulse to coil -on a BA[with 2 coils] I would think it would effect both-so if you have one coil firing and one not the sidestand switch should be OK I know it has been a prob for some T100s in the past-Good luck