In news of special interest to existing owners and aspiring owners of Harley-Davidson’s popular 1250cc Pan America adventure bike, the Milwaukee-based mega manufacturer has, at least for the time being, defeated a consumer lawsuit brought by a group of Harley-Davidson owners who purchased their bikes between 2016 and 2022. 

The Wisconsin class action lawsuit, reported on by ADV Pulse back in September 2022, cited violations of antitrust and warranty laws, claiming that Harley-Davidson had illegally tied the sale of its motorcycles to a requirement that owners add only H-D branded parts and use only Harley’s authorized dealer network for service, something that can cost owners not only extra money, but notable amounts of time if they lived far from a licensed service center.

Harley owners had long complained that if they wanted to add aftermarket parts or have service or repairs performed by an often more affordable, non-authorized provider, they were subject to having their warranties voided. 

And they weren’t alone. Consumers of many high value items were tired of being limited by manufacturer-imposed restrictions, including owners of Tesla, John Deere and Apple products. This unrest culminated in a Biden administration ruling called “Right to Repair,” which requires all manufacturers to allow fair access to alternative services and affordable replacement parts.

Ahead of the Wisconsin class action lawsuit filed against Harley-Davidson, as well as a similar suit filed in California, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had pushed Harley-Davidson to abide by existing consumer rights laws and end the practice of voiding bike warranties over the use of aftermarket products, or for engaging services or repairs by outside providers.

In June of 2022 H-D settled with the FTC, promising to end the practice and comply with Right to Repair laws. It also pledged to inform current owners it had ended the practice as well as clarify language written in warranties so as not to cause confusion to new buyers. The Motor Corp. did not, however, admit any liability in the case or face any fines. 

It was this seemingly easy out for the corporate giant that sparked the private consumer lawsuits, with owners describing having already been forced to pay inflated prices by limiting which parts they could add to their bikes, as well as where and how they were allowed to service them.

In their coordinated lawsuit, the dismayed Wisconsin owners challenged that a provision in Harley-Davidson’s warranty paperwork stated that the use of unauthorized parts “may” void their coverage.

Harley-Davidson countered that the provision does not say the use of third-party parts or services “will” void a warranty, it merely says “may” void a warranty, 

Plaintiffs added that the clause was “impermissibly leaving purchasers of expensive motorcycles to guess whether they will lose valuable warranty coverage by using the ‘wrong’ parts.” 

In the end, U.S. District Judge William Griesbach, speaking in a Green Bay, Wisconsin, courtroom ruled against the consumers in favor of Harley, agreeing the iconic maker had not tied the sale of its motorcycles to the use of branded parts and services, and that consumers did not claim they were “unable to purchase a motorcycle without committing to buy Harley-Davidson parts.”

All of us living in the real world where a factory warranty is coveted understand exactly how in these owners’ minds the implication of “may” void your warranty might as well have been written “will” void your warranty when it came to considering their options. 

It’s also easy to see why this decision isn’t likely to sit well with the plaintiffs, to whom Judge Griesbach granted 30 days for filing an amended lawsuit, presumably using different language.

For Harley’s part, it wants to assure customers it will continue to comply with current Right to Repair laws.

Author: Jamie Elvidge

Jamie has been a motorcycle journalist for more than 30 years, testing the entire range of bikes for the major print magazines and specializing in adventure-travel related stories. To date she’s written and supplied photography for articles describing what it’s like to ride in all 50 states and 43 foreign countries, receiving two Lowell Thomas Society of American Travel Writer’s Awards along the way. Her most-challenging adventure yet has been riding in the 2018 GS Trophy in Mongolia as Team AusAmerica’s embedded journalist.