RoadVitals

2006 Harley-Davidson XL883C 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 Feb 11, 2017
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 Aug 25, 2007

What this page shows

Our database holds 2 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2006 Harley-Davidson XL883C. 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

Engine
Filed Feb 11, 2017

I BOUGHT THIS 3/28/2006 AND MY AIR CLEANER HAS OIL COMING OUT ONTO THE EXHAUST AND MYSELF AS WELL AS ANYWHERE BEHIND THE AIRCLEANER ON DOWN TO SOME DEGREE. I TOOK IT TO A HARLEY DEALER IN IOWA SINCE I WAS A WAYS FROM MY PURCHASE DEALER. THEY SAID TO KEEP AN EYE ON IT TO SEE IF IT WILL STOP. I WAS UPSET AND DID NOT GO BACK. WHY DO THEY THINK I WAS THERE JUST TO SAY HI,UNBELIEVABLE. I HAVE SEEN WAYS TO DO DIVERT THE OIL. AT XL FORUM BUT IT IS NOT FIXING THE PROBLEM IT IS JUST A PATCH AT BEST. SOME SAY RUN LESS OIL. BUT IT STILL BOILS DOWN TO THE BAD COMPONET. I HAVE BEEN STUING OVER THIS FOR A LONG TIME AND FINALLY HAD TO SAY SOMETHING. AT ALMOST 60 YRS OLD I JUST NEED TO GET THIS OFF MY CHEST AND SEE IF SOMEONE WILL READ THIS AND GET AHOLD OF ME AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE PROBLEM. WE WILL SEE. THIS HAPPENS WHILE RIDING THE BIKE AND SETTING AS LONG AS THE BIKE IS RUNNING. I AM JUST TIRED OF THE OIL GETTING ALL OVER MY CLOTHES AND HAVING TO CLEAN UP THE OIL SO NO ONE SAYS HAY IT'S A HARLEY WHAT DO YOU EXPECT. LIKE THE OLD SCHOOL BIKES. I HOPE OTHERS WILL SEE THIS AND TELL US ALL THAT THERE;S IS DOING IT TOO. ON THE PLUS SIDE IT RUNS HARD SOUNDS GREAT WITH CUSTOM EXHAUST NOT STRAIGHT PIPES. LOOKS GREAT PEARL BLACK YOU CAN;T GO WRONG WITH PEARL PAINT. I LOVE THE STANCE AND IT GIVES ME PLEASURE ON THE RODE MINUS THE OIL THING, WITHOUT THE OIL PROBLEM I WOULD SAY IT IS A PERFECT RIDE POWER LOOKS AND JUST PLAIN OLD FUN. SO SOMEONE PLEASE GET AHOLD OF ME TO GET THIS PERFECT THANKS...

NHTSA ID
10954026
Incident
Apr 9, 2006
Mileage
200 mi
Engine
Filed Aug 25, 2007

WE PURCHASED A 2006 XLH SPORTSTER CUSTOM IN MAY OF 2006. RECENTLY WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE DOWN THE ROAD, WE NOTICED OIL ON MY HUSBAND'S PANT LEG. WE LATER CALLED THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT OUR PURCHASING STORE. I THEN TOLD THE MECHANIC THAT OUR MOTORCYCLE WAS LEAKING OIL FROM THE AIR FILTER. BEFORE TELLING HIM WHAT MODEL IT WAS, HE SAID, "IS IT A 2006 SPORTSTER?" HE THEN TOLD ME THAT THEY WERE HAVING A LOT OF PROBLEMS WITH THE 2006 SPORTSTERS' ROCKER ARM AND THEY WERE REPLACING THEM WITH THE 2007 ROCKER ARMS. THEY CALLED BACK THREE WEEKS LATER AFTER SUPPOSEDLY WAITING FOR THE PARTS FROM HARLEY DAVIDSON TO TELL US THAT HARLEY WOULD HAVE TO TEST THE BIKE WITH THE FACTORY PIPES ON BEFORE THEY WOULD FIX THE PROBLEM. NOW, IF ALL OF THE 2006 SPORTSTERS HAVE HAD THAT PROBLEM, THEN WHY ARE THEY QUESTIONING REPAIRING OUR SPORTSTER? *TR

NHTSA ID
10200753
Incident
Jul 20, 2007
Mileage
2,800 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 .