Stephen Bowles’ 2018 Harley Davidson Fatboy is his pride and joy.
"I just like the idea of the freedom and getting out there on my two wheels and enjoying the wind in my hair when I had some!” the keen biker says.
Mr Bowles has been riding bikes for more than 20 years. He spends many weekends out riding with his friends, or partaking in charity rides.
In late 2018, he decided to splurge on the brand new bike.
“I suppose you could call it a special occasion ... It was a marriage split up so I had a bit of spending money!”
$30,000 later, and he had a new love.
“I just like the look, the wide look, solid wheels, bit fat tyre on the wheel. Goes well and sounds well.”
A small hitch early on though, Mr Bowles busted his shoulder on a boating trip, and for two months, his Harley sat in the garage.
Come summer, he was ready to show off his new wheels but after riding it only 600km, he noticed corrosion on his forks.
“I tried to polish it hoping it would come out but it didn't,” he said.
This is Mr Bowle's third Harley so he says he knows how to take care of them. He contacted his closest authorised reseller - North Auckland Harley Davidson - to get it fixed under warranty.
“They said 'nah, it’s the clear coat that’s given way and it’s got in behind and it’s corroded under the aluminium'. I was in Harley for a service and talked to a guy there called Craig at North Auckland Harley. He told me to send in some photos which I did. They went to Australia Harley and they came back saying no warranty.”
Initially Harley blamed where Mr Bowles lives - near the beach in Mangawhai, north of Auckland. But then Mr Bowles alleges the company changed its tune and blamed bugs and road debris.
Mr Bowles believes the coating wasn't applied properly onto the forks, which would be a manufacturing error.
To figure out who is right, Fair Go went to a Harley Davidson expert in Whangarei. John Shaw’s run Shaw Motorcycles for 30 years and is known as the Harley guru.
He says he’s never seen corrosion so bad on a bike so new.
“It seems to me perhaps the coating on the forks is not as thick or strong as it should be,” John Shaw says.
When Fair Go got in touch with North Auckland Harley Davidson to interview a representative, they said they were too busy and issued a statement saying:
"This case has been reviewed by our technical service representative and our service and customisation consultant. Both agree that the fork concern has been caused by external factors such as road debris/environmental factors. We are liaising directly with Stephen to do all we can to support his return to the road."
And when we contacted Harley Davidson in Australia, it sent us exactly the same statement back.
When Fair Go pressed Harley Davidson further, a spokesperson from Australia told us Harley Davidson had provided Mr Bowles guidance and options to fix his motorbike and that all of its bikes are manufactured to stringent standards and undergo a strict quality control process.
Mr Bowles says he’d hoped Harley Davidson, being such a large company, would be able to assist or at least subsidise the cost to fix his bike. Lucky for him though, John Shaw has come to the rescue, offering to fix up his bike for free.
Steve’s hoping he’ll be back on the road in a couple of weeks time, which it seems, he’s safer than on a boat.
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