High Maintenance???

[Twistedspoke100]

So I have only had my dog for half a riding season, a 05 Mastiff, and put a little over 1000 miles on it with no problems. Love the bike! I have noticed a lot of bigdog owners saying how unreliable, high maintenance, and prone to breaking they are? How true is this?? Is it any worse than a regular Harley? I know about the electrical issues these bikes can have but that aside what else is there? I was drawn to bigdog because it was equipped with a S&S engine and Baker trans, both I thought had good track records. Just wondering what I should be looking for so I can be on top of it. Thanks in advance guys.

 

[Jersey Big Mike]

I've had 2 K-9's
Both experienced EHC failures.
Other than that and normal wear and tear I woudn't say they are worse than a Harley.
Part of the problem comes around from a few issue -- a series of questionable bearings in the clutch
Bike being service by a non BD knowledgable tech -- torque specs etc are different. For example clutch hub not on evo harley is 80ft/lbs I believe yet on the BigDog it is 150 ft/lbs -- Set it to 80 and down the road you'll have a loose hub nut which can create all sorts of a mess.
The best thing to d o is to learn to work on your own bike and remember - loctite is your friend! Hell, I carry some in my tool bag on the bike JIC.

 

[Twistedspoke100]

I've had 2 K-9's
Both experienced EHC failures.
Other than that and normal wear and tear I woudn't say they are worse than a Harley.
Part of the problem comes around from a few issue -- a series of questionable bearings in the clutch
Bike being service by a non BD knowledgable tech -- torque specs etc are different. For example clutch hub not on evo harley is 80ft/lbs I believe yet on the BigDog it is 150 ft/lbs -- Set it to 80 and down the road you'll have a loose hub nut which can create all sorts of a mess.
The best thing to d o is to learn to work on your own bike and remember - loctite is your friend! Hell, I carry some in my tool bag on the bike JIC.

I have no problem doing some work on the bike, I customized and rebuilt 2 Harleys before my dog. For me its about time, having enough time to keep it clean and riding it is a task sometimes lol.

 

[Mikeinjersey]

Hi Twisted, keep in mind this site is geared toward helping each other fix failures so it may seem like there are a lot of problems with BD's but that is our primary focus. One of the big problems with BD is a lot of unwarranted blame goes to the electrical system. If you keep a healthy battery and clean/tight connections you will be a happy camper. Yes, some EHC's seem to hate cold or damp conditions. Worry about that if it happens.
I agree, it does take time to polish up that Billet but Wow does it look great! Easy fix on making time to ride. Ride first and then take care of life's responsibilities.

 

[Jersey Big Mike]

I have no problem doing some work on the bike, I customized and rebuilt 2 Harleys before my dog. For me its about time, having enough time to keep it clean and riding it is a task sometimes lol.

What is this "clean" thing you speak of?
I wash mine once a year whether it needs it or not.

 

[aspen874]

I had my 07 Mastiff for over 10 years and 33,000 plus miles, it never left me stranded.

 

[Jersey Big Mike]

I had my 07 Mastiff for over 10 years and 33,000 plus miles, it never left me stranded.

Well with 2 K-9's in and over 12yrs and about 115K miles I have been stranded a few times.
Broke clutch cable (more than one -- one was my fault though)
Transmission went - had 3 - 6 gears and no neutral and didn't like downshifting.
Almost got stranded when EHC went but I fixed that with 1 Gallon of really HOT WATER.
Lost rear brake going to Panama City one year (not stranded, just 70 miles not being able to use peg or brake)
Lost stator/battery and broke strut bolt on one trip.

Lost exhaust flange bolts on rear cylinder -- Bike still ran, back fired a little -- Knothead's still trying to figure that one out!

 

[Eumel]

I have a 09 / k9 with about 40k miles.
4 times I broke down - 3 times broke clutch cable, 1x voltage regulator defective.
As a precaution, I changed the clutch completely because it was in the 3rd-6th Gear slipped and it was found that the clutch shaft has a large axial play. The bearing on this shaft was partially destroyed, some parts of it were ground up in the gearbox. So I had the gearbox completely rebuilt. That was a repair for a total of $ 4k.
I had to change the decompression valves twice.
The speedometer had dropouts, now I have a digital dakota.
The chrome quality is bad, every year I have some parts re-chrome plated.

Eumel

 

[mjsk9]

I have a 09 / k9 with about 40k miles.
4 times I broke down - 3 times broke clutch cable, 1x voltage regulator defective.
As a precaution, I changed the clutch completely because it was in the 3rd-6th Gear slipped and it was found that the clutch shaft has a large axial play. The bearing on this shaft was partially destroyed, some parts of it were ground up in the gearbox. So I had the gearbox completely rebuilt. That was a repair for a total of $ 4k.
I had to change the decompression valves twice.
The speedometer had dropouts, now I have a digital dakota.
The chrome quality is bad, every year I have some parts re-chrome plated.

Eumel

View attachment 82639

Hey Eumel.... I don't think I have ever seen a whitewall tire on a Big Dog. Which brand is that!

 

[Eumel]

Hey Eumel.... I don't think I have ever seen a whitewall tire on a Big Dog. Which brand is that!

it's a Metzeler ME 888 Marathon, but only front tire

 

[awg]

Like MikeinJersey said you hear about all kinds of issues because that's what we are here for. Maybe we should also post all the positives these bike's have to offer to.

 

[lentzii]

Hy, Avon Cobra Chrom auch als Weißwand erhältlich. Also ich weis nicht? Was bei euch immer alles kaputt geht. Kleinigkeiten kommen immer, hab ich auch bei SUZUKI oder KTM. Is normal. Wenn schraube, in der Regel zur Verschönerung oder Optimierung, Verschleiß ist auch normal. Wenn ich unsere Harly Brüder sehe, sind die fast nur am schrauben, Ich fahre! Aber hab ich wo anders schon geschrieben HD war für mich sowiso noch nie ein Fahrzeug, sondern immer nur Erscheinung ( Verarbeitung? Qualität? Preis- Leistung? PS? Service?+Preise? ( 2x Reifentausch 420.-€ ohne Reifen im Hous of Flames). Unsere HD Menge ist einfach zu hoch, da kann jeder Depp verlangen was er will. Verliert auch massiv an Wert. Da hat auch jeder 2. Kasperl eine HD. Da sind die Dogis ganz andere Menschen. kann nur sagen Toll ! ! ! Gruß Lentzi.