Owners filed 9 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the visibility › rearview mirrors/devices › exterior. No safety recall has been issued.
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visibility › Rearview Mirrors/Devices › Exterior | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Structure | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Foundation Components › Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Equipment | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 HARLEY DAVIDSON SPORTSTER SPORT. THE FRAME BRACKET THAT HOLDS THE SPEEDOMETER FAILED DUE TO METAL FATIGUE. THE DEALER REPLACED THE PART BUT IT FAILED AGAIN AFTER 2,500 MILES. THE PART WAS REPLACED A THIRD TIME AND HAS FAILED AGAIN. THE # OF CYLINDERS WAS UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT MILEAGE IS 7,500 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 2,500. UPDATED 06/26/07. *JB
SPEEDOMETER-TACHOMETER BRACKET BREAKS FROM EXCESSIVE ENGINE VIBRATION THROUGH MOUNTING BOLT HOLES CAUSING GAUGE ASSEMBLY TO FALL OFF WHILE RIDING. UNIT HANGS BY THE WIRES & INTERFERES WITH THE STEERING FORKS & CONTROL OF VEHICLE. ALSO EXCESSIVE ENGINE VIBRATION AS DEEMED NORMAL BY THE MANUFACTURER CAUSES NUMBNESS IN THE HANDS & FEET WITHIN 7 MILES OF RIDING & ULTIMATELY DIFFICULTY IN CONTROLLING VEHICLE.*AK
OK, MY COMPLAINT IS ON A 2003 HARLEY DAVIDSON 1200 CUSTOM SPORTSTER. THE FRONT HEADLIGHT HAS FALLEN OFF DUE TO THE BOLT SHEARING FROM VIBRATION AND SO HAS THE REAR VIEW MIRROR ON THE LEFT SIDE. HARLEY HAS REPLACED THE ENGINE AT ABOUT 1300 MILES, STATING THAT IT HAD AN UNSAFE VIBRATION. THE ENGINE REPLACEMENT DID NOT FIX THE EXCESSIVE VIBRATION AND I HAVE SINCE LOST THESE PARTS. THEY NOW TELL ME THAT THE UNSAFE VIBRATION IS INDEED SAFE. *AK
WHILE RIDING SPEEDOMETER DOES NOT REGISTER THE CORRECT RATE OF SPEED. WHEN THIS OCCURS CONSUMER HAS TO REACH DOWN AND TURN THE VEHICLE OFF WHILE STILL RIDING, AND TURN IT BACK ON AGAIN BEFORE THE SPEEDOMETER WILL SHOW THE CORRECT THE RATE OF SPEED. VEHICLE HAD BEEN AT REPAIR SHOP FOUR TIMES FOR THIS PROBLEM, AND THE MANUFACTURER HAD BEEN INFORMED.*AK
LEFT REARVIEW MIRROR STEM BROKE AND MIRROR FELL OFF. THIRD TIME A MIRROR ON THE SAME SIDE HAS BROKE OFF OF MY 2003 HARLEY DAVIDSON 1200 CUSTOM SPORTSTER. THE MIRRORS ARE FACTORY AND ARE LONG STEMMED.*AK
MIRRORS ON 2003 HARLEY DAVIDSON 1200 CUSTOM DO NOT SIT OUT WIDE ENOUGH TO SEE WHAT IS BEHIND YOU. HAVE ALMOST BEEN IN TWO ACCIDENTS BECAUSE I WAS NOT ABLE TO SEE BEHIND ME. SPENT 200.00 ON AFTERMARKET MIRRORS AND HAVE SAME PROBLEM. *NLM
2003 HARLEY DAVIDSON SPORTSTER LEAKING OIL OUT OF THE AIR CLEANER.*MR *TS
THE CONSUMER APPLIED THE BRAKE BUT THERE WAS NO REACTION. THE CONSUMER ALMOST REAR ENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE CONSUMER LATER NOTICED THAT BRAKE FLUID WAS LEAKING OUT. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT SOMEONE FORGOT TO PUT THE WASHERS IN THE BRAKE LINE. *NLM
THE MIRRORS HAVE A TENDENCY TO SHEAR OFF WHILE RIDING. BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT SIDE MIRRORS HAVE EACH SHEARED OFF 2 TIMES WHILE RIDING. THIS MOTORCYCLE WAS PURCHASED IN 8/1998 AND THE FIRST INCIDENT OCCURRED IN 10/1998 WITH THE RIGHT SIDE MIRROR. THE SECOND INCIDENT OCCURRED IN 4/2000 WITH THE LEFT SIDE MIRROR. THE THIRD INCIDENT OCCURRED IN 9/2001 WITH THE RIGHT SIDE MIRROR AGAIN. AND THE MOST RECENT INCIDENT TOOK PLACE ON 4/27/2003 WITH THE LEFT SIDE MIRROR AGAIN. EACH TIME THIS OCCURRED, THE OWNER REPLACED THE MIRRORS WITH THE SAME STYLE GENUINE HARLEY DAVIDSON FACTORY MIRRORS. THE MATERIAL THAT THE FACTORY MIRRORS ARE BUILT FROM CANNOT WITHSTAND THE VIBRATION OF THE MOTORCYCLE AND CONTINUE TO SHEAR OFF. THE MOTORCYCLE ONLY HAS 14K MILES ON IT AND SHOULD NOT HAVE EXPERIENCED SO MANY FAILURES IN THE MIRRORS DURING THIS TIME. *TT
9 of 9 complaints, reproduced as filed.
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.