RoadVitals

1999 Harley-Davidson Road King

Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints 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.
4
Latest Jul 21, 2008
Safety recallsA safety recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle has a safety-related defect or does not comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard. Recall repairs are free. Whether a specific vehicle is covered depends on its VIN — a recall listed for a model year does not necessarily apply to every vehicle of that year.
0
InvestigationsNHTSA opens an investigation to examine whether a safety defect may exist. An open investigation is not a determination that a defect exists, and many investigations close without a recall. Investigations can, however, lead to one.
0
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

Overview

Our database contains 4 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1999 Harley-Davidson Road King, most frequently naming the engine and powertrain (other) categories.

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

What owners report

Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded

  • Engine250.0%
  • Powertrain (other)250.0%

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Safety recalls

No recalls in our database for this model year

That does not guarantee a specific vehicle is unaffected — recalls are issued against VINs, and new campaigns are announced regularly. Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov.

Recent owner complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words

Powertrain (other)
Filed Jul 21, 2008

NAME: GERARD BU 973 802 2644 HD REFERENCE # 880109 I HAVE A HD ROAD KING 1999. IT WAS A KNOW DEFECT ON THE CAM BEARINGS OF THIS YEAR AND THERE WAS EVEN A RECALL BUT I NEVER RECEIVED NOTIFICATION BY MAIL OR ANYTHING. AFTER 6K MILES THE CAM BROKE WHICH COULD LEAD TO EXTENSIVE DAMAGE AND EXPENSES. HD SAID THAT THEY (JOHN AT HD MILWAUKEE) HAD A GRACE PERIOD OF ONLY 5 YEARS SO IT IS TOO LATE. AND THEY CAN NOT DO ANYTHING FOR IT. IT SEEMS NOT BE VERY HONEST THAT THEY WOULD NOT HONOR IT SINCE THEY NEW THERE WAS A DEFECT REGARDLESS OF THE ISSUE SINCE IT WAS A MANUFACTURING FLAW. *TR

NHTSA ID
10235145
Incident
Jul 12, 2008
Mileage
6,000 mi
Engine
Filed Oct 13, 2006

CAM BEARINGS FAILED IN A 1999 ROADKING. THE DEALER STATED THAT THERE WAS AN EXTENDED WARRANTY OF 5YR/50,000MILES BUT ONLY IF THE ENGINE FAILED COMPLETELY. I HAVE 27,000 MILES CURRENTLY WITH A COMPLETE ENGINE FAILURE. THIS PROBLEM IS A MILEAGE OCCURRENCE NOT A TIME FACTOR SITUATION. THE MOTOR COMPANY HAS REFUSED TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT STATING IT WAS PAST THE YEARS OF SERVICE. HOW MANY ENGINES HAVE TO FAIL OR WRECKS HAVE TO OCCUR BEFORE THERE IS A TOTAL RECALL. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND THE COMPANY IS TREATING IT SOLELY ON A MONEY FACTOR. *NM

NHTSA ID
10170716
Incident
Oct 10, 2006
Mileage
27,000 mi
Powertrain (other)
Filed Oct 5, 2001

SPEEDOMETER FAILURE CAUSES AUTOMATIC TURN SIGNALS NOT TO DISENGAGE AFTER TURNS HAVE BEEN MADE. DEALER/MANUFACTURER NOTIFIED, DEALER OFFERED CONSUMER A GOODWILL REPLACEMENT AT A REDUCED PRICE. *AK *TT

NHTSA ID
897393
Incident
May 18, 2001
Engine
Filed Sep 18, 2001

THE REAR CAM BEARING IS A MANUFACTURING/DESIGN DEFECT WHICH HARLEY-DAVIDSON IS AWARE. THEY HAVE EXTENDED THE WARRANTY FOR JUST THE CAM BEARING TO 50,000 MILES. UNFORTUNATELY THEY WON'T REPAIR IT UNTIL IT FAILS, AND THEY WILL ONLY REPLACE THE BEARING UNDER WARRANTY. THIS BECOMES AN ISSUE SINCE THE WHEN THE BEARING FAILS METAL MAY GET INTO THE CRANKCASE AND CAUSE ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS TO OTHER COMPONENTS DOWN THE ROAD. ADDITIONALLY IT TOOK 3.5 HOURS TO GET A TRUCK TO TAKE THE BIKE TO THE CLOSEST HARLEY DEALERSHIP (15 MILES), MITCHELLS H-D, MODESTO, CA, (209)522-1061. ALSO WE HAD TO FIND A RIDE HOME (45 MILES) AND I'LL NEED A RIDE (55 MILES) BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP TO PICK IT UP. I TOOK THE BIKE IN TO THE LOCAL H-D DEALERSHIP SEVERAL 2 MONTHS AGO AND THEY SAID THEY COULDN'T DO ANYTHING TILL IT WENT BAD. I'VE READ OF INSTANCES IN MAJOR MOTORCYCLE PUBLICATIONS OF MOTOR FEEZE-UP, TOTAL ENGINE FAILURE, AND LOCKED REAR TIRES WHEN THE CAM BEARING FAILS. HARLEY-DAVIDSON SHOULD REPLACE CAM BEARING PRIOR TO FAILURE ON THOSE SPECIFIC ENGINES THAT WERE BUILT WITH A BALL BEARING RATHER THAN THE REPLACEMENT ROLLER BEARING.

NHTSA ID
752317
Incident
Sep 9, 2001

Compare model years

Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model

Harley-Davidson Road King by model year
YearComplaintsRecallsInvestigationsIssue Index
2004101037.8
2003100—
2002600—
2001800—
1999Viewing400—
1998300—
1997100—

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. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.