Harley fixed my issues with a dealer but problems with my X440 remain

I think Harley-Davidson India did a shoddy job on the motorcycle's electronics and connectivity side - implementation as well as testing.

BHPian rustyg recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

2 weeks on and the bad experience continues with Harley and one of its dealers (basically a Hero dealer, not even trying to be an HD dealer by actions).

Dealer

• 2 weeks passed and no contact or response on issues raised earlier from the dealership.
• No update on the Connect issue / accessories, not even a call.
• Registration which was promised in 4 days - before making the payment, is still going 19 days on since payment. On calling the Hero sales person (don't have the number for the Primea showroom as it was never shared), on this and other issues- I am straight away told to contact their GM - if I may.

Harley Davidson India and Vehicle

• I called HD customer care 2 times in the last 10 days, they asked me to send mail and mentioned that they would raise a concern with the dealer to higher management. Nothing yet and they even cut the phone call this evening when I was not taking excuses being made.
• No update on the HD connect issue, I was today asked to contact another dealer to discuss this- I seriously don't know the reason to contact a dealer who didn't sell it to me. They even declined to arrange the call.
• Bike- I skidded in the parking at 10 KMPH. These are sports + performance tubeless tyres with fewer threads.
• According to me, the placement is cruising, easygoing, responsible biking and not high-speed sport profile. I think it mismatches the bike, but maybe it's just me and hope the product managers have done the target segment needs and riding habits analysis. These are different profiles of tyres and suggest to be careful on low friction surfaces if there is any water.
• Bike has a little bigger turning radius and comes with a wider handlebar. I would prefer a little smaller one and if it was - it would make it a great city traffic manoeuvring bike. Hope there would be a reason for bigger handles for the weight and width of the tank.
• The sound is growing much sweeter and awesome with every 10 KMs.

If only they had chosen a decent professional dealer for me to pick the vehicle and not rushed into taking out the bike with no sign of accessories being available yet and problems being acknowledged or resolved.

Update

More on the issues and points I mentioned about the dealership

Dealership issues

Post my mail to HD and / or the posts here, I heard from the MD of the dealership. (I am withholding the name as I am not sure if I should name him)

He acknowledged all issues and took immediate steps for:

• RSA-  He was surprised by sales messaging on RSA being sold as mandatory. Acknowledged and refunded the amount within an hour of the call.
• Registration and Number Plate - on hearing about the problem and delay - Followed up and got the number plate delivered on the same day and fitted at my place. Service to fit at home was an unheard-of thing. Great.
• Contact - Acknowledged and provided his own contact details and has been responsive to all my messages and calls since then.

Bike Issues

• Connect and App - There is an acknowledgement from HD for this issue with iOS. No ETA is given. Hopefully, a firmware upgrade can be expected by the end of the year. I am still waiting for a response to my mail from HD or any call from them.
• Heating problem - I have been promised to do a detailed check during the next service in 10-12 days, to see if there is more heating than other bikes. However, looking at the vlog in the above thread it seems the issue is in lower gears with all bikes. Let's see what is found.
• No information on accessories etc - This is for anyone waiting for it. The back rest is expected in a few days while merchandise from HD is expected by Dec end. I think this is true for all dealerships. There is no timeline or info for mud flaps etc for the splashing issue.
• Display issue - Those are genuine issues and the delay in updating of fuel level or incorrect info all of a sudden is there. I think Harley did a shoddy job on the electronics and connectivity side - implementation as well as testing. I don't mind that for a primarily mechanical item- but I do have a problem with making it as a point of differentiation between variants and charging for that but not taking enough pains to walk the mile.

All in all, so far the dealer has attempted and fixed the easy things. The reason for my long post is when I have named anyone for insufficient / lack of service - I need to acknowledge any effort to fix that. And I have seen genuine attempts in the last 2 days. Let's see how it goes from here but it's Harley's turn to fix bigger issues.

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