Harley-Davidson knowingly did not coat the inside of the aluminum fuel tanks on 2023 and older model Pan Americas, leading to rust and particle breakdown from ethanol exposure. Those particles have led to fuel pump failure and replacement, but replacing the fuel pump is only a temporary fix as the tank will continue to rust and cause the same failure and replacement loop for the life-cycle of the bike. This issue has been reported by hundreds of Pan America owners in the lower 48, where ethanol is used as a fuel additive. Harley should recall all 2023 and older model gas tanks, and provide a solution (coating or replacing the tank) that does not lead to thousands of dollars in repair and replacement costs for the fuel pump, as the pump is not the issue.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11688304 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

While traveling at highway speeds in heavy traffic, the motorcycle suffered a sudden and catastrophic electrical failure. Without any advance warning, the TFT dashboard display went completely blank, the engine immediately lost all power, and the motorcycle quit running while in the middle of a busy highway.Because the engine stalled abruptly, I experienced a dangerous loss of forward momentum in active traffic lanes. The complete loss of electrical power simultaneously disabled vital safety systems, including the headlamp, taillamp, brake lights, hazard lights, and anti-lock braking system (ABS). This left me riding a dark, dead motorcycle with no way to signal my emergency to surrounding drivers. I was forced to coast across multiple lanes of high-speed traffic without brake lights to reach the shoulder, narrowly avoiding a rear-end collision. A diagnostic inspection later confirmed that the failure was caused by a burned-out alternator stator, which failed to charge the battery and starved the motorcycle's engine control unit (ECU) of power until the bike shut down entirely.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11761892 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov