Here's is a story you all need to hear. Within the last two weeks I had to of my buds have issues with their bikes like no other. The 1st bike is a 2010 Screamin Eagle Ultra Classic 110 in. and the other is a 2008 Ultra Classic 96 in.. Two weeks ago the 110 and I and a few of our buds went on a journey to and back from Sturgis S.D. Put on over 4500 miles. All was well until....
Last week I was to meet 110 for dinner. As he came in to the parking lot, his machine was making a horable tapping sound. Said it started down the road a little and as he got to me it was getting louder. He went back home called his dealer who picked the bike up and proceeded to find out hte problem. After taking off the cam cover and finding pieces of parts in engine, they called Harley-Davidson. Harley fle a tech down to the dealer to finish the dismanteling of the engine. What they found was the needle bearings in the tappet came out which caused other malfunctions and wear on the top end of the engine as well as the cams and so forth.
This week the 96 in. went out to Sturgis and surrounding areas. As he approached Champagne, IL his bike began making harsh sounds in the primary. Stopped at the closest dealer off of Rt 74, Andreas Harley-Davidson and found out the output shaft which comes thru the tranny and into the primary, the needle bearings again have failed causing more problems.
The Fix:
The 110 in. was still under warranty and Harley replaced the whole engine. The 96 in was out of warranty and according to him the cost to fix was gojng to be approx $3000.00. So he bought a new 2012 Ultra and kept going to which he is still out there. Coming home by the coming Wed.
Note; The tech from Harley-Davidson told the owner of the 110 in. that they have had issues with the three last vendors that supply them their needle bearings and are continueing to look into the cause. One mention, both bikes were very close to 40,000 miles
Take heed my friends and beware!