jigglestick
Member
I have a problem. Both with my Road King and with Harley Davidson, the company. Wondering if anyone else has, or is currently experiencing my issue(s). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Let me start with the bike issue: I noticed that my 2003 FLHRCI was having problems at idle. It was idling extremely high. To avoid the boring details of the process I used to discover the problem, I will jump right to my findings. The shaft that holds the "butterfly" within the throttle body was cracked. There are two screws that hold the "butterfly" to the shaft that it pivots on. I opened the "butterfly" and noticed that it was cracked right at one of the screws. Thus, it didn't allow it to close completely at idle and was sucking in extra air. Wow! Never seen that before. On ANY vehicle.
Now. The HD Inc. issue. And this is where it gets aggravating. I go to my local dealer and they told me that the part was on back order until a release date of 8/20/12. But, there are 4 dealers in the country that say they have one. I called all 4. Same answer. They don't have one and it is on back order. I called a few others that I thought might have one. All to no avail.
Part # 27603-01 Throttle Body Assembly
I searched e-bay, craigslist (nationwide), all the parts houses such as Dennis Kirk, JP Cycles etc. I searched the internet for 3 hours. Used. New. Whatever. Called some local bike shops that I know to see if they had a take-off throttle body. Nothing. Apparently, there is not one of these in the entire country.
Sure, I could spend $600 for an aftermarket part, but this is an '03 with 70,000 miles on it. I just want the stock part for $175.00.
I put the part on order and paid for it at my local dealer. The date that Harley was going to release it was 8/20/12. That date has come and gone and with repeated calls to my dealer, they don't know when it will be released to them. Today is 8/23/12. The last I heard is, the dealer called Harley to get a new release date on the part. Harley said that they will send out an e-mail giving the date. That was 2 days ago! The dealer is in the dark just as much as I am.
I wrote a letter to HD and voiced my displeasure. I asked them "How can a company of their size and stature, allow this to happen? HD customers are the most loyal customers to any manufacturer on the planet. We proudly purchase and wear their clothes. We put HD stickers on our vehicles. We accessorize our bikes until we can't no more. We even tattoo our bodies with their logo. All of this paid for by us! WE PAY THEM TO ADVERTISE FOR THEM! How can HD let this happen that a loyal rider is forced to park their bike for 3-4 weeks waiting on a simple $175.00 part, that shouldn't have broken in the first place? The riding season in Minnesota is short enough. My bike has been parked for 2 weeks so far!"
I elaborated a little more than that but, you get the idea. So. I was wondering if I was the only one with this issue or are there others? Any suggestions?
Let me start with the bike issue: I noticed that my 2003 FLHRCI was having problems at idle. It was idling extremely high. To avoid the boring details of the process I used to discover the problem, I will jump right to my findings. The shaft that holds the "butterfly" within the throttle body was cracked. There are two screws that hold the "butterfly" to the shaft that it pivots on. I opened the "butterfly" and noticed that it was cracked right at one of the screws. Thus, it didn't allow it to close completely at idle and was sucking in extra air. Wow! Never seen that before. On ANY vehicle.
Now. The HD Inc. issue. And this is where it gets aggravating. I go to my local dealer and they told me that the part was on back order until a release date of 8/20/12. But, there are 4 dealers in the country that say they have one. I called all 4. Same answer. They don't have one and it is on back order. I called a few others that I thought might have one. All to no avail.
Part # 27603-01 Throttle Body Assembly
I searched e-bay, craigslist (nationwide), all the parts houses such as Dennis Kirk, JP Cycles etc. I searched the internet for 3 hours. Used. New. Whatever. Called some local bike shops that I know to see if they had a take-off throttle body. Nothing. Apparently, there is not one of these in the entire country.
Sure, I could spend $600 for an aftermarket part, but this is an '03 with 70,000 miles on it. I just want the stock part for $175.00.
I put the part on order and paid for it at my local dealer. The date that Harley was going to release it was 8/20/12. That date has come and gone and with repeated calls to my dealer, they don't know when it will be released to them. Today is 8/23/12. The last I heard is, the dealer called Harley to get a new release date on the part. Harley said that they will send out an e-mail giving the date. That was 2 days ago! The dealer is in the dark just as much as I am.
I wrote a letter to HD and voiced my displeasure. I asked them "How can a company of their size and stature, allow this to happen? HD customers are the most loyal customers to any manufacturer on the planet. We proudly purchase and wear their clothes. We put HD stickers on our vehicles. We accessorize our bikes until we can't no more. We even tattoo our bodies with their logo. All of this paid for by us! WE PAY THEM TO ADVERTISE FOR THEM! How can HD let this happen that a loyal rider is forced to park their bike for 3-4 weeks waiting on a simple $175.00 part, that shouldn't have broken in the first place? The riding season in Minnesota is short enough. My bike has been parked for 2 weeks so far!"
I elaborated a little more than that but, you get the idea. So. I was wondering if I was the only one with this issue or are there others? Any suggestions?
