2007harleydavidsonroadking07

Softail Standard®, Softail Deuce®, Softail Fatboy®, Softail Deluxe®, Softail Heritage®

THE SWABBIES ARE STARTING TO JUMP SHIP

I am also noticing a trend in emails where folks who are in the market for a new bike are switching their eyes from Harley to BMW or one of the long line of metric cruisers. I personally ain't going to do anything drastic like abandoning H-D completely. But this may be the first and last time we buy a new bike from a dealer. We will definitely never buy one that is in its first month or two of release to the public. I am going to let the instabikers beta test new technology from here on out.

At this point we may be getting into Harley's pocket book enough for them to start noticing. I don't really know what it will take to get their pencil pushers to figure out that it is better to please the customer than to just sell bikes but I have emails from many people that have decided not to buy a new H-D due to the information that is starting to propagate around the internet. I know of at least 15 (as of 10/09/06 my count is up to around twenty lost sales from this info) people through email and word of mouth that are now delaying or canceling their plans to buy a 2007 Harley. That is over 300,000 dollars (now 400k. Are you listening MoCo???) in total lost sales revenue that I know of. I am sure there are many others that have come to this same decision and have not informed me personally.

I would think that at this point Harley is going to have to address these issues. They also need to act like a reputable business organization and help thier customers who have already purchased a '07 happy. They need to fix the bikes for people that are suffering and reimburse the ones like us that just fixed theirs out of pocket so that they could ride. I could quite easily go to the B.M.W. dealership (probably won't) next time I decided I want a comfortable bike for long road trips as others have told me they are doing. I wouldn't abandon my old school H-D putts but the MoCo ain't going to pay their bills or stockholders out of the few dollars they make selling what they have left in panhead and shovelhead parts. Check out the new trend in potential Harley customers.

I’ve ridden just about every kind of motorcycle out there since 1965, and I’ve owned several Harleys over the years. I’m not nearly as loyal as you when it comes to a particular brand (I tend to like them all), but I have been strongly considering a brand new ’07 Electra Glide Classic for my stable. The bike is priced locally at just over $25,000, and I was going down on Monday to drop $10,000 as a down payment.

Then I caught your site today.

Amazing, I just can’t believe the problems the new bikes are having, and your site is not the only one listing these problems. I’ve checked most of the big discussion boards for Harleys and just about every dang one has multiple forums with the ’07 problems. Funny thing is that in June I bought a brand new ’06 Honda Gold Wing with ABS and Navigation package. I paid just over $21,000 for the bike and put 5000 miles on it in two trips. The dang engine on that bike was so hot all the time my feet were miserable. And now I hear my alternative (the EG Classic) is the same kind of heat …

Thanks for saving me $25,000. Don’t know what I’ll buy, but it likely won’t be an ’07 model.

Good luck on your own problems, and I hope you come to the end of the problems some time soon.

C F, J.D., Ph.D.

Thanks for the info. I almost bought a 2007, but I couldn''t find any buyers for my current ride(s) - good thing apparently. I found a post leading me to your page on an HD forum - one that has few viewers and posts that remain "current" for weeks at a time. Funny thing is that the post leading to your site was made on 29 Sep but was dropped from the current view within one day - that's got to tell you something!

Thanks again.

I just want to thank you for your web site. You just saved me a bunch of money and stress. I have been a loyal HD rider for 31 years. I just told my dealer that I was going to buy a 2007 Heritage Softail that he had on the floor. I asked the service manager if there were any issues with the new bikes and he said NO, all the changes were for the better, more power better trany ect ect ect. I have bought at least a dozen bikes from this dealer you think they would shoot straight with me. I have a 2006 Ultra and 2004 Roadking, I am going to keep both.

Big G in Okieland

I've owned numerous HD's during my 54 years of living life. The latest was a 99' Road King Classic. Yes, the year the Twin Cam 88 was born. Early in my TC88 ownership I experienced a problem with the notorious pinion gear. After numerous trips to the dealer, I finally got the HD Rep to come and ride it and they replaced the failing pinion gear before it caused a lock up and a potential accident. A recall was later issued.

This past May, a buddy of mine was intent on buying my Road King Classic, so I parted with it knowing that in July, the 07's were coming out. I had no idea that HD was introducing a new engine. I did hear the rumor that they might come with the 6 speed tranny that the 06 Dynas were running.

In early July, I went to my dealer (Tampa, Fl) and put a deposit on a black 07 Road King Standard (FLHR). He said that as soon as the Dealer Meeting concluded in mid July, they would have a list of the bikes coming in. Shortly after the Dealer Meeting, they called and said the first black FLHR would arrive 8/10. I said fine, you have my deposit, call me when it arrives. (Now, I'm getting excited!)

In late July, several people I work with were taking possession of varying 07 models. Soon I kept hearing how hot they were running. I said heck, this is Florida what do you expect. I rode my buddies 07 Street Glide and I didn't get five miles and could feel the intense heat, especially at a stop light. Another co-worker, in our Dallas location, advised that his Ultra was making a whining noise in 5th gear. More and more issues!

All this time I'm monitoring the various websites trying to glean as much information on the 07's as possible. Truly, I was wanting to hear all of the excitement and enthusiasm of the folks with the new engines and trannys. As you know, there are plenty of folks that love the 07's and there are an equal number that are experiencing problems.

On 8/9, my dealer calls me and says they just took the bike of the truck and removed it from the crate. Come on down and see it. Although I was having second thoughts, I went down to see it and yes, I wanted to take it home. However, something said to wait!

I talked to the salesman, the sales manager and the GM and they all said they've had no problems with the 07's. I asked about the heat and the 5th gear whine. They said they had already sold close to two hundred (they have three large stores in Tampa area) and none of them were brought back for problems. Anyway, I declined to accept the bike and they refunded my deposit.

I've since called the HD Customer Service on three occasions asking them about the issues. All they will say is that the 5th gear noise is normal. I told them that I've owned five HD's (all verifiable in their records) and I declined to take possession of an 07 due to the outstanding issues. I said that I didn't want to be held hostage again; as I was with the 99 Twin Cam issue (again verifiable in their records).

I'm not naive enough to think that HD really cares if I buy a bike or not. I just hope everyone that has purchased an 07 and those that are waiting on the sidelines like me; call HD and tell them that they have to build a bike that is worthy of the name. If they discover issues after a new product launch, sharing of information with their customer base is a sound practice. HD owners are a very product loyal bunch and can accept defects if we're told that HD will stand by them.

Whew, I can certainly be long winded. I'm very passionate about riding and have been without wheels now for over three months. If HD did things correctly, I would be on my 07 Road King and they would have another $25K of my money in their coffer.

Hello
This is simply a note to thank you for the efforts that you are putting into publishing the issues you have had with your 2007 road king. These are yet to go on sale in Australia and it remains to be seen whether there will be the same overheating problems (due to different emissions standards and hence the possibility that the bikes will be mapped differently). I have been looking to place an order for a 2007 RK Classic in the near future, but will now wait until some more reports come through. Your objectivity and even-handedness in describing the problems you have experienced is appreciated. I hope that the message will get through to the
folks at HD.
Thanks and regards.
Ray
(Perth, Western Australia)

Just found your blog and I want to say thanks. I was looking at 07’ RK (especially because of the patriot edition) but I think I’ll stick with my 05’ and not deal with the hassles. Thanks again and HD needs to answer up on this before I buy a new bike.

LCDR B. J. S.

Thanks for the website and all the info. I am/was about to purchase my first Harley. I just retired from the military after 22 years and wanted to finally realize my dream of owning a Harley. I rode several older models including the Sporster, Wide Glide and Road King and settled on the Road King... or at least I "thought" I had settled on the Road King.

I knew '07 introduced a new engine and tranny for HD. Having heard about the issues with the pinion gears several years ago, I decided to do a search for 07 Harley Problems.......bingo, your page popped up.

As of now, I am either going to wait until the issues get addressed...or at least recognized by HD, or I will simply look for an older bike and go from there. I would hate to have to take a turn into the Yamaha dealer one day. I really had my heart set on a Harley. (Helloooooooo? Are you listening Harley HQ?)

I will continue to monitor your site. Nicely done.

Oklahoma

I read your postings regarding the excessive heat and 5th gear noise problems associated with the new 2007 Road King Classic. I want to extend my sincere appreciation for your candor and informative insight into this problem. I am in the market for a Cruiser and my first choice is, or maybe now...was, the 2007 Road King Classic. Although you will cringe when you read this, my second choice is the 2007 BMW K1200GT. I am very disappointed about the problems surfacing with the H-D RK, since I was contemplating purchasing one close to the Holiday Season. I also, find it outrageous to spend $20K for an RK and have to invest an additional $1.5K to resolve problems that should no exist.

Based on your postings, it does not appear the H-D is being upfront and acknowledging that a problems exists.

Again, many thanks for your time and your tenacity in keeping us concerned 2007 H-D buyers updated.

Anonymous

Shoot the real problems wasn't having the problems, it was how we got treated everywhere we tried to get it corrected, heck man I had been riding Harley's since I was 18. I bought darn near everything from Harley. Ya know we are the ones that kept them alive when owning a Harley wasn't cool !

Anonymous

An email with a two way discussion going on...

>biners wrote:
> thanx for the support. you wouldn't believe the hate mail i am getting. say anything negative about harley and folks get all crazy. the funny
> thing is that we have a 49 model s, a 56 model st, 73 flh and a 78 fxr to go with the new 07. if i was a hog basher i would be complaining

hehehe, I had a '49 FL, still have the '58 FLH. Had the '65 FLH, my '70 FLH, my '01 all at the same time, the '01 sucked and is why I went to BMW. Sold the 65, 70, and 49 as well. Sold my wife's bad boy and the 78 as well. Sold 5 kept one now own three BMW's and one 58 FLH.

> about my amf bikes. folks are goofy. the folks at fraziers have been more than forthright after the sale. i should have >thought to talk to wino and/or chevis in the garage before we wrote the check.

Like I said good luck with the MoCo they suck!

Most of these folks that are sending you hate mail ride a few k a year TOPS!, I had 37k on my '01 when it finally sold and we had 5 running Harleys at that time, I had over 25k on my hot rod stroker shovel , the wife had 72k on her '96 Bad Boy no idea how many miles on my pan's or my 70.

since 8 - 02 I have 126k miles on my BMW K1200LT , there is 71k on the wife's RT 36 added to the K100 and just added a 2006 R1200GS and about to add the 2006 R1200GS-A. We ride, unlike 90 % of the New generation HD owners <grin>

See You!