Complaint Rating:

On 9-21-06 I was changing the transmission oil in my 2005 Harley Davidson motorcycle. While reinstalling the drain plug, a piece of the aluminum casting fell off. The plug showed no sign of being forced and it was not cross threaded. The plug was being hand threaded; absolutely no pressure was being put on the plug.

I took the bike to Four Rivers Harley Davidson (formerly Sills Cycle) in Paducah, Kentucky where I purchased it new in 05 (It has a 2 year warranty). Two mechanics looked at it as well as two service personnel. All four agreed it was a bad casting and would be covered under warranty.

Four Rivers has an employee specifically to deal with warranty claims. Her name is Jane (I do not know her last name). She called Harley in Milwaukee and spoke with a Paul Venus. He immediately denied the claim saying such a thing could not happen.

Later I called and talked to a John who said there was nothing else to be done because when a decision was made it was "set in concrete." I asked what Jane had told Paul Venus and it became immediately apparent she had not told him the entire situation. He had only been told the plug had broken out and not the other details of the event. Actually, the break was not in the plug, but a lip around drain hole.

I then had the part replaced by Four Rivers and paid for it in the amount of $1004.73. I am enclosing a copy of the receipt. I am also enclosing a picture of the broken part which shows the threads were not crossed.

In my opinion, it is very arrogant of Harley to say such a thing cannot happen and deny a claim without further investigation.

In my opinion, Four Rivers Harley did not give Paul Venus adequate information to make a credible decision.

In my opinion, the Harley Davidson warranty is not worth the paper it is written on.

I also question Harley not trusting their dealer to make such a call.

Paul Venus would not talk to me because he only talks to dealers. I told Jane to convey to him that If he would approve the claim, when it was done, I would personally mail to him the damaged part. He could have his engineers examine it and if it were determined by the engineers that it was any fault other than a bad casting, I would send Harley a check for the full amount. I never heard anything further from that offer.

Any communication with Jane was made by me. She said she called Harley several times concerning the issue but I have no verification of that. She never contacted me concerning the matter.

The claim reference number is 449713