Disturbed Cycles & HRHDforums

[Rick]

A bit long but I feel very informative
Certainly if you think your paying
too much at the dealer
And that you have no choice in the matter

How warranties work

The question gets asked often enough: “Will putting (fill in the
blank) on my bike void my warranty?” The short answer to that is:
“Wrong question.” That’s because the real concerns lie in how the machine
will hold up and perform both during and after any warranty considerations.
And, truth be told, there are lots of concerns because there are,
in fact, lots of warranties!

It’s not a good plan, for example, to buy and install a set of swoopy,
sexy “designer” drag pipes on a whim in Sturgis then ride the new
sled home like you stole it, without the benefit of an EFI remap.
That will burn up a computer-controlled
EFI engine quite nicely.

Why should the factory pay for this kind of dumb move?
You can’t get away with just anything, warranty or no!

Sometimes, however, it makes sense to try a smart move.
Case in point: from 1999 through 2006 most
Twin Cams have something of a designed-in time bomb ticking away
inside the cam chest. Tensioner failures and the resulting hassles tend to
occur at mileage intervals beyond
the factory’s two-year, unlimited-mileage coverage. Since the vast
majority of new riders won’t get enough miles on the machine for
this issue to arise before the time part of the warranty runs out, it will
most likely be on you to fix the
thing, sooner or later. Put another way, Harley knows odds are the stuff
isn’t likely to break on their watch, or their dime. Knowing that a gear-
drive conversion solves the problem for the life of the motor, would you
hesitate to make the modification?
Presuming the motorcycle is to be yours for the long term, and the manufacturer is simply baby-sitting for a
short time, where does the responsibility (and reliability) really rest?

Well, whether The Motor Company likes it or not, most of the intelligent answers to warranty questions
for us owners are a matter of common sense. Meaning performance
pipes and an air cleaner have no bearing on a defect in the paint job.
Or, more subtly, adding cams shouldn’t create tranny failures. In broader
strokes,

Legally, a vehicle manufacturer
(let alone a dealer) cannot void any
warranty on a vehicle due to an aftermarket part unless they can prove that
the aftermarket part caused or contributed to the specific failure in the
vehicle (per the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, a federal consumer
protection law).

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty
Act (15 U.S.C. 2302(C)) regulates
(so-called “Limited”) warranties.
The essence of the law concerning aftermarket vehicle parts is that a vehicle manufacturer may not condition a
written (or implied) warranty on the consumer using parts or services that are identified by brand,
trade, or corporate name (this includes Harley-Davidson)unless the parts or service are provided free of charge.

Translation: You do not need to
use “factory” oil, filters, parts or shop time to maintain a valid warranty…
and the dealer can’t make you.

This law also means that the use of an aftermarket part alone is not
cause for denying the warranty. (Particularly if the aftermarket parts
actually improve things, such as the aforementioned gear-drive cam conversion, to name one.)
However, the law’s protection does not extend to
aftermarket parts in situations where
such parts actually caused the damage being claimed under the warranty. (Like stupid exhaust tricks!) By
the same token, no warrantor of a consumer product may condition a
written or implied warranty of such
product against the consumers using, in connection with such product, any
article or service which is identified by other brand, trade or corporate names.

Translation: Just because a given
dealer may have a bad taste for and/ or attitude about, say, NGK spark
plugs or Fram oil filters of proper specification, doesn’t mean they can void the warranty simply because
you prefer to use them.

And, regarding warranty #2,
“Ye ol’ emissions,” on your new
Twinkie: Clean Air Act Warranty
Provisions (42 U.S.C. S 7541 (C) (3)
(B)) requires vehicle makers to provide two emissions-related warranties: a production warranty and a
performance warranty. The production warranty requires the vehicle
maker to warrant that the vehicle is
designed, built and equipped so that it conforms to emissions requirements at the time of sale.

(This law has been on the books for a long
time, but don’t worry that you’ll ever be required to install 2006
emissions equipment on a 1996 Harley—won’t happen. Also note:
“Dealers” are not mentioned and have no real discretion here, except
regarding this next part…)
The performance warranty requires the vehicle maker to warrant that the
vehicle will comply with applicable emissions requirements as tested
under state vehicle emissions inspection programs (none are in force or in practice for motorcycles in
most states that I know of) for the warranty periods specified in the
law.

(For 1995 and later vehicles, the warranty is two years/24,000
miles for all emissions-related parts and eight years/80,000 miles for the
catalytic converter, electronic emissions control unit and on-board diagnostic device). The performance
warranty is conditioned on the vehicle being properly maintained and operated. (And the main reason for
its inclusion in this dissertation is that you might actually find yourself
in a situation where the emissions portion of your warranty will get
you free parts and repairs that the main warranty may not—EFI stuff
like injectors, plug wires, ECMs and such, for example.)

Like the Magnuson-Moss Act, vehicle manufacturers may not
refuse warranty repairs under the Clean Air Acts performance and
defect warranties merely because aftermarket parts have been installed
on the vehicle.

(Tricky, but for the time being, let’s just say that a gadget like a
Power Commander installed on your machine could theoretically
void only the performance portion of the emissions warranty—not the equipment part.)

So, how does this really affect you?

Your rights to personalize your vehicle

You have the right to buy high-quality, reliable aftermarket performance and specialty parts, accessories
and styling options.

You have the right to use high-quality aftermarket parts and know
that your new vehicle warranty claims will be honored. Legally,
warranty denial works only if there is proof an aftermarket part caused
the failure being claimed.

You have the right to patronize independent retail stores and shops
for vehicle parts and service. The aftermarket offers a bewildering
selection of performance and specialty parts, accessories and styling
options. These aftermarket products
satisfy the most discriminating customers seeking personalized vehicles
for today’s lifestyle and, perhaps even more importantly, provide
viable, significant and in some instances superior alternatives to
factory-supplied parts and accessories. That’s the “Catch 22” in this
whole thing.

[b]An independent shop is often a better choice for routine
service, but not even an option if you have a claim, since the factory
will reimburse only its franchised dealers for any parts and labor
involved in “warranty work.”

You have the right (speaking of the above) to actively oppose any
proposed (or existing) laws or regulations that will reduce your freedom to use aftermarket parts and
services or curtail your ability to take part in the motorcycling hobbies of your choice.

Fact is, there are several warranties involved regarding new Harley-Davidson motorcycles, including (as
expressed in your owner’s manual) noise, emissions, and the “materials
and workmanship” biggie we all regard (or disregard) most. And those
are just the ones that are “legitimate” new vehicle warranties. There are
others, like replacement tire or battery warranties. Some, you might get
to pay for in more ways than one, whether you ever use them or not.

I’ll try to explain… No doubt,
the factory’s cost for coverage reflects in the price of the machines on
the showroom floor. In a very real sense, there are several bucks included in the MSRP
directly related to this cost. Currently, the language of
H-D’s warranty-speak leans heavily
on the “two-year” aspect of coverage. That clock ticks whether out on
a ride or stuck in the garage.

The unlimited-mileage part of the warranty is very underplayed and it doesn’t surprise me one bit.

Yet it stands to reason that the relative costs to the
Company of a machine that remains unused for 90 percent of that time,
versus one that accumulates 40,000– 50,000 miles (or more) in the same
period are enormously different! Let me put it this way: For what these
buggers cost, if I were to buy a new one, I’d ride the friggin’ tires off it for
that first two years! The primary reason being, I’d want that warranty
money imbedded in my purchase price back, so I’d take it in “trade.” What the hell;

if I’ve got to spend money, time and effort to keep the warranty valid
anyway, I might as well see what kinds
of “defects in materials and workmanship” might come up under serious use and mileage. (Nothing else
makes as much sense, presuming one doesn’t buy a Harley merely to
impress the neighbors.)

Instead, people who don’t know Harleys well or ride enough to know,
spend additional big bucks on a so-called “extended warranty,” which
isn’t! Any extended warranty is really an insurance policy, and consequently
not nearly as useful as the factory item. Without entering into a debate
on the subject, I’ll simply state:

Never buy one of these until you are absolutely comfortable with the specifics
of the thing and whether or not the shop you will wind up using for the
work on your bike will take it as payment. Please, please pay attention to
this little detail: I said, “wind up using,” not “start out using.” Too
often, those are two different establishments by the time any of your
warranties are used up or any claims are settled.

You see, in the end, there are no
real guarantees anyway, so the burning question asked at the beginning
of this article almost never applies to
anything but the power train when it’s

asked and is never adequately answered, except by you. Perhaps
the truly thoughtful version of the classic inquiry should look something
a bit more like this: “How will the modifications I intend to make, properly done, affect the machine I own in
the long run?” Notice the idea of “warranty” becomes merely an implied subset here?

For best results, consider working
with performance-oriented dealerships and/or Independent shops with
a proven history of working with customers and their Harleys, not just a
set of rules and guidelines that only
matter till the “new” wears off.[/b]