When first starting my motorcycle when cold, the motorcycle will sputter and try to stall. Because of this, several times, while turning the motorcycle tries to stall. This has almost caused me to almost crash several times. I took the motorcycle to a harley davisdon dealer twice. The first time the dealer replaced the spark plugs. The second time the dealer found nothing wrong and I was advised too let the motorcycle run for about 2-3 minutes after first starting the motorcycle. This is a very dangerous and serious defect.
Engine & cooling
Harley-Davidson FLD Engine problems by year
3 complaints filed with NHTSA about the Harley-Davidson FLD's engine & cooling. Stalling, loss of power, oil consumption, overheating, head gaskets, timing chains and engine failure.
Engine complaints by model year
Latest FLD engine complaints
While riding the bike I heard an unusual metal noise (ever so slight next to the sound of the bike) looked down to discover rear brake rod disconnected from rear brake peddle. Clevis pin and cotter apparently dropped off the bike. When I went to tap the brake peddle, to stop the bike, it was horizontal to the pavement and completely inoperable. Black widow h-d put a 1/4 x 1" bolt - washer - washer - nut [with loctite] on it and ordered a replacement pin. Secondary problem is an overwhelming odor of un-burned...
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gasoline that fills the garage within minutes of parking the bike, I have smelt the gasoline while sitting at a light as well. I have now made the issue know twice first time to naples hd (at the 1,000 mile service) and secondarily to black widow hd (on 10/19/15). I am going to purchase a meter that I can collect information regarding the raw gasoline in the air inside the space where the bike is parked. As gasoline is a well known carcinogen.....Updated 12/02/15 *bf; updated 4/24/18*jb updated 05/17/18*jb
While riding down the freeway at night with a group of other riders, vehicle lost all power to motor. Throttle was unresponsive to any rider input. Had to pull bike over onto shoulder. Attempts to restart the vehicle were initially unsuccessful, after a few attempts engine started fine. Same behavior occurred again in april of this year while driving down a freeway in the greater san francisco bay area. Dealer states I must have hit the power button, which I am completely sure did not happen. I know of at least two other owners of this same model that have encountered the same problem. Dealership refuses to investigate further. *Tr
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked daily. Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data