2015 HARLEY-DAVIDSON XG750

WE PURCHASED A 2015 STREET 750. AFTER TWO MONTHS OF RIDING (ABOUT 100 MILES), WE DISCOVERED SEVERAL SAFETY ISSUES THAT HAD BECOME APPARENT ONLY AFTER THROUGH ACTUAL RIDE TIME ON THE BIKE. I FIRST CALLED HD IN MILWAUKEE, WE SPOKE TO CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE, DAVID, EXPLAINING OUR CONCERNS. I WAS GIVEN THE REFERENCE NUMBER 2506596. WE WERE SUBSEQUENTLY TOLD TO TAKE THE BIKE TO THE HD DEALER. THE LIST OF ISSUES WERE AS FOLLOWS: 1.FRONT CYLINDER & FINS ARE PRACTICALLY TOUCHING RIDER?S LEGS AND ARE EXTREMELY HOT & DANGEROUS, EMITTING TREMENDOUS HEAT. THIS IS A MAJOR CONCERN AS THE EXTREME HEAT CAUSES CONSTANT SHIFTING AND/OR MOVEMENT OF THE LEGS, THEREBY IMPACTING CONTROL OF THE BIKE AND CAUSING A SAFETY FACTOR. 2.THE STOCK MIRRORS DO NOT GIVE THE RIDER A CLEAR FIELD OF VISION DIRECTLY BEHIND HIM, AGAIN IMPACTING DRIVER SAFETY. 3.THE ALL-BLACK BIKE HAS NO RUNNING LIGHTS. THE BIKE IS PRACTICALLY INVISIBLE UNDER LOW LIGHT CONDITIONS, I.E. NIGHT TIME RUNNING, RIDING IN RURAL LOCALES, ETC. AGAIN A SAFETY FACTOR. AT THE HD DEALERSHIP I ASKED IF THEY HAD ADDRESSED THE SAFETY CONCERNS. THEY STATED THE BIKE WAS "LEGAL" AND THEY REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE ANY ISSUES. I WAS ALSO TOLD THE FOLLOWING: ?IF WE WANT SAFE LIGHTING WE WOULD HAVE TO PURCHASE EXTRA LIGHTING AND PAY TO HAVE IT INSTALLED. ?IF WE WANT NOT BE BURNED BECAUSE OF HEAT FROM A CYLINDER HEAD TOO CLOSE TO A RIDER?S LEG, WE WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR THE LUXURY OF SUCH SAFETY. ?IF WE WANT TO HAVE SAFE MIRRORS, WE HAVE TO BUY THEM. P.S. EXTRA LIGHTING FEATURES & HEAT DEFLECTORS, & LONER -STEMMED MIRRORS, WEREN?T AVAILABLE FOR THE 750 STREET AT THIS WRITING. BUT EVEN IF THEY WERE, WHY WOULD THE CONSUMER HAVE TO INSTALL ITEMS THAT SHOULD BE AN OBVIOUS REQUIRED SAFETY FEATURE? WHY IS IT THAT PEOLE HAVE TO DIE FIRST BEFORE MANUFACTURERS TAKE ACTION?

"WITH ROUGHLY .9 GALLONS OF FUEL IN TANK, WHEN LEAVING A FULL STOP, VEHICLE PAUSES HARD ON ACCELERATION. PROBABLE CAUSE IS FUEL STARVATION CAUSED BY FUEL FLOWING BACK IN THE TANK, AWAY FROM THE FRONT-LOCATED FUEL PUMP, STARVING EFI SYSTEM OF GASOLINE. AS FUEL MOVES FORWARD AFTER A BRIEF PAUSE IN FORWARD MOMENTUM, THE PUMP HAS ACCESS TO THE FUEL AND THE BIKE SUDDENLY LURCHES FORWARD. THIS HAPPENS MULTIPLE TIMES AS THE FUEL IN TANK TRAVELS FORWARD AND AFT. EXTREMELY UNSAFE CONDITION AT LOW SPEEDS, ESPECIALLY AT INTERSECTIONS WHEN THIS IS MOST LIKELY TO OCCUR." INDIDENT TOOK PLACE ON MY WAY HOME "8/5/15" FROM PICKING UP THE NEW BIKE. I CALLED THE DEALER, AND THEY SAID THEY NEVER HEARD OF THIS ISSUE. THEY SAID THEY WOULD RETURN MY CALL, BUT THEY NEVER DID.

WHEN THE FUEL TANK IS NOT COMPLETELY FULL THE ENGINE LURCHES OR BUCKS. THESE MOVEMENTS ARE VIOLENT AND UNEXPECTED AND CAN CAUSE YOU TO CRASH OR PUT YOU IN DANGER BECAUSE IT IS STARVED FOR FUEL AND WILL NOT GET OUT OF THE WAY OF NORMAL TRAFFIC FLOW. THIS ISSUE HAPPENS BEFORE THE LOW FUEL LIGHT IS ILLUMINATED AND USUALLY STILL HAS 1/3 OF THE FUEL REMAINING. I HAVE CONTACTED HARLEY AND MADE THEM AWARE BUT THEY DO NOT HAVE A FIX AS OF NOW.

AT ABOUT 81 MILES ON THE TRIP ODOMETER FROM A FULL TANK THERE WAS HESITATION WITH ACCELERATION IN 1ST GEAR TURNING RIGHT FROM A STOP UP A SLIGHT INCLINE. BY 91 MILES ON THE TANK, ANY HARD ACCELERATION WAS FOLLOWED BY HESITATION THEN SURGE. THIS HAPPENED IN ANY GEAR NOT JUST IN 1ST. BY 98 MILES ON THE TANK THERE WAS SO MUCH HESITATION AND SURGE THAT IT FELT TOO DANGEROUS TO RIDE. THIS IS THE SECOND COMPLAINT REGARDING THIS ISSUE (PRIOR COMPLAINT NHTSA ID NUMBER: 10721410) IN SPITE OF THE FUEL PUMP ALREADY BEING REPLACED BY HARLEY DAVIDSON LESS THAN A MONTH AGO FOR THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. REPLACING A DEFECTIVE PART WITH ANOTHER DEFECTIVE PART IS NOT AN ADEQUATE SOLUTION TO A POTENTIALLY VERY DANGEROUS PROBLEM.

I EXPERIENCED A LAG AND LEAP ISSUE. I WAS RIDING MY BIKE WITH ABOUT 83 MILES ON THE TANK OF GAS AND OUT OF NOWHERE IT WOULD PRETEND TO STALL AND THEN TAKE OFF. WOULD CONTINUALLY DO THIS IN THE LOWER GEARS. ADDED A NEW TANK OF GAS AND IT WENT AWAY. GOT TO THE SAME MILEAGE AND HAPPENED ALL OVER AGAIN. HARLEY REPLACED MY FUEL PUMP BUT IT WAS VERY SCARY AND I AM WORRIED IT MAY HAPPEN AGAIN.

THIS VEHICLE WILL HESITATE WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A FULL STOP AND THEN FEEL AS IF IT IS ABOUT TO STALL THEN SURGE. THE PATTERN MAY REPEAT SEVERAL TIMES OVER SEVERAL SECONDS BEFORE THERE IS CONSISTENT FULL POWER. IT HAPPENES WHEN THERE IS ABOUT 85-90 MILES DRIVEN ON A FULL TANK. I WAS ALMOST REAR-ENDED SEVERAL TIMES RECENTLY SINCE THE DRIVER BEHIND ME REASONABLY EXPECTED THAT I WOULD BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN ACCELERATION AWAY FROM THE STOP. FURTHERMORE, IT IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF A TURN FROM A STOP WHEN THE BIKE IS HESITATING AND SURGING THROUGHOUT THE TURN. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION, ESPECIALLY SINCE I AM A RELATIVELY NEW RIDER. HD APPEARS TO BE SPECIFICALLY TARGETING NEW DRIVERS WITH THIS BIKE, MAKING IT EVEN MORE DISTURBING AND LIKELY TO CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. MY HUSBAND, WHO IS AN EXPERIENCED RIDER, DROVE THE BIKE AND HAD THE EXACT SAME EXPERIENCE. FILLING THE GAS TANK RESOLVED THE PROBLEM. I AM EXTREMELY NERVOUS TO DRIVE THIS BIKE WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR THIS PROBLEM TO RETURN. (I BELIEVE THIS IS SIMILAR TO WHAT IS CURRENTLY BEING INVESTIGATED UNDER NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: PE15015).

ON MY VERY FIRST TANK OF GAS THE BIKE DIED AT AROUND 120 MILES ON THE TRIP ODOMETER WHILE ACCELERATING AWAY FROM A STOP LIGHT. IT WAS A DIE AND LURCH THAT I HAVE RECENTLY READ OTHERS HAVE EXPERIENCED. I WAS CHANGING GEARS FROM 1ST TO 2ND AND THE BIKE DID A WHEELIE JUST HIGH ENOUGH FOR MY CHILD TO SLIDE OFF THE SEAT AND ONTO THE REAR FENDER. I CHECKED THE GAS AND THERE WAS PLENTY TO SLOSH AROUND AND NO LOW FUEL LIGHT. FILLING UP THE TANK STOPPED THE PROBLEM. I ASKED THE DEALER TO FIX THE NO LOW FUEL LIGHT PROBLEM WHEN THEY OPENED 3 DAYS LATER BUT IN THAT TIME I USED ANOTHER TANK OF FUEL AND THE SAME DIE AND LURCH AROUND 130 MILES ON THE TRIP ODOMETER. AFTER AROUND 4 WEEKS OF WAITING THE H-D SERVICE TECHNICIAN TELLS ME THAT HE FLASHED THE COMPUTER AND THE PROBLEM IS FIXED. I FILL UP THE TANK ON THE WAY HOME AND RESET THE TRIP ODOMETER. THE NEXT DAY (YESTERDAY) I EXPERIENCE THE SAME DIE AND LURCH AROUND 130 MILES. THE LOW FUEL LIGHT HAS NEVER COME ON ON THIS BIKE. YES, IT LIGHTS UP ON THE SELF-DIAGNOSTIC WHEN I TURN THE KEY ON BUT IT HAS NEVER COME ON FOR LOW FUEL AND I GET THE DIE AND LURCH AROUND 120 TO 130 MILES EVERY TIME. I BELIEVE THAT SOMEONE USED TO A SMALLER MOTORCYCLE WOULD GET HURT TO EASILY WITH THIS LURCH THING.

I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE LESS THAN A WEEK AGO, IT ALSO HAS LESS THAN 100 MILES. THE VEHICLE RAN FINE WITH NO PROBLEMS UNTIL IT REACHED AROUND 75-80 MILES. AT THIS POINT THE VEHICLE WOULD ACCELERATE THEN DECELERATE AND STALL OUT AFTER STARTING FROM A COMPLETE STOP. THIS WOULD HAPPEN IN FORWARD MOTION AND ALSO ON TURNS. THE PROBLEM OCCURRED ABOUT 20(TWENTY) TIMES LEAVING ME (VEHICLE STALLED OUT) IN THE MIDDLE OF INTERSECTIONS AND ALSO IN CITY TRAFFIC. THE PROBLEM OCCURRED IN 1ST, 2ND, AND 3RD GEAR. THE VEHICLE LUNGES FORWARD THEN BOGS DOWN THEN LUNGES FORWARD AGAIN, MOST OF THE TIME STALLING OUT. THIS PROBLEM CREATES AN UNSAFE DRIVING CONDITION FOR MYSELF, A PASSENGER, AND OTHER MOTORIST ON THE ROAD. VEHICLES HAD TO SWERVE OUT OF THE WAY TO NOT HIT ME. I WILL BE TAKING THE VEHICLE IN TO THE DEALER TOMORROW.

WHILE ACCELERATING FROM A STOPLIGHT, THE MOTORCYCLE ENGINE LAGGED, SURGED, AND THEN STALLED COMPLETELY. THE MOTORCYCLE WOULD NOT RESTART WHILE STRAIGHT AND LEVEL. I WAS ABLE TO COAST THROUGH A RIGHT TURN TO DOWN A SMALL DECLINE WHERE I WAS ABLE TO START THE ENGINE AND CAREFULLY PROCEED TO A NEARBY GAS STATION (<1/4 MI.). THE TRIP INDICATOR SHOWED ~144MI. THE FUEL TANK TOOK 2.87GAL TO FILL. THE STATED CAPACITY OF THE STOCK FUEL TANK IS 3.5GAL, LEAVING ~0.6GAL IN THE TANK AT THE TIME OF INCIDENT OR ~20MI WORTH OF FUEL BEFORE EMPTY. IN A SEPARATE INCIDENT ON 5/3/2015 THE MOTORCYCLE WAS STOPPED AT A GAS STATION NEXT TO AN INOPERATIVE PUMP. THE TRIP INDICATOR SHOWED ~134MI. WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO MOVE TO ANOTHER PUMP THE MOTORCYCLE WOULD NOT START. EVENTUALLY I PUSHED IT TO ANOTHER PUMP WHERE IT TOOK 2.47GAL TO FILL INDICATING ~1GAL WAS IN THE TANK AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT.