Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Other Bikes 883 Sportster defect

My brother has a 2007 883 Sportster which he uses mostly as garage art and a reason to go and wax something. He 'hardley' (sorry) ever rides it, and I think he bought it just to say he had a motorcycle. Anyway, I was visiting over the July 4th weekend, and I used it as transportation whilst there. I figured I'd at least wash the bike for him, so I did. 'Shortly' (sorry again) thereafter, I notice that the speedo starts acting strange and finally just quits altogether. I let my bro know about it, and we get the bike into the local shop to sort it out under warranty.

When he goes to pick up his bike, he asked what the cause of the problem was, and he's told that Sportsters have a 'design defect' and that they shouldn't be washed (!?!?!) or ridden in the rain (!?!?!?). Seems that the speedo is electronically driven, and the junction box is not sealed, so whenever water gets in there, it shorts out the speedometer. The technician also pointed out another area on the bike which is susceptable to water intrusion, and this shuts the EFI down if it gets wet.

The 'fix' is to open the junction box, dry everything out with a hair dryer, and then reassemble. According to the technician, this is a known problem, but HD has yet to issue a recall or service advisory, and there is nothing in the owner manual (not that anyone ever reads THOSE) to caution about not getting the bike wet. I was pretty surprised that HD hasn't issued a sealing kit for the junction box, but I guess the 883 Sportster is such an entry level bike that they aren't that concerned about it.

The problem was 'bandaid fixed' under warranty, so my brother isn't concerned too much about taking it any further up the chain. I just wanted to post this here to show that Triumph isn't the only manufacturer with occasional problems with electrics, and that the vaunted HD brand has its share of quality/design issues as well.

Welll.... Goes to show, just to paraphrase what you already said.... Harleys are bought to be garage art.

Soren

That's not the only water problem Harley has......

TT322 – July 26, 2007 - 2007 XL Models with Discharged Batteries or Very Low Voltage 2007 XL Models with Discharged Batteries or Very Low Voltage

Harley-Davidson has found some ’07 Sportsters where the batteries are going dead after a night of sitting. The root cause is water intrusion. Water can run down the harness, funnel into the fuse block area, and then bridge the system relay contacts. The system relay has constant power available on the 30 terminal.
When the system relay is activated, power goes to the ECM, and then the ECM sends power out to the IAC. The IAC will then run until the battery is fully discharged.
To prevent this issue, Electrical Contact Lubricant (p/n 99861-02) can be placed on the terminals and base of the system relay, and the receptacles at the fuse block. This will create a water barrier once the relay is installed into the fuse
block.
Motorcycles exhibiting this condition could also have corrosion present, and if necessary, should have the relay terminals and receptacles cleaned with a wire brush or replaced.

To be honest, I worry about washing my 2007 Speedmaster.
The manual tells to mask off different areas to avoid water damage.
ok... don't hit me

I wack both our 04s with a powerwasher, only issue I ever had was the oil pressure sensor. The idiot light stayed lit until it dried out.

This is ironic. I was looking at a Sportster in a parking lot the other day and admiring some of the design features. It looked simple and strong. Wait-I have a brother-in-law like that and he doesn't work most of the time either.

Well, the problems with Sportsters shouldnt really be a problem for customers, since, according to the guys at the dealership, you arent supposed to buy them anyway. I was literally told buy the salesman that sportsters are for girls.

Not just sportsters. My buddy's '02 Road Glide started freaking out and having electrical gremlins after it got wet from being inadvertently parked in the path of some sprinklers...

I work with a lady who is a die-hard ridder. I'll ride just about anytime and she rides at times I'd never consider it. She rides a 883 and I've seen her sopping wet with rain water. Me thinks the inherent water problem is pure bunk delivered by a lazy wrench who didn't want to find and fix the real problem.

the only problem i have with my 883 is that its called a motorcycle
bloody thing is a tractor everything shakes lose and the problem with the speedo is inherent with all the electronic speedo fitted sportster mines an 02 and my speedo dont work my last sporty a 2000 model also broke its speedo
mind you for the speed the thing does who needs a speedo


my triumph caught fire and that was after washing it so dry them out
i managed to put it out and save my bike from a hindu fueneral thank god

Caught fire!????? Do you know why?

I wash my bike enough to keep it shiny and have never had any issues.

I "wash" my bikes a lot. By that, I mean that I wipe them down with a damp rag. Nothing more is hardly ever needed, although I will "hose" them down the day after I ride them in the rain, then towel dry. Two things about the Hardley 883. I wouldn't mind owning one, they're kinda cool in an old fashioned ride kind of way. And if they really do have these kind of water related problems, I'd say that Hardley engineers are really dumb. If my mechanic said that I couldn't ride my bike in the rain or wash it, I'd think that he was an idiot. But if he was right?, sheeeesh!

Like I've often said, you can spend your time washing and polishing your bike or you can spend your time riding it. If you don't spend your time riding, what's the point of washing and polishing it?

the bonnie caught fire coz of fuel build up in exhaust and no spark
when it started firing up the bang that followed made the pipes catch fire

I never use a hose on mine when it's washing time. Don't like pushing my luck because luck usually punches me back!

9 years ago I thought I wanted a HD. While in Florida, I rented a Fat Boy. The guy at the rental place told me the speedo didn't work, but the 2000 Fat Boy ran great anyway. My wife followed me back to the condo to drop the car off.
We headed down the coast and less than 30 min into the ride the bike cuts off like it ran out of gas. There was plenty of fuel. The bike never started again.
I called the rental place and the guy came out with a trailer to pick us up. It was an electrical issue. He apologized and refunded my money.
Besides the electrical issues, the Fat Boy had a rough ride. This cured my desire for a HD and never looked back.

In my group with about 6 Sportsters, one bike went down needing a tow once with a dead CDI and then again with coil failure. Then there was the time that same bike was stopping every 10 miles in the rain because the kick stand sensor was getting wet.

Oh! that was my TBA the HDs ran fine and stayed with me until my truck and laughing wife showed up.

My lifetime experience with Triumph electrics has left me with another opinion of HD electrics. HD electrics suck less. Both companies should be ashamed of themselves.

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Wash your bike? Now why would anyone do that? it takes away from ride time????

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are you staring to take after matt

Ed