2009 HARLEY-DAVIDSON Fltr

ENGINE LOSES POWER AND GOES INTO AN IDLE MODE. THIS HAS OCCURRED A NUMBER OF TIMES THE LAST BEING ON A FREEWAY WHICH PUT ME IN GRAVE DANGER DO TO THE SUDDEN LOSE OF POWER AND HAVING CAR CLOSE BEHIND AND THIS OCCURS WITHOUT ANY WARNING. EVERYONE THAT DRIVES A MOTOR CYCLE WITH THIS THROTTLE BY WIRES SHOULD BE NOTIFIED BY HD AND HAVE THIS ISSUE RESOLVED BEFORE THEIR LIVES ARE PLACED IN JEOPARDY BY THIS TYPE OF FAILURE. HARLEY DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLES WITH THE THROTTLE BY WIRE WILL GO INTO A LIMP HOME MODE. THIS IS WHERE YOU ARE ACCELERATING AND THE MOTOR BASICALLY SHUTS DOWN AND GOES TO JUST ABOVE AN IDLE SPEED. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS BECAUSE THE THROTTLE BY WIRE IS FAILING. YOU COULD BE ACCELERATING TO TURN INTO TRAFFIC, ACROSS TRAFFIC OR TO GET ON THE INTERSTATE AND THE THROTTLE FAILS AND GOES INTO LIMP HOME MODE AND SLOWS YOU TO A TOP SPEED OF 15 MPH IN 1ST GEAR. IN 6TH GEAR I COULD ONLY DO 40 MPH. THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT AND HARLEY KNOWS THEY ARE FAILING. THIS IS A RECALL OFFENSE. THEY HAVE A SERVICE BULLETIN WHICH I AM ATTACHING A LINK TO FOR YOU. HTTP://WWW.SCRIBD.COM/DOC/55139820/2008-LATER-TOURING-TT418-1

THE FIRST INSTANCE OF THE PROBLEM OCCURRED WHEN I WAS RIDING ON THE FREEWAY AT ABOUT 65 MPH. WHILE MY MOTORCYCLE WAS TRAVELING AT THAT SPEED I PROCEEDED TO TWIST MY THROTTLE TO ACCELERATE AND MAINTAIN MY SPEED ONLY TO DISCOVER THAT MY THROTTLE DID NOT RESPOND WHEN I TWISTED IT. SINCE THAT FIRST INSTANCE, THE PROBLEM OF MY THROTTLE NOT BEING RESPONSIVE HAS OCCURRED OVER 100 TIMES. I CANNOT PREDICT WHEN THE PROBLEM WILL OCCUR AND IT DOES NOT SEEM TO MATTER WHAT SPEED I AM TRAVELING. MY MOTORCYCLE HAS BEEN TO HARLEY DEALERSHIPS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND MANY SOLUTIONS HAVE BEEN TRIED BUT THE PROBLEM KEEPS OCCURRING. I HAVE DISCOVERED GENERALLY WHAT THE CAUSE IS AND HAVE DISCOVERED THAT MANY OTHER PEOPLE HAVE ENCOUNTER ED THIS PROBLEM WITH 2008 OR 2009 HARLEY TOURING MODELS. THESE BIKES CAN GO INTO "LIMP MODE" WHICH WILL CAUSE THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE NOT TO RESPOND. BESIDES BEING FRUSTRATING, THIS PROBLEM IS VERY DANGEROUS. THE PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED FOR ME AFTER CHANGING LANES IN FRONT OF A BIG RIG TRUCK CAUSING ME TO SWERVE OFF THE HIGHWAY TO AVOID BEING HIT BY THE TRUCK, FOR EXAMPLE. A SIMPLE ONLINE SEARCH REVEALS MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE ENCOUNTERED THIS PROBLEM IN DANGEROUS SITUATIONS AS WELL. I HAVE EVEN READ ABOUT WRONGFUL DEATH CLAIMS WHERE THIS PROBLEM DID CAUSE A RIDER AND HIS PASSENGER TO DIE. HTTP://WWW.ABOUTLAWSUITS.COM/WRONGFUL-DEATH-LAWSUIT-HARLEY-DAVIDSON-THROTTLE-DEFECTIVE-9072. HARLEY DAVIDSON HAS NOT ISSUED A RECALL ON THIS PROBLEMATIC ELECTRONIC THROTTLE OR THE BIKES THAT HAVE THE DEFECTIVE THROTTLE. THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL ON THIS OBVIOUSLY DEFECTIVE SYSTEM, CONSIDERING HOW WIDESPREAD THE PROBLEM IS, HOW COSTLY IT HAS BEEN AND HOW DANGEROUS TO THOSE WITH A DEFECTIVE THROTTLE AND OTHER DRIVERS ON THE ROAD WITH US.

THE FIRST INCIDENT OCCURRED WHILE I WAS OPERATING MY HARLEY DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLE ON A HIGHWAY TRAVELING APPROX. 65 MPH. THE THROTTLE BY WIRE SUDDENLY WENT INTO A LIMP HOME MODE WHILE I WAS ACCELERATING. THE ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING AND ALL LIGHTS AND GAUGES SEEMED TO BE FUNCTIONING HOWEVER THE MOTORCYCLE CEASED TO RESPOND TO ANY DEGREE OF TWIST OF THE THROTTLE. THERE WERE SEVERAL OTHER MOTORCYCLISTS BEHIND ME WHO HAD TO BREAK ABRUPTLY TO AVOID REAR-ENDING ME. I HAD TO CROSS SEVERAL LANES OF TRAFFIC TO PULL TO THE RIGHT SHOULDER. THE SITUATION WAS VERY DANGEROUS TO MYSELF AND OTHER VEHICLES ON THE ROAD. AFTER SHUTTING THE MOTORCYCLE OFF FOR A FEW MINUTES, I WAS ABLE TO START THE BIKE WITH THROTTLE RESPONSE RESTORED. THIS SAME PROBLEM OCCURRED OVER 20 MORE TIMES. MY BIKE HAS BEEN TO SEVERAL HARLEY DEALERSHIPS SINCE THE FIRST INCIDENT ONLY TO FAIL AGAIN SOON AFTER. UNBEKNOWNST TO ME AT THE TIME I PURCHASED THIS MOTORCYCLE (END OF 2008), MANY OTHER BIKE OWNERS OF THE SAME MODEL OR OTHER SIMILAR TOURING MODEL FROM 2008 TO 2011 HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM. HARLEY IS AWARE OF THIS HIGHLY DANGEROUS DEFECT. (REFER TO THE FOLLOWING LINK TO A HARLEY DAVIDSON SERVICE BULLETIN: HTTP://WWW.SCRIBD.COM/DOC/55139820/2008-LATER-TOURING-TT418-1.) ALSO, REFER TO THE FOLLOWING LINK TO AN ARTICLE ABOUT A WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT THAT WAS FILED IN TEXAS ALLEGING THAT A MALFUNCTIONING ELECTRONIC THROTTLE ON A HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLE CAUSED A FATAL ACCIDENT IN 2008: HTTP://WWW.ABOUTLAWSUITS.COM/WRONGFUL-DEATH-LAWSUIT-HARLEY-DAVIDSON-THROTTLE-DEFECTIVE-9072/. HARLEY HAS ISSUED TT 418 NOV 3, 2009, TO ADDRESS THIS WIDESPREAD PROBLEM ON THROTTLE BY WIRE BIKES 2008 - 2011. DEALER COMPLIANCE ON TT 418 IS WEAK. THIS ISSUE OF THE BIKE CUTTING OFF SUDDENLY IN TRAFFIC POSES AN OBVIOUS SAFETY HAZARD. THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL TO REPLACE THE POORLY DESIGNED ELECTRONIC THROTTLE. *TR