RoadVitals

2002 Harley-Davidson 1200 Custom Sportster Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
2
Latest May 25, 2010
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
0
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Jun 19, 2005

What this page shows

Our database holds 2 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2002 Harley-Davidson 1200 Custom Sportster. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–2 of 2

Exterior lighting
Filed May 25, 2010

EXCESSIVE AND INFERIOR DESIGN OF THE HEADLIGHT BRACKET ON 2002 XL1200 SPORTSTER CAUSE THE INTERNAL BULB TO VIBRATE LOOSE AND GO OUT WHILE RIDING AT NIGHT NEARLY CAUSING A FATAL CRASH AS MULTIPLE VEHICLES PULLED OUT DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ME BEFORE I REALIZED THAT I WAS NO LONGER VISIBLE TO OTHER VEHICLES. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY INFORMED ME THAT THE BRACKET WAS CRACKED. I ASKED ABOUT OTHER OPTIONS AS I FEEL THIS PART IS INADEQUATE AND THEY TOLD ME THAT HARLEY UPGRADED THE PART. THAT MEANS THAT HARLEY IS AWARE THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THIS PART. I FEEL THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED BY HARLEY DAVIDISON. *TR

NHTSA ID
10332134
Incident
Mar 13, 2010
Mileage
12,000 mi
Exterior lighting
Filed Jun 19, 2005

STOCK HEADLIGHT WAS FITTED WITH MANUFACTURER'S OPTIONAL HEADLIGHT TRIM RING. SHORTLY AFTER PURCHASE IN JUNE 2002. EXCESSIVE HEADLIGHT MOVEMENT/VIBRATION WAS NOTICED ON 6/10/2005. UPON CLOSER INSPECTION, I FOUND THE MOUNTING BRACKET ATTACHED TO THE HEADLIGHT BUCKET WAS CRACKED 9/10TH'S ACROSS. I RODE IT VERY GINGERLY TO THE DEALER,POINTED THIS OUT, AND LEFT THE BIKE THERE FOR REPAIRS. HAD THIS FAILED, ESPECIALLY DURING NIGHT RIDING, IT WOULD HAVE POSED AN UNREASONABLE RISK OF ACCIDENT. IT IS AWAITING A NEW PART. I WILL BE ASKING FOR THE ORIGINAL PART UPON PICKUP FROM DEALER.

NHTSA ID
10125747
Incident
Jun 10, 2005
Mileage
6,800 mi

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .