RoadVitals

2006 Harley-Davidson XL883R 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.
4
Latest May 17, 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.
1
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 Sep 11, 2006

What this page shows

Our database holds 4 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2006 Harley-Davidson XL883R. 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 1–4 of 4

Brakes
Filed May 17, 2010

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 HARLEY DAVIDSON SPORTSTER MOTORCYCLE. THE CONTACT NOTICED THE BRAKE LEVER WAS LOOSE. THE BRAKES WERE BLED; HOWEVER, THE PROBLEM WAS NOT CORRECTED. THE DEALER THEN REPLACED THE BRAKE LEVER AND REBUILT MASTER CYLINDER. THE CONTACT CALLED THE MANUFACTURER WHO OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 5,800. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 6,200. UPDATED 7/16/10 *CN UPDATED 07/22/10*JB

NHTSA ID
10330883
Incident
Apr 4, 2010
Mileage
5,800 mi
Engine
Filed Jun 21, 2007
Fire reported

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 HARLEY DAVIDSON XL883R. WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THE CONTACT NOTICED SMOKE COMING FROM THE ENGINE. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE TYPE OF FUEL HE USED CAUSED THE SMOKE. THE ENGINE SIZE, PURCHASE DATE, AND # OF CYLINDERS WERE UNAVAILABLE. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 1,600.

NHTSA ID
10193918
Incident
Oct 1, 2006
Mileage
1,600 mi
Engine
Filed Sep 11, 2006

IN MAY OF 2006 I PURCHASED A NEW HARLEY DAVIDSON 883R SPORTSTER. SINCE THE FIRST DAY THE VEHICLE HAS HAD AN ONGOING BACK FIRE THAT THE DEALERSHIP CANNOT OR IS NOT ABLE TO CORRECT. THE BACK FIRING ISSUE OCCURS WHEN THROTTLING OFF OF IDLE. ON OCCASION, THE BACK FIRE WILL CAUSE THE ENGINE TO STALL AND STOP RUNNING. THIS HAS OCCURRED REGULARLY AND IN ONE INSTANCE THE DEAD ENGINE CAUSED ME TO BE STOPPED AT A BUSY TRAFFIC LIGHT CONTROLLED INTERSECTION WITH TRAFFIC BEARING DOWN ON ME AND MY STOPPED VEHICLE. I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO HAVE THE WIT TO ENGAGE THE STARTER, START THE VEHICLE AND AVOID A REAR END COLLISION WHICH SURELY WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN INJURY OR DEATH. I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO TWO DIFFERENT DEALERSHIPS ON THREE DIFFERENT OCCASIONS AND HAVE BEEN TOLD "THEY ALL DO IT". IF THIS IS THE CASE, THE LONGER THE MANUFACTURER, HARLEY DAVIDSON, IGNORES THE PROBLEM THE OUTCOME OF SUCH AN EVENT WILL SURELY BE BODILY INJURY TO SOME DEGREE. *JB

NHTSA ID
10167865
Incident
Sep 3, 2006
Engine
Filed Sep 11, 2006

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE COMING TO A STOP AND ALSO WHILE IDLING, THE VEHICLE BACK FIRED. THE DEALER DETERMINED THIS WAS A CHARACTERISTIC OF THE VEHICLE.

NHTSA ID
10167858
Incident
Sep 8, 2006
Mileage
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 .