When I finally purchased my first Harley-Davidson motorcycle 26 years ago I was still excited about owning a big V-Twin, after driving Yamahas, Suzukis and Hondas for decades that were all under 1000 cc. As I was pushing 50 I decided there may never be a better opportunity. Along with ownership cam a complimentary 1 year HOG membership. When renaewal time came I calculated that if I remained a member for 5 plus years the annual fee would exceed the cost of becoming a life member of HOG with full rights and benefits, whatever those may be. I subsequently joined the local chapter to see what it would be like to share the camaraderie of being part of the group. Let me take a moment to explain that I am not a joiner, I left the boy scouts after the first meeting. Attending an event previously made it look exciting. I guess I refer solitude and always enjoy a greater sense of freedom in being a solitary rider.
Being a HOG member has not felt like an inclusive experience and since H-D orphaned me years ago when I was informed they would no longer service my vehicle because it wasn't fuel injected. Within a year a defective ignition part and health issues kept me from riding for a few years. By the time I was ready again the Dyna needed extensive restoration. Lacking support from H-D made the endeavor a lengthy and frustrating process. It has been just over 2 years with upgrades keeping it off the road for most of the last 14 months. But the worst was yet to come when I went out for an early morning ride.
Funny story. Just not laughing right now. I went for a morning ride to Kartchner Caverns in S.E. Arizona. I had just watched this video the previous day, including the part about lubricating cables. Well, about 5 miles from home, on my return trip, my throttle cable snapped as I accelerated up the on-ramp of I-10 westbound. 😢
Here's the funny part. As a life member of HOG since 1999 I called for roadside assistance. The only problem is that they cannot tow it 5 miles to my home where I have an enclosed trailer for transporting it. They cannot tow it to Different Strokes the same distance away. No, they are only able to tow it to an authorized Harley-Davidson dealership, which is closed and refuses to work on my '98 FXDWG because it's too old. I figure I can talk the driver into dropping it off at Different Strokes and decide to wait it out in the hot AZ sun (reaching 101°) for 30 minutes to get an ETA which was at least another 90 minutes. So, here's the punchline. They don't show up. After 2 hours they call to say their truck broke down. 🤨🤬
But hey, it was FREE. 😂
When I contacted Steve Harrison at Different Strokes he was able to dispatch Red Beard with 20 minutes. I was about to reach out to emergency services as I had become dehydrated. To Steve and Red Beard I am extremely grateful. I have reached out to HOG to get an explanation and apology for having been abandoned on the side of a busy interstate for more than 3 hours in 100 degree plus heat. At this time I have heard nothing. Again, no one listens, no one cares.
So what is my point? Well, in my experience the entire Harley Davidson image of supporting the culture and mystique developed over a century and more of historic machines was just Hollywood hype. And now they are so far out of touch with their base that the company is in death throes. I'm aging out and plan to work at maintaing my health to ride another 5 years until I'm 80, maybe longer.
Share your experiences, both pro and con, that you've had when dealing with H-D.
