Reliability

[SliderIII]

I have been away awhile and now have sold my Hog and am looking at the Rocket. How reliable is this bike? I know it is fast and bad. I have never owned a bike that left me stranded. I have run out of gas a few times though... :razz: What do I need to look at? Service agreement? The thing that my wife gets tour up about most is all the service intervals on the Harley. How is the Rocket?

[Ugarte]

I've got 43 thousand miles on my Rocket with no problems. Per the owners manual, I change the oil every 10k, and use 10/40 amsoil for motorcycles.

The valves are supposed to be checked first at 10k and then every 20k after that....about 450 bucks a shot if the dealer does it. I had mine checked at 10k and all were within limits....I skipped the 30k check but will get them checked at 50k.

The Rocket is the most reliable bike I have owned, and by far the most enjoyable.

The worst problem I have heard regarding reliability is failure of the output shaft bearing. Do a search on that and you will find very long threads on this issue.

[Rocketime]

On 2007-01-06 00:55, SliderIII wrote:
I have been away awhile and now have sold my Hog and am looking at the Rocket. How reliable is this bike?

Now if this doesn't beat all. A former Hardley owner asking if the Rocket is reliable :???:

[Jamie]

[quote]
On 2007-01-06 09:01, Ugarte wrote:
The Rocket is the most reliable bike I have owned, and by far the most enjoyable.

/quote]

Would second Ugarte's report. Mine (like his?) is one of the early ones (assembled in the summer of '04 and purchased in Oct. that year). Only had an odd 2nd gear engagement problem @ 10'000 miles. Fixed under warranty. And it did not leave me stranded. Have nothing else to mention. No output shaft incident. No idling or decel popping problem either.

Service intervals are far-between and have been totally devoid of "surprises". Oil consumption stubbornly remains about equal to zero. Never had to add a drop of liquid to the cooling system, etc. ...

And it's, by far , the most enjoyable mount I have ever ridden. Jamie, with best wishes.

[SliderIII]

On 2007-01-06 09:14, Rocketime wrote:

Now if this doesn't beat all. A former Hardley owner asking if the Rocket is reliable :???:
[/quote]

Man, that sure is rough. I belong to a CMA chapter that has a diversity of bikes in it. Many of them are late 80's and early 90's Wings. I am sure you can agree, it isn't the miles that get a bike, but the age. Although Wings may last longer in racking up miles, the age of the rubber and plastic is what takes its toll. Those older wings have alternator, water pump, and electrical issues. Accept for the water pump, age hits them just as hard as it does Harleys.

Peace!

[Rocketime]

On 2007-01-06 13:26, SliderIII wrote:

Now if this doesn't beat all. A former Hardley owner asking if the Rocket is reliable :???:

Man, that sure is rough. I belong to a CMA chapter that has a diversity of bikes in it. Many of them are late 80's and early 90's Wings. I am sure you can agree, it isn't the miles that get a bike, but the age. Although Wings may last longer in racking up miles, the age of the rubber and plastic is what takes its toll. Those older wings have alternator, water pump, and electrical issues. Accept for the water pump, age hits them just as hard as it does Harleys.

Peace!
[/quote]

Just bustin your chops Slider.

I agree with the age theory. To answer your question, I have 11,000 care free miles on my Rocket and ride with 5 others that have not had any problems. I know problems have been reported on these forums but far less than have had no breakdowns.

[SliderIII]

Thanks Rocketime. I'm getting a little more confident in looking into this ride even more.

[Lancelot]

This is the best site I have seen that compares all differnt models.

http://www.bikez.com

http://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/tri...assic_2006.php

[TRI-AL]

I have an 04 bought in August of 04. Not many miles on it (@9K) but no problems either. Did have to replace the rear tire. ( They like to "eat" them....fronts not much better) Feel very "confident" in mine. Wish I could get on it more, but weather sucks around here!

[sbljr]

On 2007-01-06 13:26, SliderIII wrote:
Man, that sure is rough. I belong to a CMA chapter that has a diversity of bikes in it. Many of them are late 80's and early 90's Wings. I am sure you can agree, it isn't the miles that get a bike, but the age. Although Wings may last longer in racking up miles, the age of the rubber and plastic is what takes its toll. Those older wings have alternator, water pump, and electrical issues. Accept for the water pump, age hits them just as hard as it does Harleys.

Harleys don't have many plastic parts, the rubber ones are easily replaced, and the parts guy isn't going to laugh or stare at you with a deer-in-the-headlights look if you ask for something dating back a few decades (he puts one on the counter or UPS brings it in a few days). THAT is why a guy who's ownd Hardleys would be asking such questions. I asked them before buying my first Hinckley Triumph in '98 and have yet to regret owning them or Hardleys either one.

Now if I'd bought a Goldwing I'd have to ride down the road wondering if the frame was going to break or if Billy Bob's Stock Tank Repair & General Welding where the dealer sent it for recall repair did a good job fixing it :wink: