Ride Reports

A Harley Story

OK, this is a story about a Harley Davidson break down (pause...to allow all the cynics to get the laughter out of their system). In February 2003, the wife and I set off from Adelaide on our 2000 FLHT to tour Tasmania for 3 weeks. Everything was purring along nicely after we landed at Devonport, and we soon found that whoever designed the road system in Tasmania must have been a motorcycle rider. Fantastic. Just be a bit careful of narrow roads, the odd bit of loose gravel and slippery road kill. Anyway, climbing out of Strahan, through Queenstown and getting over a ‘sea sick’ feeling from flopping side to side on the twisting road, (the whole of Tasmania is like a never ending series of chicanes) the Harley engine started to sound as if a few internal nuts and bolts had come astray (more laughter, I suppose). We nursed the bike into Hobart to find that Murphy’s Law says: ‘the only Harley dealership on the island is in Launceston and the weekend is looming’. So what now?? We contacted Richardson’s Harley Davidson in Launceston. A bit of luck - they had a driver and trailer in Hobart the next day and could take our bike back to Launceston to see the Doctor. Because we are South Australian RAA Plus members, their emergency road service chased after Richardson’s who diagnosed a cam bearing problem. RAA came to the party with 3 nights accommodation and 3 days car hire. Richardson’s had a bearing kit available and were able to fit it straight after the weekend. Perfect. We would lose only 1 day from our schedule. When we arrived at Richardson’s we expected the payout to be so much that the holiday would come to an abrupt end due to lack of further funding. Those people who own a 2000 Harley with the Twin Cam 88 engine may recall that around February 2001 you received a letter from Harley Davidson identifying that the rear cam bearing of a small number of 88 engines had failed. As a result, HD gave a 5 year/80,000km warranty on the rear cam bearing. Our engine cam bearing fell inside the warranty period. Cost?? Nothing. Richardson’s had picked up on the fault and proceeded to arrange authority through Peter Stevens in Adelaide where I purchased the bike new. Peter Stevens gave the authority to proceed on the warranty within 15 minutes. We rode out of Launceston with wallet intact and continued on our merry way. Accolades go to Richardson’s Harley Davidson, especially Mark and Burt in the workshop and Darky, the recovery driver. They did everything to put our mind at ease. Richardson’s will pick up a bike from anywhere in Tasmania. They gave us priority service “because we were tourists and needed to enjoy our stay”. The showrooms are a credit and to be admired. The mezzanine Harley museum is a real show piece. Get this, the toilet seat covers even had Harley Davidson emblems. So if you are heading off to enjoy a ride in Tassie on your Harley call in to Richo’s in Launceston and travel easy with the knowledge that they will look after you. Ian (Moose) Gully