2009 Harley-Davidson Vrscf Problems

The contact owns a 2009 Harley-Davidson VRSCF. The contact stated while riding approximately 20 MPH and attempting to stop the motorcycle, the contact stated that the front brakes were functional however, the rear brakes failed to operate as designed. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed and repaired; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 19,000.

MY ABS BRAKES QUIT WORKING. I COULD SKID THE TIRES. ALSO, FRONT BRAKE LEVER INTERMITANTLY FREEZES. CONCURRENTLY, I RECEIVED NHTSA SAFETY RECALL 18V-076 FOR BRAKE SYSTEM FLUSHING. 4-13-2018, I TOOK THE MOTORCYCLE TO SOUTHEAST HARLEY-DAVIDSON FOR H-D RECALL NO. 0171. AFTER THE H-D FLUSH, I WAS TOLD ABS BRAKING STILL NOT WORKING AND A PAID DIAGNOSTICS WOULD BE REQUIRED TO DETERMINE THE PROBLEM. HARLEY-DAVIDSON CLAIMS THAT THE BRAKE SYSTEM SHOULD HAVE BEEN FLUSHED AND FLUID CHANGED EVERY TWO YEARS! WHAT OTHER VEHICLES BRAKE SYSTEM REQUIRES THAT MUCH ATTENTION? SHOULD H-D BE RESPONSIBLE TO DIAGNOSE THIS PROBLEM FURTHER AT THEIR EXPENSE? 5-9-2018, THE BRAKES ARE STILL INTERMITTENT AND DISFUNCTIONAL. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE!

THE FUEL SENSOR HAS FAILED TWICE, THE FIRST TIME CAUSING ME TO RUN OUT OF GAS WHILE ON A DESERT HIGHWAY (OVER 100F OUTSIDE). FORTUNATELY THERE WAS NO-ONE BEHIND ME THAT MIGHT HAVE HIT ME FROM SUDDEN DECELERATION. AFTER THE FIRST INCIDENT, I REPLACED THE SENSOR WITH THE SAME PART NUMBER FROM HARLEY DAVIDSON. ODDLY, THE SAME PART NUMBER IS A DIFFERENT CONFIGURATION THAT THE ORIGINAL (INDICATIVE OF A DESIGN ISSUE BEING CORRECTED ON-THE-SLY). THE SECOND FUEL SENSOR WORKED WELL FOR ABOUT 1 YEAR, THEN IT TOO FAILED. BECAUSE I WAS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM (MANY, MANY SIMILAR STORIES ON THE V-ROD ON-LINE FORUM) I DID NOT RUN OUT OF FUEL. RUNNING OUT OF FUEL ON A FUEL INJECTED VEHICLE CAN CAUSE ENGINE DAMAGE. IT IS ALSO DANGEROUS BECAUSE OF THE RAPID DECELERATION THAT OCCURS ON MOTORCYCLES (ENGINE BRAKING) WITHOUT THE WARNING DRIVERS EXPECT OF A BRAKE LIGHT.

THE FUEL GAUGE PROVIDED ON MY MOTORCYCLE DOES NOT OPERATE CORRECTLY. IT IS INTERMITTENT AND CAN DROP FROM 3/4 TANK TO E WITHOUT ANY WARNING.THIS SEEMS TO BE A ON GOING PROBLEM ON ALMOST ALL THE VROD FROM HARLEY DAVIDSON. *TR

FUEL GAUGE DOES NOT WORK CORRECTLY. IT WILL GO FROM FULL TO EMPTY TO HALF A TANK AND EVERYWHERE IN BETWEEN NO MATTER HOW MUCH FUEL IS ACTUALLY IN THE TANK. THE ONLY WAY TO KNOW IF I AM GETTING CLOSE TO EMPTY IS TO WATCH MY ODOMETER. *TR

I NOTICED THE ENGINE OIL LIGHT FLICKERING AFTER THE ENGINE IS WARMED UP. I DECIDED TO TALK TO MY LOCL HARLEY DEALERSHIP AND THEY INFORMED ME THAT IT WAS A KNOWN ISSUE AND COULD CAUSE ME TO WRECK IF THE ENGINE SEIZED. AS A QUALITY ENGINEER BY TRADE, I INVESTIGATED THE ISSUE AND FOUND SIMILAR COMPLAINTS FROM OTHERS ON VARIOUS HARLEY FORUMS. THE ISSUE IS THE TRIPLE SPROCKET BOLT BACKS OUT DUE TO POOR DESIGN AND CAUSES LOW OIL PRESSURE CONDITION AND OVERHEATING. IF THE ENGINE SEIZED ON ONE OF THESE BIKES WHILE RIDING, THIS COULD CAUSE THE REAR TIRE TO SKID RESULTING IN A FATAL CRASH. IF THERE WAS NO CRASH AND YOU WERE ABLE TO SAVE YOURSELF FROM FALLING, YOU WOULD HAVE OVER A $6000 REPAIR TO REPLACE THE ENGINE. I HAVE FOUND MULTIPLE CLAIMS ONLINE FOR THIS ISSUE AND WOULD VENTURE TO SAY, HARLEY DAVIDSON IS ALLOWING A DANGEROUS KNOWN ISSUE HAPPEN.