I have a 1996 FLHT that I really ride. I've had it for 5 years and have put over a hundred thousand miles on it. The troubles have been few and thank goodness I am able to work on it myself. I wouldn't even attempt to work on the newer models. The EVO engine is wonderful and the enjoyment I have had is worth every penny I have spent.

Now to the real problems:

Finding a repair shop I can trust has become a task I am no longer engaging as I have been through every dealership and a few shops and all have proven to be unreliable, even to the point of life threatening mistakes, oversight, laziness or poor management. That is why I bought the repair books to work on them myself. The special tools I could not fabricate myself are quite costly but my life and my wife's life are worth it. The dealerships that I found to be totally unreliable are, Republic Harley Davidson, Mancuso Motorcycles (Both locations), Goe Cycles, Big Dog (not here anymore) and of course several repair shops.

A friend I ride with has a 1996 FLHTC and about a year ago we were riding and he heard a noise that troubled him. Upon checking we found the swingarm broken completely at the axle hole on the left side. Luckily the washer jammed in the swingarm preventing the rear wheel from breaking loose and possibly killing both of them. Of course Harley had never heard of any such problems which seems to be their way of responding to problems as well as their dealerships. (I could tell you horror stories from the dealerships I mentioned earlier but that's for later)

I recently decided to do a brake job all round and grease my bearings. Upon removing my rear bags, what do you think I found? Yep, a cracked swingarm. I was lucky that I decided to do the work and found it before it broke completely and caused all the damage it did to my friends bike (several hundred dollars to the main drive sprocket and bearings, belt and of course swingarm, not to mention possibly being killed.

I wonder how many lost control accidents where the rider and bike were destroyed were from a swingarm breaking and the riders weren't so lucky. Well, I took pictures of my damage still on the bike and I think my friend did as well. If anyone wants to kick Harley's ass over this I will be happy to provide all the info I can to help with a law suit. My email address , if you post it is jim@texastwowheeler.com

Needless to say I am looking for a new swingarm and really don't want another Harley death trap swingarm. Does anyone know of one?

I could as I say go for much longer with stories of mine and others about the dealerships we have had problems with, but I won't. I'm sure you all have your own.

Jim