[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Its been a year since Harley Davidson left the market, leaving sales and service responsibilities with a new partner - Hero Motocorp.

As per the agreement, Hero MotoCorp was to sell and service Harley-Davidson motorcycles and sell parts, accessories, general merchandise, riding gear and apparel through a network of brand-exclusive Harley-Davidson dealers and Hero MotorCorp’s existing dealership network in India.



With Hero Motocorp getting ready to launch the Harley Davidson Sportster S in India at IBW 2021 - curious to know what the reality on the ground is? Any changes noticed in the dealership network or have they been maintaining status quo? How is the service quality and spare parts availability?

Sales figures are also not reported anymore. How about sales? Noticing any purchases happening - or are the existing owners looking towards rival brands for upgrade options?

[GTO]

Very keen to read about owner experiences, the kind we saw on the Chevrolet thread (Chevrolet owners, how is the spare parts availability & service since GM left India?). Was pleasantly surprised with Chevrolet owners being generally satisfied with the post-exit handling of customers. Might be the same with Hero, considering how vast their network is. But eager to hear from actual owners.

[neil.jericho]

I had recently reached out to a friend in Bombay who is a Harley Davidson bike owner and he told me the following
- The India business has been totally screwed with the departure of the company
- Owners are not able to get basic parts for newer models
- For modern bikes like the 2020 Fat Bob, important parts are not available
- Sometimes, the time frames for parts waiting ranges between 6 to 7 months

As for sales, the local Harley Davidson dealership had taken out an advert in the paper for the new Pan America. But with the rumoured / reported issues that the Pan America has faced in Indian conditions, and the lack of company support, the bike is a very tough recommendation to make in 2021.

[VW2010]

The sales have been pretty paltry as well. Sales dropped by over 80% to around 600 odd bikes. Harley Davidson was a cult bike. But the modern bikes with better reliability and support have given enough options to push Harley Davidson down the pecking order. Today the market is filled with so many better bikes from KTM, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Triumph, and even Royal Enfield.

Considering the sales, finding a owner who got into Team Bhp is going to be a challenge

[saikishor]

Saw this on the November 2021 Autocar issue.

[anjan_c2007]

The Harley Davidson exit from India could be best described as a "Shahrukh Khan Nite" where the superstar is the centre of all attraction. Now sometime midway during this programme, Shahrukh Khan exits citing unavoidable reasons leaving the rest of the programme to be continued by his clones, lookalikes and extras.

[adi_sun]

I can provide some insights on this; bought a Harley Davidson Low Rider S 114 in Aug and have put about 4K km on it - just did a Gurgaon to Jaisalmer trip on it after the first service. Here is my experience :

Buying:
- The motorcycles are CBU only, just unboxed and handed over after PDI
- Sales team is well mannered, certainly its a better buying experience than Triumph / Ducatti (that's another post to write, maybe ownership thread)
- Most of the sales and support staff is the same as pre Hero days and I don't think there is any change in strength

First service:
- Seamless, no issues with parts / dealership attitude
- A warranty replacement was identified (stock exhaust) the order is placed and should be received in nest 30 days - standard time for all super bikes I think
- Fast moving parts and accessories are well stocked

Breakfast riders etc
- This is perhaps the biggest advantage of HD, they organize rides and plan them well
- After the change to Hero there was a brief time when rides were not organized but then that was Covid times too
- Rides are back thankfully so no complains here as well

let me post some pictures as well

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

- Owners are not able to get basic parts for newer models
- For modern bikes like the 2020 Fat Bob, important parts are not available
- Sometimes, the time frames for parts waiting ranges between 6 to 7 months

It's not a new for Harley in India. I have waited for over 3 months just for a small part like Fuel Filter in the tank. There were 2 in stocks at dealership and 1 more incoming, all against waiting customers before me in the queue . This was in 2018. Harley will never (exceptions very few) do Air Import and will get everything via some logistic company which most likely use Sea freight. It's the same issue with many other Bike & Car companies which are import dependent but most have figured out a way and customers have to wait less.

Going forward, I won't be surprised if Hero is able to streamline this for better. They may have their own priorities and in my limited interaction with owners and direct with showroom for purchase, they are doing good.

[troika]

The state of Harley service is not too good, to put it mildly. I am a Harley owner for last 6 years. Last year or so has been tough for Harley owners, Basic spares for servicing have been hard to come by. I had to procure oil , oil filter , gasket etc on the internet and take it to the service station for my last service about 6 months ago. There have been instances of HOG’s selling off their Harleys after getting frustrated over waiting for spares ( some guys have orders pending for 6-8 months).

[Straight6_N54]

I own a 2014 FatBoy, even when HD was in their best days their service was average or below average. First 3 months of owning a brand new 20 lakh Rupee bike, I had 4 failed batteries and an ignition malfunction. Official service had no clues about these repeated issues until I gave up once a blasted at them for their incompetency. Even after every issue was resolved, routine services were just average.
FNG's are the key. Luckily I have a very good FNG in my hometown and since last 3 years haven't gone gone to the authorised service.
I would suggest buyers to look elsewhere, even during the golden days in our country reliability and parts were constantly an issue. If their iconic model like FatBoy could give alot of reliability issues, it is most likely to occur across their line ups.

[bj96]

I own a Jun'17 manufactured Fat Boy. This is ride-by-wire model and most probably from the last production run of 103-Ci Twin-Cam "B" engine, before Milwaukee-8 platform took over.

In my 4 years of ownership, I have taken the Fatty across the length and breadth of our vast country including a trip to Nepal. I have ridden on no roads, dusty gravels and pouring rains. Odometer currently reads about 27.5k kms (despite two lockdowns). My bike is stock- no exhaust or intake modification. I've installed only LED turn signals and Halogen Fog lights (Hella) and some touring accessories (all HD OEMs).

Other than yearly services at HD workshop, a warranty claim on turn signal controller plus battery and a set of new tires, I haven't had to deal with anything (touch wood) extraordinary. I don't know why HDs are so maligned with respect to reliability when stories of purpose built ADVs stranded with bent rims and failed electronics abound the web.

Service experience with dealership has been good so far. This year's service (after Hero taking over) is due. Will know what has changed, but, mostly I am expecting a similar experience as the dealership and staffs are same.

It is a mechanically simple machine and tons of literature on the internet for DIY fixes. When HDI announced departure, I started accumulating tools, particularly wrench set and Allen/Star keys as the bike needs non-metric tools. Parts can be sourced privately from multiple online sources.

Together with my Bullet, this bike is a keeper. They don't make simple air-cooled bikes with push-rods, belt drives, hand controlled decompression and kick starters anymore these days. I plan to pass on these machines to my kids and I am sure it will outlast their generation too .

Couple of pictures of my ride attached .

[KP56]

Just like many others have said.. the waiting period for bigger / major parts have increased a lot than before..

my dad and myself met with an accident ( both of us escaped with minor injuries by God's grace) on our 13' iron 883 and the whole front end had to be replaced ( front wheel,disc rotor, front forks,triple clamps) and a few other parts as well. The bike went in on the 6th of October 2020 and we were promised by the ASC in Chennai that we would get the bike back by the second week of December 2020 but only got it back in March 2021 after literally following up to them on a weekly basis over 6 months.

[mindshack]

I have owned a Harley 48 for 8 years now. Had absolutely no troubles getting it serviced till 2019, but since then its just been downhill. Parts take time and the best way to get your bike fixed is speak to fellow riders on where and how to source them. Recently I hear there are no batteries available and the dealership service center guys are recommending owners to FNG and even suggesting which ones. I am considering to sell her (though absolutely love her and have taken good care), since I fear she will someday soon turn into a garage queen. But the prices too have plummeted (totally inverse to current car market) and am worried I may need to take a big hit.

[Venkatesh]

Harley-Davidson has issued a recall for Pan America 1250 motorcycles built between March 8 and October 13 over seat base failure issue.

The recall states that 2,689 units are affected, and this will apply to the motorcycles sold in India as well.



Source

[AdityaH]

Originally Posted by mindshack

I have owned a Harley 48 for 8 years now. Had absolutely no troubles getting it serviced till 2019.

Hey!

I just bought a 2015 Street bob, its my first HD, could you help me out with good FNGs and HOGs of Mumbai?

Thank You!
Adi