2001 Harley-Davidson Road King

Routine

Owners filed 8 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the equipment. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine2
000
Wheels › Rim1
000
Suspension › Rear1
000
Service Brakes, Hydraulic1
000
Fuel/Propulsion System1
000
Equipment1
000
Electronic Stability Control › Automatic (asc)1
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Fuel/Propulsion System
Filed Oct 15, 201430,000 milesMI

BIKE CUTS OUT AND DIES WHILE DRIVING CAUSING POTENTIAL SERIOUS INJURY TO RIDER OR EVEN DEATH: THIS HAS BEEN AND IS AN ONGOING PROBLEM WITH HARLEYS FROM 199 TO 2001 CRUISER MODELS AND NEEDS TO BE REMEDIED BY HARLEY DAVIDSON AS A RECALL ON ALL BIKE WITH THAT SYSTEM. SEE DISCUSSION BELOW: MINE CUT OUT AND I WAS ALMOST THROWN FROM THE BIKE INTO TRAFFIC AS IT SHUT DOWN AND LOCKED UP THE TIRES CLASSIC, THANKS FOR THE VERY THOUGHTFUL ANALYSIS. I STARTED THIS THREAD TO TRY TO OUT IF THERE IS A LARGE POPULATION OF 1999-2001 MM EFI OWNERS THAT ARE NOT HAVING PROBLEMS, THAT MIGHT GIVE ME SOME CONFIDENCE THAT IT MIGHT BE WORTHWHILE TO TRY TO GET MINE REPAIRED AND REGAIN CONFIDENCE THAT IT WOULD STAY FIXED. THE MM EFI SYSTEM PROVED TO ME FOR 7 YEARS THAT IT CAN DO THE JOB JUST FINE BUT NOW SOMETHING IS BROKEN WITH IT. I DIDN'T/DON'T EXPECT ANY ELECTRO/MECHANICAL SYSTEM TO FUNCTION TROUBLE FREE FOREVER WITHOUT NEEDING MAINTENANCE. ALSO FRUSTRATING IS WHY THE MM EFI SYSTEM IS SO DIFFICULT TO TROUBLESHOOT AND FIX? THE 1999-2001 MM EFI PROBLEMS ARE LEGENDARY AND NOT THE FAULT OF BIKE OWNERS BUT THE MOCO. I REALLY THINK THE MOCO SHOULD RECALL THESE BIKES AND CONVERT THEM TO DELPHI EFI SYSTEMS. MINE STALLED IN CROWDED FAST TRAFFIC AND ALMOST CAUSED ME TO HAVE A BAD ACCIDENT. HARLEY ARE YOU LISTENING-THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. IF THIS WAS HAPPENING WITH A BIG 3 AUTOMOBILE THERE WOULD BE A DOT RECALL. LAST EDITED BY EZRIDER; 06-08-2008 AT 03:37 PM. EZRIDER IS OFFLINE REPLY WITH QUOTE *TR

Wheels › Rim
Filed May 7, 200870,000 milesAZ

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 (NA) HARLEY DAVIDSON ROAD KING CLASSIC. WHILE BACKING THE VEHICLE OUT OF THE GARAGE, THE CONTACT NOTICED A CRACK THAT WAS APPROXIMATELY 8 INCHES LONG IN THE RIM OF THE REAR TIRE. THE CONTACT DID NOT NOTICE ANY DIFFERENCE IN DRIVING THE VEHICLE PRIOR TO NOTICING THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN DIAGNOSED BY THE DEALER. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 70,000.

Equipment
Filed Jul 7, 2006KS

THE SHIFTER CONTROL ARM AND SHAFT HAS COME OFF MY HARLEY DAVIDSON ROAD KING TWICE WITH ONLY 12,000 MILES. APPARENTLY HARLEY HAS USED A BOLT THAT DOES NOT GO COMPLETELY THRU TO HOLD IT IN PLACE. I HAD TO ASK FOR A LONGER BOLT WHEN I HAD TO PURCHASE THE NEW SHAFT AND SHIFTER ARM. I KNOW ANOTHER PERSON WHO HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WHILE RIDING ON THE HIGHWAY AND WAS STRANDED BECAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM. *JB

Electronic Stability Control › Automatic (asc)
Filed Sep 19, 20044,500 milesIL

WOBBEL, UNSTEADY, WONDERING, FRON END, BIKE IS UNSTABLE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. *AK

Service Brakes, Hydraulic
Filed Jan 13, 2003WY

WHEN VEHICLE GOES ON ALONG SUSTAINED RUN, 200-300 MILES AND COME OFF FREEWAY IT WILL STALL EVERY TIME COMING TO A STOP. VEHICLE WAS CHECKED BY TWO DEALES. FUEL FILTER WAS CHANGED, INJECTION PORTS CLEANED, BUT PROBLEM HAS CONTINUED. *AK

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine
Filed Sep 17, 2002IL

WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED ON FLAT SURFACE AND WITH NO WARNING OIL IS LEAKING ONTO BRAKES, CAUSING THE BRAKES TO SLIP, AND IT WILL BE HARD FOR CONSUMER TO STOP THE VEHICLE. DEALER NOTIFIED

Suspension › Rear
Filed Feb 6, 2002IN

VIBRATION WOULD BE FELT WHEN BRAKES WERE APPLIED, DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED, INFORMED CONSUMER THAT REAR BRAKE CALIPERS WERE RUBBING. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER DETAILS. *AK

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine
Filed Jan 28, 2002GA

THE TOP BOLT FROM THE PRIMARY CHAIN TENSION ADJUSTER FELL OUT, LODGING BETWEEN THE DOUBLE SPROCKET OF THE CLUTCH ASSEMBLY, THE LOWER BOLT WAS BENT, THE INNER PRIMARY CASE WAS LIGHTLY DAMAGED, THE CHAIN WAS DAMAGED BEYOND SAFE USE, AND THE TENSIONER MOUNT WAS BENT, THERE WAS A LOUD KNOCKING DUE TO THE CHAIN RUNNING OVER THE BOLT IN THE SPROCKET, THIS FAILURE CAUSED VEHICLE TO STALL, USE OIL, RUN ROUGH, AND EXPERIENCE A SPARK KNOCK. *SLC

8 of 8 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2004
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
200410100Routine
20031000Routine
20026000Routine
2001 — this page8000Routine
19994000Routine
19983000Routine
19971000Routine

Compare every Road King year →

Reading this record

No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.