[himanshugoswami]

There is an online petition doing the rounds started by a Delhi based harley Davidson street 750 owner, after he and some fellow HOGs suffered terrible crashes on account of the faulty brakes in the Street 750. The Company and its showrooms/dealers have been completely apathetic to the woes of the riders and have simply used this as yet another means to extort exorbitant sums of money to rectify the damage to the bikes, whereas what they should have done is to recall the bikes and rectify the faulty brakes.

Some riders have had very narrow escapes, including members of my riding group but repeated requests to Capital Harley Davidson have fallen on deaf ears.

some HOGS have now started a petition to HD India management on www.change.org

the URL for the petition is https://www.change.org/p/vikram-pahw...-faulty-brakes

We approached some auto mags to carry this story on account of the potential life threat to the riders, but i guess HD india advertising rupees are far more precious for some.

Since T-Bhp is neutral and impartial, we are now posting this here to raise awareness among the riders and hope that the HD management wakes up before its too late. God forbid should a rider have a fatal crash on account of the inherently defective bikes.

HD claims to have rectified the problem in the 2016 street 750 but have flatly refused to recall earlier bikes to retrofit the improved brakes. If this is not callousness and dereliction, then i dont know what is.

I am posting this on behalf of fellow HOGS. a lot of us dont ride street 750s but have decided to throw our weight behind fellow HOG brothers since the issue is much larger than just a particular bike model.

WE call upon all like minded TBHPians to also lend support to this petition and also spread the word around. Hopefully the HD management will wake up one day!!

Here is the text of the petition:

"We are harley davidson enthusiasts and proud owners of HD Street 750. We are writing to you on behalf of all the HD Street 750 owners in india. We all have been facing issues with defect in Brakes of Street 750 since the day of purchase. The brakes are of poor built quality and don't offer the effective stopping power. Many of us including myself have encountered complete brake failure at speeds which could have caused fatal life threatening accidents. It has failed various performance tests & have been cursed throughout the globe. Recently, Harley-Davidson has upgraded the brakes in the new Street 750's which went on sale since October 2015 and now brakes work as expected with better breaking power in both front and rear tyres. This clearly indicated that Harley-Davidson acknowledged the issue and fixed it. This brakes upgrade is now being offered to all the existing customers for a whopping ~60 thousand rupees. Instead of Harley-Davidson themselves calling in for a recall they have made this an opportunity to earn money. This behaviour does not justify the brand Harley-Davidson's image and reputation. Specially these are Brakes that we are talking about, the most essential part for any motor vehicle and has direct impact on riders safety. Sir,we request your immediate intervention and in the interest of the safety of each and every H-D street 750 owner we demand that these faulty brakes be replaced and all pre 2016 models be RECALLED by HARLEY-DAVIDSON INDIA at the earliest ."

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

after he and some fellow HOGs suffered terrible crashes on account of the faulty brakes in the Street 750.

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

Many of us including myself have encountered complete brake failure at speeds which could have caused fatal life threatening accidents.

This is very very very serious man.

Could you give us more detail about what exactly is happening when you say "brake failure"?

Details of the individual crashes might also add greater veracity to your demand. With photos of the aftermath.

How many bikes are we talking about? All in Delhi or is this being reported from across other Indian cities?

Also, why is the petition to Harley India? This is a Harley issue. Harley India is just their Indian arm.

The Harley factory in India that makes the 750, makes it for the world. Not just India.

[himanshugoswami]

Originally Posted by ebonho

This is very very very serious man.

Could you give us more detail about what exactly is happening when you say "brake failure"?

Brakes not biting, brake pedal breaking off(!!), wheels locking prematurely, extreme brake fade....you name it its there

Details of the individual crashes might also add greater veracity to your demand. With photos of the aftermath.

These details are being collated as part of the docket being sent to Mr. Vikram Pawha, MD HDI

How many bikes are we talking about? All in Delhi or is this being reported from across other Indian cities?

The petition was started by Delhi based guys but we've now got inputs from HOGs all over the country facing similar issues

Also, why is the petition to Harley India? This is a Harley issue. Harley India is just their Indian arm.

On account of proximity. We are hoping to get an audience with the India MD. if that doesn't happen we will take it to Milwaukee.

The Harley factory in India that makes the 750, makes it for the world. Not just India.

Agreed- if we look at online forums, these problems are present in internationally sold streets, abliet a little less severe perhaps on account of better footwear- internationally streets are shod with Michiliens as opposed to MRF in India (but this is mere conjecture)

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

Please see my comments inline

My very sincere advice to you guys, having observed closely the Triumph fiasco, is that RIGHT FROM THE VERY BEGINNING do NOT let the parent company off the hook and mark them and pull them into each and every part of the battle to follow.

Do not allow them to pass the parcel between Milwaukee, Delhi and Dealer, so that in the end you are talking to 20 different people, in 40 different voices, and in the end 10 different people talk to the 40 different voices separately.

And suddenly the 40 different voices go silent.

Hope you get my drift ....

Remember, this is a PRODUCT issue, and the entire liability rests with Milwaukee.

Cheers, Doc

[bivin]

not sure if these guys make the brakes for the 750, but their company states that Harley is one of their customers.

https://www.endurancegroup.com/customers.html

[Snehal Sekhar]

I ride a street 750 and completely agree with you on the brakes. I've had to stomp on the rear brakes and engine brake as well if I need to slow down my bike in emergency situations. Does it help? In slowing down the bike a little yes, but not to bring it to a standstill. I definitely will sign the petition, but as said by the Doc in the earlier post, could you also include the HD US.

[Makesh]

Now ACI has a Review titled - Harley-Davidson pre-2016 Street 750 review, test ride
This updated Harley Street 750 review warns riders of poor brakes on pre-2016 bikes.

http://www.autocarindia.com/auto-rev...de-381197.aspx

[VW2010]

Harley - please dont do a skoda. You have some decent fan following right from the days of Terminator 1. My dream bike for many years was a fat boy but dreams do change

Its high time you re-call and provide a fix rather than treating your buyers like any other company.

Harley not fixing the brakes for original owners and taking the decision so late has its own downfall.

[Shubz]

Originally Posted by VW2010

Harley - please dont do a skoda. You have some decent fan following right from the days of Terminator 1. My dream bike for many years was a fat boy but dreams do change

Its high time you re-call and provide a fix rather than treating your buyers like any other company.

Harley not fixing the brakes for original owners and taking the decision so late has its own downfall.

Dude -- this is only about brakes on Street 750 not about the entire HD range.

Not sure if you have ridden a Fatboy - if not - I seriously recommend you do ride one. Easiest thing to do than re-do your dream.

For all -- the brakes issue has been there from the time this bike landed on the roads. One year went by. People made mods/changed pads/tires etc - some improvement seen/felt. HD probably gathered data from the initial launch (any new product could have glitches no matter how much it has been tested) and came up with upgrades.

I personally feel -- just the way they are recalling bikes to fix the Fuel Pump issue, recall to fix brakes issue -- ALL pre 2016 bikes (Street 750 only before anyone thinks am talking of the entire range) - period!

[Nithesh_M]

HD would have done a lot better if instead of updating the brakes for the 2016 model had offered customers the brake upgrades as part of recall.

[swiftnfurious]

India Bike Week is coming soon in Goa right? Hope you guys are not thinking of airing a protest there? That probably will give the much needed "rude" awakening call for HD, if they don't take this up seriously.

[a4anurag]

Now this isn't what HD should be wanting in its stint in India where the customer base to cater is large but it shouldn't be negative due to their quality and bad reputation.

Being in the premium segment, such mistakes won't be forgiven and to rejuvenate the brand image, it would take them ages. They know that the issue is doing bad to customers and is lethal to them in many ways but the mum attitude hurts when a premium segment catering manufactures gets low down to cheat.

Just spotted a similar thread in the Motorcycles Section.

Harley-Davidson has updated its line-up of motorcycles. These updates include styling changes and additional features.

The Street 750 gets new front and rear braking systems.

SOURCE: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/superb...ew-brakes.html

Should be of immense help to your data collection.

As seen, HD has updated the 750 with better brakes it is mandatory for them to recall ALL the 750's sold in India to now and upgrade the current setup to the newest one Free Of Cost. Just like what other manufacturers do when any Quality Alert is raised.

This not only strengthens their hold in the market but also gets their brand a Positive remark. Hope HD doesn't go the VW's way in ruining their image.

[VW2010]

Not sure if you have ridden a Fatboy - if not - I seriously recommend you do ride one. Easiest thing to do than re-do your dream.

Been there, done that. Moved long time out of Harley. The need to ride one was there from childhood. Imagine landing in the US and doing everything to get a motorcycle license in less than 45 days and spending the advance on renting a weekend ride on the Fatboy and riding over 400 miles each day. Yet i am more interested in the sports bikes these days which i believe are more value for money and i am very clear with vfm in motorcycles in India and i will all the time blindly choose the KTM 390 over any other offerings unless the price is competitive. Like for example having a FZ6R at 3L or a R6 at 6L which will make me think outside KTM at this point.

Dude -- this is only about brakes on Street 750 not about the entire HD range.

You nailed it. If HD thinks with the same attitude they will take the Skoda route with respect to customer sentiments. As i explained earlier someone who is an ardent fan and affordability is not in question will invariably splurge to get the overpriced Harley for he can afford it and he would hardly care about whats happening in the 750 or 500 segment.

But HD cannot ignore the fact that the fan base they are creating with the 750's and 500's can only get them more sales on other models in the future.

if i get a 750 and be treated like this i am pretty sure i will discourage not only myself but my friends to take the Harley route calling them bossy and callous with respect to customer service.

On the other hand, Harley taking the right step to recall and upgrade the bikes for good will can only increase their sale via fan following and customer worship. They can simply manage this cost by increasing 100Rs in all other models which no one would care

[gthang]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Just like what other manufacturers do when any Quality Alert is raised.

Can you give an example? Been thinking hard, can't think of any.

Originally Posted by VW2010

Been there, done that.

Guess then you have some idea of the hassles of owning an HD? Regardless of which country.

Just cruise through some forums to see the difficulties other owners face around the world with all brands.

I am not defending Harley, but as I have mentioned before in another thread which kind of flamed some people, but I say it again, the Indian Superbike market is still not mature.

Is there a benchmark in Customer service and manufacturer behavior for HD to follow? Can someone give an example of such behavior by any manufacturer in any country?

Or just the fact that one paid X amount of Rupees entitles one to a certain treatment? Wake up and smell the Samosa, I say to that.

I am a little curious about the title of this thread. "Life threatening"?

One is expected to ride within the capabilities of one's bike. If exceeded, any bike can be "life threatening". If your brakes are bad, ride slower. If you want to ride faster, get a bike with better brakes.

But expecting a manufacturer to retrofit an older model to keep up with the updates is pretty immature.

My objective is not to inflame, but can someone counter me with an example of any manufacturer fulfilling such a demand, keeping in mind the volumes (a certain percentage out of a few thousand who want this), and the cost involved.

That would be a better argument rather than bashing HD and teaching them how to do their job, which, incidentally, they have been doing very well for a long time.

Cheers

Ride Safe.

[Surya-TJet]

Originally Posted by gthang

Can you give an example? Been thinking hard, can't think of any.


Guess then you have some idea of the hassles of owning an HD? Regardless of which country.

Just cruise through some forums to see the difficulties other owners face around the world with all brands.

I am not defending Harley, but as I have mentioned before in another thread which kind of flamed some people, but I say it again, the Indian Superbike market is still not mature.

Is there a benchmark in Customer service and manufacturer behavior for HD to follow? Can someone give an example of such behavior by any manufacturer in any country?

Or just the fact that one paid X amount of Rupees entitles one to a certain treatment? Wake up and smell the Samosa, I say to that.

I am a little curious about the title of this thread. "Life threatening"?

One is expected to ride within the capabilities of one's bike. If exceeded, any bike can be "life threatening". If your brakes are bad, ride slower. If you want to ride faster, get a bike with better brakes.

But expecting a manufacturer to retrofit an older model to keep up with the updates is pretty immature.

My objective is not to inflame, but can someone counter me with an example of any manufacturer fulfilling such a demand, keeping in mind the volumes (a certain percentage out of a few thousand who want this), and the cost involved.

That would be a better argument rather than bashing HD and teaching them how to do their job, which, incidentally, they have been doing very well for a long time.

Cheers

Ride Safe.

Buddy, I don't know about your motorcycle riding / ownership experiences; but from my little experience of owning motorcycles for half a decade with more than 1,00,000 km (90% of it in touring) under my saddle, I'd like to put forth a couple of points.

1. One DOES NOT NEED a Benchmark in terms of service. Just because Brand-X does not service their bikes all very well, does not justify other brands behaving the same way. Case in Point - In spite of the Innova being highly over-priced, taxi owners and private customers flock to buy it even today. I think that should showcase the whole point behind "Quality of Service".

An even better example of a "Premium" service can be seen even today at Kawasaki service centres. I still remember my days of owning my Pulsar 220 (2009-2013). We would stand in line outside the service centre at 7.30am in the morning to get our job cards done. The Kawasaki Ninja 250 / 650 will come in casually at 11am and the vehicle will be attended to Pronto. NOT a single minute's delay. And, they would be given a certain level of benefit of doubt in warranty claims compared to Pulsar owners. I don't say its fair, but you SHOULD get your money's worth of service and peace of mind.

All that a customer expects from a motorcycle service center is to ensure that when they bring their bike in with a complaint / fault to be rectified, they want to ride out in a machine which is as close to fully functional as possible, service bills and service attitude not-withstanding.

2. Imagine you are riding at 100kmph (which is well within the operating limits of most high capacity motorcycles, including Harley) and you see a black dog run across the highway at night (which does happen in India at most places). When you want to come to an urgent stop, it should not be big deal to shed speed, especially in a bike as expensive and legendary as a Harley Davidson.

I own a Thunderbird 500 and have also test driven a Harley Street 750. From my own experience, I'm telling this for a fact - My TB brakes are far far better than the Street 750.

At the end of the day, No one is trying to "teach" Harley about "Engineering", but only asking them to fix something which was wrong from Day-1..!! When a person who has spent INR 5+ Lacs of his / her hard earned money on a product, and it turns out to be life threatening (brake pedal bending during emergency braking and brakes fading fast during spirited runs), then I will most certainly say it is poor engineering. No one expects the braking performance of a Litre Class SBK from a Street 750; but braking prowess equal to a Thunderbird is the least that can be offered..!!

I say, Harley India needs to recall all Street 750s for free of cost brake upgrade as it is the most ethical thing for a manufacturer to do..!!

Cheers and Ride Safe..!!