Harley-Davidson of Petaling (HDPJ) called upon Harley owners for a “shop talk.”
The talk covered technical, features of the 2018 Softail range.
The talk included the brake service campaign, introduction to the new engine and bikes, and Motorclothes.
Knowing you’re riding the best motorcycle is one thing, learning about what makes it tick is quite another level altogether.
Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya decided to impart their knowledge of the brand to owners by holding a “shop talk,” where they interact with Harley-Davidson specialists about their bikes, myths, service campaigns and new products.
The event got off to a start with the presentation of the brake service campaign. As we reported earlier (please click here for the article), the Motor Company had decided to recall 2008 to 2011 Touring, CVO Touring and V-Rod models with ABS to have their brake fluid replaced. Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya (HDPJ) has received the new Platinum Line Brake Fluid and is set to get the campaign rolling.
HDPJ’s Technical Specialist also informed the owners that a motorcycle’s brake fluid has to be replaced every 2 years, regardless of mileage covered.
If you own any of the above models, please get in touch with HDPJ’s Service Department to determine if your Harley is affected.
HDPJ moved on to present the new Milwaukee-Eight engine and 2018 Harley-Davidson lineup. Presentation was first carried out on the screen before being moved to the new Fat Bob and Street Glide on display. Those present had the firsthand view of the new features on the new models, such better suspension, brakes, styling. Harleys are truly much more refined these days, without losing their identity.
Do note that Harley’s Shop Talk sessions aren’t one-way traffic; owners were encouraged to formulate their questions when the invitation was published. Therefore, there were many questions, a few myths and concerns that were raised. HDPJ addressed them expertly and professionally.
Lastly, HDPJ presented the 2018 Motorclothes lineup. Motorclothes is Harley-Davidson’s official range of rider wear which consists of everything a Harley owner could think of, plus plenty of Harley-Davidson paraphernalia and merchandise.
Seeing that the owners adjourned feeling elated, they must’ve gained some new knowledge of their trusty steeds from the shop talk.
The new Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya is offering great ways to those who want to get into the Harley lifestyle.
Costs of ownership and maintenance are now more viable at HDPJ.
HDPJ has waived the localisation fee for Harleys purchased via parallel importers.
Owning a motorcycle should be a great joy to anyone but owning one from a brand steeped in history and heritage is extra special. It’s through this heritage that the look, feel and sound of the bike, how it rumbles to life and down the road with the wind in your face flies in the face of convention. Additionally, the lifestyle, camaraderie among the owners and convoy experiences are priceless.
But how much does one need to “relinquish” for a “membership?”
We’ve heard great things about the new Harley-Davidson dealership, Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya (HDPJ), and decided to snoop around.
What we found was HDPJ is attracting more riders in Malaysia to experience the world of Harley-Davidson, through more attractive financing, lower costs of ownership and professional aftersales service.
AFTERSALES SERVICE:
Non-discriminatory policy towards all Harley owners, regardless if the bikes were purchased previously through official channels or parallel importers.
No “localization fee” for “recon” Harleys and all owners will enjoy the same labour rates and parts prices.
The showroom is fully stocked but the workshop is extensive as HDPJ is focusing on aftersales.
The previous hourly labour rate was too high, so HDPJ reduced it accordingly.
Parts prices are also lower than before despite the high USD-MYR exchange rate.
A Harley-Davidson Standard Service means a 24-point check all around the motorcycle for functionality and safety, which includes lubing the cables, checking the battery and electrics, electronic diagnostics, inspecting if all fasteners are properly torqued, inspecting the drive belt and pulleys, inspecting the brake pads and discs (with proper tools), etc. etc.
A minimum price to service a Sportster 883 complete with the 24-point check, standard replacement of washers, Harley-Davidson engine oil, and 1.5-hour labour charge adds up to below RM400.
Compare that to this Editor’s personal experience of servicing his Kawasaki ER-6f (at non-official workshops). Two liters of fully-synthetic engine oil, oil filter and two sparkplugs already cost in the vicinity of RM380 – without the 24-point check.
Besides that, a stator coil for the ER-6f is nearly RM1,300; compared to the stator coil for the Harley-Davidson Softail is RM1,400.
PRICES OF NEW HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLES:
HDPJ has also priced the new Harleys more “realistically” by 5% to 25% lower across the board.
The 2018 (base) Sportster Forty-Eight is priced from RM 92,800, instead of RM 109,000 that it once was.
The new Street Bob is from RM 107,200 instead of RM 130K plus.
Attractive financing scheme for buyers – 3.5% per annum – the lowest in the industry.
We also decided to ask a couple of Harley riders hanging around the café at The Gasket Alley. The first person was pleasantly surprised by the much lower price of maintenance. The other person we spoke felt at home at the new Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya, being welcomed and as part of a family.
The Ladies of Harley Malaysia is a group of female Harley-Davidson riders.
They get together to share their love for riding motorcycles.
The ladies started their ride to Melaka from Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya for the first time.
While it always feels good to see a fellow biker on the road, it’s undeniably better to see one of the fairer gender, “Not as a pillion, but riding her own bike, instead.” That was what Mariana Mohamad, ex-national cyclist said while awaiting the flag-off of the Ladies of Harley Malaysia’s 2018 ride to the historic city of Melaka.
Mariana Mohamad is the first lady from the right
The ride was historically historic as well, since it marked the first time the ladies began their ride from the new Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya.
The 20-odd ladies had gathered at the dealership from early morning, for some light breakfast and catching up. Everyone was smiling and laughing, the air was thick with cheerfulness and anticipation. Among them were Mariana Mohamad, the aforementioned ex-national cyclist and, singer and actress, Fauziah Latiff. Also present were Nor Cilla Omar and Sura (Sue) Rahman who were the Champion and First Runner Up, respectively at the recent Inaugural Bikers Invitational Golf Charity Classics 2018.
“I’ve ridden with the Ladies of Harley Malaysia many times since I started motorcycling. That time, we rode to Melaka and today feels like an anniversary as we ride there but from a new home, HDPJ,” continued Mariana.
The ladies rode mostly Harley-Davidson Sportsters, but there were a number of other models, including a Softail Slim, Street 750, Dyna Low Rider and “Sons of Anarchy” Dyna Low Rider.
As usual, they held a short safety briefing before the “On the bike” call. They suited up and rode out from the hallway in The Gasket Alley (as there weren’t too many of them).
Out on the roads and highways, the group was expertly led by Nor Cilla with Fauziah Latiff as the sweeper. The group maintained great discipline and cohesiveness throughout the trip, besides displaying good control over their machines.
The ladies stopped for fuel first at the Seremban R&R before stopping again after passing the Ayer Keroh toll plaza, where fellow Harley-Davidson riders Hulubalang MG waited to guide the convoy into Asam Pedas Lagenda for lunch. By the way, the word hulubalang means the Sultan’s royal guards and palace guards – knights, in other words – during the Malaccan Sultanate during the 15th and 16th centuries.
From there it was to Harley-Davidson of Melaka in Taman Kota Laksamana. The dealership is undergoing completion and will be formally launched in May 2018.
The dealership’s crew escorted the entire group to a restaurant called Nyonya Lin’s Kitchen for refreshments including the famous cendol nyonya and kuih nyonya. The restaurant was bedecked with period paraphernalia such as vintage furniture, motorcycles, trinkets and toys. Even the interior design resembled that of Melaka’s pre-World War II houses.
From Harley-Davidson of Melaka, it was to another round of coffee (real coffee, not those one finds in pubs) at a beach. The Ladies of Harley Malaysia finally headed over to the Villa Lisa at A’Famosa Resort at Batu Gajah.
Before we conclude, this writer observed that the riders never failed to wave their gratitude to other road users who had given way. All the riders of Ladies of Harley Malaysia and Hulubalang MG were really friendly and not stand-offish to strangers who had requested selfies or to pose with their bikes. Whoever said Harley riders were unfriendly?
Great respect from us to the ladies and gentlemen during the ride.
As promised by Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya during their launch, there will be many rides and activities.
Apart for the inaugural Harley Owners Group of Petaling Jaya ride last month, the Sportster Malaysia group held their 4th Annual Run today.
Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya welcomed the return of the Sportster Malaysia group.
30th March 2018, Petaling Jaya – The Sportster Malaysia 4th Annual Run got off to a great start today.
As promised by the new Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya (HDPJ) during their official launch, the Sportster Malaysia 4th Annual Run is one of many activities to come for Harley owners. Starting from here, there will be more ambitions rides in the future.
The ride began at the Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya (HDPJ) dealership. Some 35 riders on 30 motorcycles assembled at The Gasket Alley from 7.30am. HDPJ provided a light breakfast and refreshments for the riders while awaiting the flag off.
A safety briefing was called afterwards and participants were given a explanation of safe riding techniques in the convoy, such as spacing, formation riding, hand signals, and road etiquettes They were also briefed on the route and filling points, with attention given to those bikes with the peanut tanks (8 litres). The convoy will ride through towns such as Batu Pahat on the way to their destination at the Mutiara Hotel in Johor Bahru.
The ride was flagged off at 9.30am, with the bigger bikes leading the convoy.
Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Inc. telah memulakan satu Kempen Panggilan Semula Keselamatan bagi menggantikan bendalir brek yang lama bagi sesetengah model.
Model-model yang terlibat adalah model Touring, CVO Touring dan V-Rod dengan ABS dari tahun 2008 hingga 2011.
Kedai pengedar rasmi Harley-Davidson terbaru di Malaysia, Harley-Davidson Petaling Jaya, akan mengendalikan kempen ini di tanah air kita.
Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Inc. has initiated a Safety Recall Campaign to replace the old brake fluid of certain models.
The models involved are 2008 TO 2011 TOURING, CVO TOURING AND V-ROD MODELS WITH ABS.
The new Malaysian Harley-Davidson dealership, Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya will carry out the campaign.
The Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Inc. is conducting a Safety Recall Campaign for its motorcycles worldwide.
In an earlier article of ours, we mentioned that the motorcycle’s brake fluid needs to be replaced every 2 years, regardless of mileage and appearance.
This is because brake fluid is hygroscopic (a description for something that loves moisture) and will absorb moisture right out of the air. It is even more critical in our country where the climate is hot and humid. Moisture in the fluid will lower the latter’s boiling point, causing brake fade.
Old vs new brake fluid
As for this Safety Recall Campaign, the models involved are 2008 TO 2011 TOURING, CVO TOURING AND V-ROD MODELS WITH ABS.
The Motor Company notes that the brake fluid should be flushed and replaced with fresh fluid every two years, as per the H-D Owner’s Manual and Service Manual. Prolonged usage of the old fluid may cause it to gel and leave deposits on the brake components. Should these deposits continue to form over a prolonged period on the apply valve of the ABS Hydraulic Control unit, the valve may stick and cause a loss of braking function.
The new Harley-Davidson dealership in Malaysia, Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya (HDPJ), will carry out the campaign for all the affected motorcycles, regardless if they were purchased through the official channel or grey importers. And there is also good news for owners of grey import Harley-Davidson’s, as the new dealer no longer charges an exorbitant “activation fee” for the technician to simply work on your bike. All Harley-Davidson’s are now welcome at HDPJ regardless of where you bought your bike.
Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya is located at The Gasket Alley
As such, the Motor Company will communicate the affected VIN (vehicle identification number) to HDPJ. However, as HDPJ is still new and there are many grey import Harleys in Malaysia, owners of 2008 TO 2011 TOURING, CVO TOURING AND V-ROD MODELS WITH ABS are advised to contact HDPJ and provide their VIN for verification. HDPJ will immediately confirm if the motorcycle if affected.
The new Harley-Davidson Platinum Label DOT 4 brake fluid will be available for ordering from mid-March 2018, thus HDPJ will schedule appointments for the affected units.
Only the replacement of brake fluid is covered and no further parts will be replaced under the campaign. Replacement of the brake fluid will be carried out using the Digital Tech II apparatus, as the bikes are equipped with ABS. Please be advised that the machine will instruct the ABS hydraulic control unit to fully flush the brake fluid and residue, hence replacement of brake fluid without the Digital Tech II machine is erroneous and potentially dangerous.
The task will take 1.5 hours and is free-of-charge.
Please get in touch with Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya at +603-79559399. You may also call Service Advisors Lingesh at +6018-9861229, or Naqid at +6018-9891229. HDPJ are open from 9.30am to 7.00pm Mondays to Saturdays and, closed on Sundays and Public Holidays. Please click here to visit the Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya’s FB page.
Also, as a side note to parallel importers who import Harley-Davidson’s, the official dealer at Harley-Davidson Petaling Jaya will also conduct software updates and bike resetting to prepare the motorcycle for local sale. While importers had to previously fork out money to previous H-D technicians to conduct “localization” and resetting, the official dealer can and will reprogram the bike for you with all the right tools and machines needed to service the bike. This is great news for grey importers as they can now have their machines better prepared for sale, while buyer’s can now rest easy knowing that their machines have been worked on by official Harley-Davidson technicians.
According to Juan Chow Wee, who is the General Manager of Didi Resources Sdn Bhd, the importer and distributor of Harley-Davidson in Malaysia, the new Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya is opening its doors to all owners of Harley-Davidson regardless of whether it was bought through the official channel or through the grey market.
“We want to be accessible to all Harley-Davidson riders, and we will not practise two standards. The love for Harley-Davidson runs in everyone working for Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya and we are showing this by not charging any localisation fee for any Harley-Davidson bike. The price of bikes, parts, accessories and merchandise has also been adjusted to ensure competitiveness, and we are proud to continue the Harley-Davidson brotherhood which was recently put on display at the Grand Opening ride and party.”
