Hot legs suit to keep Harley running

A U.S. District Court judge in California has told four riders filing a class action suit against Harley-Davidson that they need to adjust some of the claims against the company, but that their suit claiming the motor company knows that Twin Cam engines and 6-speed transmissions are defective may continue.

The ruling came after Harley had sought a dismissal of the lawsuit.

The suit was filed by four riders who had suffered leg burns from the heat coming off of Twin Cam 88 and 96 motors. The suit also claims the company's 6-speed transmission is prone to failure and be in need of repair and that the company is aware of it.

"The gravamen of plaintiffs' factual allegations is that [Harley] defectively designed and manufactured motorcycles – the engines produced excessive heat and the transmissions prematurely failed – and then marketed and sold those motorcycles to Plaintiffs and the class. Plaintiffs claim Defendant knew about these defects and injuries since approximately 1999 and rather than correct the defects and/or warn consumers of them, Defendant continued to
produce the defective motorcycles knowing about the overheating and transmission defects and failing to inform consumers of such material defects and actively concealing such defects," the suit's most recent filing recounts.

The lawsuit doesn't say whether the plaintiffs were wearing chaps, jeans or Bermuda shorts when riding, but several Harley-based Internet forums have contained posts discussing heat off of Twin Cams, Sportsters and V-Rods.

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Forums for other brands also feature discussion on leg burns, heat and methods of resolving the issue, including changing fueling systems to enrichen fuel mixtures. Those include Honda VTX 1300s, Can-Am Spyders, Kawasakis and Yamahas.

According AskHarley.com, which has a website known as the Harley Manual and features Motor Company logos, there are steps recommended to avoid setting clothes on fair or getting burned from the bikes.

"The metal exhaust system that runs on either side of most motorcycles can reach extremely high temperatures. These hot pipes have the ability to swiftly burn through clothing. Ensure that you avoid burning your clothes on a Harley exhaust by taking appropriate safety measures," the site states.

Among those steps are wearing flame retardant clothes: "This will prevent burns from occurring or turning into flames if clothing does come into contact with the hot exhaust system."

One woman on a forum reported her pants catching fire on her Sportster. Others on a VTX forum reported second degree burns while wearing pants.

One recommendation goes against good motorcycle control advice which has a rider keep knees against the bike's gas tank to keep weight and mass centralized and improve handling.

"Inform passengers to keep their legs positioned away from the muffler. On a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, that means to hold your knees in an outward direction, so the calves and thighs aren’t touching any pipes."

The site also counsels that riders and passengers wear leather and cover hot pipes with exhaust tape to shield legs from burns.

The Harley lawsuit was turned back to the plaintiff's to rewrite portions of it according to the judge's ruling and to refile.

In the meantime, don't wear shorts when you ride and wear over-the-ankle boots to protect your ankles and feet.