You are correct.
Previously they only offered after-market trike conversions from the dealership and the individual *dealership* covered the bike itself, under warranty, not Harley.
Now, they have “Harley trikes” which are still after-market kits but they have “branded” the kits with their name and they theoretically warranty.
[it was Lehman, the Canadian company but they’ve switched yet again]
For almost $40K, you don’t get near the trike that we build for half that cost.
You are paying for the name.
Lots of our riding buddies have huge flags on their two-wheelers and have never had any “flag drag issues” other than the bike wiggling around in high crosswinds.
This should be a total non-issue with a trike.
Not the first time I have heard of this kind of thing. The company considers this an “alteration”. They do the same thing with trailer hitches. If you attach a hitch and tow a trailer with your HD, the warranty is invalidated. The dealer itself has a lot to do with how things work out. Does the trike rider have a relationship with the dealer? Some HD owners do not bring their bike back for maintenance, ever. Others, like me, bring it back for extended warranty matters. I suspect there is more to this story. How difficult would it be to unbolt the flag mounts before bringing the trike in for service?
Seems like that would have been the logical fix in this case too.
HD has a history of making life difficult for it's dealers and other vendors.
Do you folks do trikes with the new Indian, or Victory?