Harley-Davidson VRSCF problems and owner complaints

WHILE DRIVING ON A SURFACE STREET APPROXIMATELY 40MPH I WAS CUT OFF. APPLIED BOTH FRONT AND REAR BRAKES. ABS ENGAGED NORMALLY. WITHOUT INCIDENT BUT AFTER THAT THE FRONT BRAKE LEVER BECAME EXTREMELY STIFF. AND ONLY GOT STIFFER UNTIL IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO GET ANY STOPPING ACTION ON THE FRONT WHEEL. ..UPDATED 02/10/17 *BF THE ABS ACTUATOR WAS REPLACED, NORMAL BRAKING RETURNED. APPROXIMATELY A YEAR LATER AGAIN ON SURFACE STREET AT APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME BEGAN TO PULL AWAY THEN PANIC STOPPED. I APPLIED BOTH BRAKES, THE A…

Owner-reported narrative. 68,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10884850 at NHTSA ↗

WHILE EXITING MY DRIVEWAY AND ATTEMPTING TO USE THE REAR BRAKE PEDAL, I FOUND THAT I COULD NOT PRESS IT AND HAD ONLY THE FRONT BRAKES. I FOUND THAT WHILE THE MOTORCYCLE WAS STATIONARY IF I FORCED THE PEDAL ALL THE WAY DOWN, IT WOULD WORK NORMALLY, BUT WOULD SEIZE UP AGAIN WITHOUT WARNING WHILE RIDING. I TOOK THE MOTORCYCLE TO A DEALERSHIP FOR SERVICE, AND THEY RECOMMENDED CHANGING THE REAR BRAKE PADS, WHICH I DID. THEY THEN CALLED BACK LATER STATING THAT THE "ABS MODULE" NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, WHICH I COULD NOT AFFORD AT THE TIME. CURRENTLY TH…

Owner-reported narrative. 9,885 miles reported. Look up ODI 10916224 at NHTSA ↗

IN JUNE 2016, I WAS RIDING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, WHEN MY REAR MOTORCYCLE BRAKE SUDDENLY FAILED. WHEN THE CALIPER FAILED, THE PADS WERE LOCKED AGAINST THE ROTOR AND WOULD NOT RELEASE. I EXPERIENCE EXTREME LOSS OF POWER AND IMMEDIATELY PULLED OFF THE ROAD, LUCKILY WITHOUT INCIDENT. THE ROTOR WAS ALREADY RED HOT AND THE BIKE WAS UNRIDEABLE AS THE REAR BRAKE WAS UNABLE TO BE DISENGAGED. I WAS TOWED TO THE LOCAL HARLEY DAVIDSON DEALER. THEY REPLACED THE REAR MASTER CYCLINDER, ROTOR AND ALL BRAKE LINES. FEB 2014: STARTED BIKE TO TAKE IT FOR ITS FIRS…

Owner-reported narrative. 4,300 miles reported. Look up ODI 10956811 at NHTSA ↗

FUEL LEVEL SENDER FAILURE, THIS IS THE FOURTH UNIT THAT HAS FAILED AND REPLACED IN LESS THAN 24,000 MILES SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED NEW. PREMIUM FUEL ALWAYS USED . NO AFTERMARKET FUEL SUPPLEMENTS ADDED. THE MOTORCYCLE RAN OUT OF FUEL WHILE TRAVELING 75MPH ON THE I-17 FREEWAY, ENGINE STALLED OUT IN FLIGHT IN THE MIDDLE LANE OF TRAFFIC FLOW. I HAD A VERY HARD TIME TRYING TO NEGOTIATE SAFE LANE CHANGE SINCE TRAFFIC WAS MOVING FASTER THAN I WAS. I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO FINALLY STEER OVER TO THE BREAKDOWN LANE WHILE AVOIDING A NEAR COLLISI…

Owner-reported narrative. 22,700 miles reported. Look up ODI 11023905 at NHTSA ↗

THE BOLT THAT HOLDS THE SHIFTER AND LEFT FOOT PEDAL BREAKS, ALLOWING THE FOOT PEDAL TO ROTATE DOWN AND BECOME UNUSABLE AND ALSO ALLOWS IT TO COME OUT AND BECOME FOD ON THE ROADWAY. WHEN THIS HAPPENS, THE RIDERS LEFT FOOT FALLS TO THE PAVEMENT. MINE HAS BROKEN TWICE, BOTH TIMES AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. AFTER THE FIRST INCIDENT, I REPAIRED USING THE SAME DESIGN EXCEPT WITH A STRONGER BOLT. THE SECOND TIME, I ALTERED THE DESIGN AS CAN BE SEEN ON THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO I MADE TO HELP OTHERS. HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=O6SDDFQILG8. IF YOU WATCH THR…

Owner-reported narrative. 21,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10924475 at NHTSA ↗

FUEL GAUGE READS ANYWHERE FROM EMPTY TO FULL AT RANDOM TIMES - REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE ACTUAL FUEL LEVEL IN THE TANK IS. EXAMPLE: #1. I FILLED THE FUEL TANK, AS I DRIVE AWAY FROM THE GAS STATION, THE GAUGE SUDDENLY GOES TO "E", AND LOW FUEL INDICATOR COMES ON; #2. THE GAUGE FLUCTUATED FROM FULL TO EMPTY WITHIN 4 MILES OF FILLING UP. #3. AFTER FILLING THE TANK, I DRIVE DOWN THE ROAD, AND THE GAUGE READS "E" AND THE LOW FUEL INDICATOR COMES ON, I STOP TO FILL, AND ONLY 1 GALLON GOES IN BEFORE IT IS AT THE TOP; AS I DRIVE AWAY THE GAUGE READS …

Owner-reported narrative. 425 miles reported. Look up ODI 10435616 at NHTSA ↗