My new Harley-Davidson is falling apart! Is this normal?

Still a Harley fan and still love this bike (a lot), but some of the problems I'm experiencing should not be happening to any garage-kept bike with only 3,000+/- miles on the clock IMO. Anyone with similar experience either way?

Pretty sure HasBen predicted this.

Ever wonder why Harley riders seem to always have grease on their hands?

I think it’s the charm of owning a Harley. Beautiful bike.

I've heard from several Harley folks, sometimes you get a new one where no amount of fixing, fixes it, till it's replaced.

only 3000 miles?? you actually have to ride it!!! not sit there.. :-)

Most Harley owners I've known enjoy working on their bike, tinkering with it and doing things like removing the baffles.
Some claim the extra noise created by doing that helps them avoid getting hit by drivers that don't see them but still hear them. Sometimes I wonder if that's why they have to spend extra time working on them. If my pickup vibrated as bad as a loud Harley I would probably have to work on it too.

Thanks JP, I think I'll go home and give my Vulcan (Rice Glide) , that's been to N.Carolina, Missouri, and Big Ben Natl park in the last 3 years... a big Ol' 48,000+ mi. hug and kiss when I get home.

I've had Hondas and Kawasakis for 30 years, now this. Had similar problems. HD is no better or worse reliability or quality wise. Just cost a tad more. For the bars being off. Few of my bikes were spot on. Raise the front end, loosen the triple tree clamps, hold the wheel between your knees and twist straight. Hondas are notorious for bad starter switches. That's all I got.

3,000 miles is pretty good for a Harley.

Did you realize that a picture of Harley Quin on a Harley does not exist?

You mean like this;

Now we're getting technical!

Every day women, especially fat women, have no upper arm strength.

Athletes excluded.

...------

Debatable. My big gal hacks up cows for a living.

80% of the harley's ever made are still on the road,, the other 20% made it home

You may just be the lucky winner of a turd. I have had a '71 XLCH, '04 Softail, '08 CVO Springer and now a '12 Street Glide with zero problems from any of them. Well.....the '71 gave me some headaches, but I did build it from a salvaged frame myself, so they were likely self-induced.

Oh, and your video had me cracking up!

Safety wire that sucker.

What is falling apart? What kind of problems?

And is stuffs falling off it wasn't meant to be there to begin with.

I have an 89 sportster i bought brand new. It fell apart too. Lost second gear with 6K miles (after 1 year warranty) at 15K miles it burned as much oil as gas almost and every switch had crumbled to dust.

I have a Yamaha and a Kawi now. Both high mileage and neither with any pros so far.

But dang it, the sound of a harley and the looks. I just wish they would make a good bike that handled and could beat a toyota camry in a drag race.

I’ve had a motorcycle since I was 2 yrs old. The ONLY one that never had a SINGLE issue was my 2008 GSXR 1000. Put a little over 40,000 trouble free miles on that bike. Worst ever was my Indian. Never owned a Herpy Davidson.

The handlebar issue I have head of and is a minor adjustment....mine is a 2014 FLSTC I bought
it used used in 2017 and have put almost 10k on it with no issues.
I have friends that ride HD and put way more miles on than I do with no issues. Luck of the draw I suppose

the exhaust rattles everything to pieces

Important for a woman to have upper arm strength. Weiner-curlathon endurance.

My BIL owns two so he always has one to ride because one is always broken down. I never owned a motorcycle just so I could work on it. I wanted it to start every time I turned the key.

My last 3 Harleys were an '01 Softtail Springer, '05 Road Glide, and a '10 Road Glide Ultra. Combined I put close to 120k miles between the 3 of them without an issue.

My last Harley, a 2002 Deuce, was flawless the entire time I had it. Sometimes we just get a lemon. It happens with all vehicle makes.

That an oil spot under that puppy? Bought a brand new Super Glide back in 1976 and that thing shook everything off the thing, including a couple of fillings out of my teeth. Kept it 4 years, 1200 miles and sold the thing.

Why I got Hondas. 97k on the Shadow and still going strong, not quite 50k on the Wing. Do your periodic maintenance and they run forever. Couple guys I work with have H-D and comment from both is they like playing wrench, something not needed with the rice burners.

I replaced the clutch cover. I knew I'd lose some oil. Didn't realize a quart would dump out.

My last bikes were an 1100 Shadow and a 750 Shadow. The 750 was great but the 1100 was on its 3d alternator and 2d starter motor when I sold it at 36000 miles.