First off, this is not a brand bashing thread at all.

this is from the HD forum about a 2015 Harley with 400 miles on it.

I'm new to the forum, new to harley and I guess, one of the newest victims to the dreaded twin cool "coolant leak"! Bike has 400 miles on the ODO and is spitting coolant out like a pissed off 2yo with green beans!!!

Took the bike to work last week and upon dismounting noticed a pool of coolant under the bike. No check engine light etc while riding. I checked the coolant reservoir which was empty. Headed to dealer via wife's car to purchase antifreeze. Filled reservior then headed home for the 7.2 mile commute. No check engine light etc while riding home. Got home, dismounted bike noticed pool of coolant on ground...checked coolant reservoir which was empty. Bike is currently at dealer. Will let you guys know what I learn when I learn it

Jason

23K + motorcycle (which is crazy within itself), My god would I be pissed off at this.

I don't know anything at all about the cooling system they use, but I have to wonder if a lot of folks are not over filling the recovery tank because they don't understand the system. Funniest part of that whole thing was he went to the dealership to buy coolant.

LOL, I told ya....

Gotta use HD branded coolant. It's orange in a black jug. Sometimes the jug leaks.

JD, it's not that the tank is being overfilled, it's that HD is STILL using faulty bypass valves (similar to a thermostat in a car) in the new cooling systems. The valves malfunction and stick shut, and then end up pushing all of the coolant out of the overflow, and then eventually burn up the motor.

jd750ace wrote:
I don't know anything at all about the cooling system they use, but I have to wonder if a lot of folks are not over filling the recovery tank because they don't understand the system. Funniest part of that whole thing was he went to the dealership to buy coolant.

I think you may be correct on that. they overfill and the twin cooling (radiator to everyone else) unit gets pressurized and leaks out. could also be a faulty air release valve (if it has one)

The really crazy thing is that Harley already knows about this problem. Just like the cam tensioner problem they have had in the past. Harley corp. does not really care about their customers, just the almighty dollar. They try there best to get out of taking care of warranty issues. I really like Harleys but their customer service sucks bad. I want a Road Glide but will buy it used and i already have a good friend who owns a Harley repair shop down the street from me that will be fixing problems i don't know how to fix.

and then eventually burn up the motor

Actually the Rushmore liquid cooled engine will not burn up without coolant, it is in fact an air cooled engine with a cooling loop added to the heads to allow the engine to maintain a more constant temperature. Mine works well and has never leaked a drop in 11,000 miles.
The issue is frustrating when you pay as much as one does for a Harley, but it is generally related to over filling the tank and once it begins flowing out it siphons all the coolant out. There is no check engine light as the coolant failure is not critical to engine life or function.
Not brand bashing, but if we are going to throw stones, Yamaha has several ongoing issues that it has not corrected like a weak oil pump gear on the first 5 years of Road Star, or the weak clutch spring that fails at about 25,000 miles, and it is in all years up to 2015, or maybe the carb puking that has resulted in more than one fire!!! No brand is perfect, and my experience with HD has been very good with them standing behind the product and implementing fixes. My experience with Yamaha dealers not so good

I've got 55,000 on my Roadie... no coolant leaks yet!

Well, the A/C on my RS stopped working a few weeks ago....