There is a claim spreading around social media and YouTube right now telling Harley-Davidson owners that a bulletin went out to dealerships instructing them to void warranties on any motorcycle running a reusable magnetic oil filter. I saw it show up in my own comment section after my recent video, and riders started asking me if their warranties were at risk. So I did what I always do before I say anything on camera — I dug in, I researched it, and I went directly to my sources inside Harley-Davidson. (see video below)

Here is the short version: there is no bulletin. There never was a bulletin. And in this article I am going to walk you through exactly what I found, what federal law says about your warranty rights, and where common sense actually has to enter this conversation. And yes, we carry both the Figurati Reusable Magnetic Oil Filter and the PC Racing FLO reusable oil filter right in the Law Abiding Biker Store, along with the Figurati magnetic engine and transmission dipsticks. We're just a bootstrap company of bikers helping bikers, we appreciate every customer, and we'll definitely take care of you. We're not like the big corporate stores. We actually use, test, and install many of the products we carry in our store and then make helpful videos for the biker community.

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Where This Whole Thing Started

I recently put out a video showing the first inspection and cleaning of my Figurati reusable magnetic oil filter after 5,000 miles on the oil. I pulled it apart, showed exactly what the magnets had captured, walked through the proper cleaning process, and covered why running the filter together with the Figurati magnetic dipsticks gives your Harley the most complete oil protection package available.

That video did really well. The biker community responded and those filters have been flying off the shelves in our store ever since.

But then the comments started rolling in. Riders were telling me that certain channels and social media accounts were claiming a bulletin had gone out to Harley-Davidson dealerships telling them to void warranties on any bike running a reusable oil filter.

That claim is completely false. And I am going to prove it.

To the Accounts Spreading This

I am not going to name any specific channels or creators here. That is not what we do.

But I will say this directly. To whoever is behind these social accounts and videos — I am disappointed. And I am not saying you did it on purpose. But going forward, please fact check things before you put them out to your communities. Make sure what you are telling people is correct information.

Because putting out false information does not just hurt the biker community. It hurts you. It hurts your credibility. And it starts unnecessary rumors that spread like wildfire.

It is unfortunate, but YouTube and social media are completely saturated right now. There is a lot of pressure out there to get known, to get clicks, to get views. But none of that is worth risking your reputation by putting out information that was never fact checked.

False information like this does real damage. It confuses riders. It misleads people who are just trying to make smart decisions about their bikes. And it genuinely hurts good companies making quality products by scaring people away with claims that have zero factual basis.

And here is what really gets me. When riders in my comment section asked these accounts to produce the actual bulletin they were referencing, the response was crickets. Complete silence. Because it does not exist.

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I Went Straight to Harley-Davidson

I did not just run a quick internet search and call it good. We did our own research first and could find no such bulletin anywhere. Then I went further.

I have contacts within the Harley-Davidson organization that go fairly deep, and I reached out to my sources directly. Understand who I am talking about here. These are not dealership employees. These are not random people wearing a Harley shirt. These are credible sources who work directly for Harley-Davidson, people in the know within the organization, connected directly to headquarters.

And here is what tells you they took this seriously. It took about five days to get an answer back, because my sources wanted to dig deep and make absolutely sure no such bulletin had ever gone out.

The answer came back clear:

There is absolutely no bulletin that was issued or exists stating that any certain part, such as a reusable magnetic oil filter, voids a warranty. And there is no bulletin that was sent to dealerships telling them to void a warranty if someone has a reusable magnetic oil filter installed on their Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

None. Zero. It does not exist. That is straight from inside Harley-Davidson.

So the people online stating this are simply not telling you the truth. And you have to ask yourself what the motivation is behind saying something like that. I will leave that up to you to decide.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act: Your Federal Protection

Now let's talk about what the law actually says, because you have federal protection here that has been on the books for over fifty years and most riders have no idea how solid it actually is.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act was signed into federal law on January 4, 1975. That is not new. That is not some loophole somebody found last week. That is fifty years of standing federal law.

This law makes it illegal for any manufacturer to void your warranty simply because you used an aftermarket part. Period.

The FTC Took Action Against Harley-Davidson in 2022

Here is where this gets really interesting for this conversation.

In 2022, the Federal Trade Commission — the federal agency that enforces this law — took action directly against Harley-Davidson. The FTC charged that Harley's warranty language conveyed that your warranty would be void if you used independent shops or non-Harley parts. The FTC said that violates the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

Harley settled, and in October 2022 the FTC finalized orders requiring Harley-Davidson to remove the illegal terms from its warranty, come clean with customers, and recognize your right to repair.

And unlike the accounts making claims with nothing to back them up, I am linking the actual federal documents so you can read them yourself:

• FTC Case #212-3140 — Harley-Davidson Motor Company (official docket)
• FTC Press Release — Final Orders Against Harley-Davidson (October 2022)
• FTC Press Release — Original Action (June 2022)

Do not take my word for it. Go read them. That is what real evidence looks like.

And here is the part that absolutely destroys this fake bulletin claim. Those federal orders require Harley-Davidson to affirmatively state in its own warranty language that using third-party parts and independent shops does not void your warranty. Harley's own warranty says this today because the federal government ordered them to say it. And if Harley ever violates those orders, the FTC can seek civil penalties of over $46,000 per violation.

So think about what is being claimed here. The same company under federal orders to tell you aftermarket parts do not void your warranty is supposedly sending out secret bulletins to dealerships to void warranties over an oil filter? It makes zero sense, because it is not happening.

What the Law Actually Requires

Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, a manufacturer cannot void your warranty simply because an aftermarket part is installed on your bike.

The only way a warranty claim can be denied is if the manufacturer can specifically prove, with actual documented evidence, that a particular aftermarket part directly caused a particular failure. The burden of proof is entirely on them. Not you. Them.

The law also makes clear that you do not have to take your bike to a dealership for service to keep your warranty valid. You can service your own bike in your own garage. You can use any qualified shop. You can use aftermarket parts, aftermarket oil, and aftermarket exhaust.

If any dealership ever tells you your warranty is void simply because you are running an aftermarket reusable oil filter — especially when there is not even a problem with the bike — that is false information, you would have very solid legal grounds, and honestly, I would run as fast as I could from a dishonest dealership like that.

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Common Sense and the Reasonableness Standard

Now I want to be completely fair and balanced here, because this is where common sense has to enter the conversation.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is not a blank slate to put whatever you want on your bike and expect your warranty to survive anything. There are absolutely times where an aftermarket component can cause a failure on a Harley-Davidson motor, and Harley-Davidson would be completely justified in denying that claim.

Let me give you an example. Say you install an aftermarket turbocharger on your Harley. That is a major component that was never fully tested on that motor, and it completely changes the dynamics of the engine. Now say the cooling system that was designed for that motor can no longer cool it properly under boost, and the motor fails because of it. That failure was caused by the turbocharger, and any manufacturer would be justified in denying that warranty claim.

And honestly, that is fair. It would not be right to force a manufacturer to eat the repair bill on an expensive motor when something was installed that clearly caused the damage and that motor was never designed or tested for it.

If you are doing those types of major modifications — internal engine components, turbos, aggressive tunes — you are taking a large risk. At that point, do what you want to your bike, but understand that if something happens, your warranty probably is not going to save you. That is just common sense.

The Other End of the Spectrum

Now compare that to simple slip-on mufflers. A stage one air intake. Lighting. Foot pegs. A seat. A windshield. None of those things are going to cause damage to your motorcycle, and none of them can automatically void your warranty.

I bring this up because I have talked to riders — not just Harley riders, riders on all brands — who tell me things like “I am not doing anything to my bike until my extended warranty expires.” And I have to educate them. You do not have to wait. Putting on an exhaust or an intake or a seat or a windshield is not going to void your factory or extended warranty. A reasonableness standard applies to all of this.

Where Reusable Oil Filters Land

Every OEM part and Screamin' Eagle part Harley-Davidson sells has been tested extensively and designed to work specifically with their motors. That does not mean aftermarket parts will not work with those motors. It just means they have not been through that same factory testing until they get installed on real bikes and get run for years in the real world.

That is exactly the case with reusable magnetic oil filters. Riders have been running them on Harley-Davidson motors for many, many years without issue. There is a long history of this style of filtration in automotive, motorcycle, and racing applications.

And we could not find one single case — not one — where a reusable magnetic oil filter caused any issue whatsoever with a Harley-Davidson motor. That speaks for itself. It is also fair to say plenty of Harley-Davidson dealership employees run these filters on their own personal bikes.

So like most things in life, there is not one simple answer. Common sense always prevails. Use your head, do a little research on the parts you put on your bike, and make sure they are legitimate and reliable.

But what is absolutely true is this: there is no bulletin, there never was a bulletin, and the use of aftermarket oil filters — paper filters and reusable magnetic oil filters alike — will not and cannot automatically void your warranty.

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“My Dealership Won't Clean That Filter”

Here is another comment I see on my reusable oil filter videos. Guys will say, “There is no way the dealership or independent shop is going to clean that filter when I drop my bike off for an oil change and service.”

Okay. Let's think about that for a second. If you already know that, and you do not trust your mechanic to properly service your bike, then why are you dropping your bike off there in the first place? Find a better dealership with people you actually trust, or find a good independent shop.

For the record, there are some phenomenal dealerships out there that you can absolutely trust and that will take care of you. But unfortunately there are some shadier ones too, and it is on you to identify those and steer clear of them.

At the end of the day, this is exactly why we promote doing your own oil changes and services right in your own shop or garage. We have detailed tutorial videos showing exactly how to do it and exactly what the dealership does when you drop your bike off — and you can save $400 to $500 doing it yourself.

A Lesson for Every Motorcycle Viewer

We talk about this stuff more than we should have to, and honestly it gets a little exhausting. But we do it because somebody has to.

Hopefully this is a little bit of an education for viewers of motorcycle channels everywhere. The next time you hear something that does not sound right — even from somebody you think you might trust — it is always okay to fact check. Ask them to produce the evidence. Ask them to show you the document.

You will learn very quickly which channels tell you the truth and which channels mislead you.

Related Reading

If you want to go deeper on reusable oil filters and understand what the micron numbers actually mean, I have already covered this ground in detail:

• Harley-Davidson Reusable Oil Filters: What Every Rider Needs to Know — nominal vs. absolute micron ratings, bypass valves, and why a lower number is not automatically better
• Figurati Magnetic Reusable Oil Filter for Harley-Davidson Review — full breakdown of the filter, its internals, and how to service it

Shop the Law Abiding Biker Store

We sell a ton of products in the Law Abiding Biker Store, and here is the reality — if it were truly this easy to void a motorcycle warranty by installing a single aftermarket part, the entire aftermarket industry would collapse overnight. You would be stuck with nothing but OEM oil, OEM filters, OEM exhaust, OEM everything. That is not the world we live in, and it has not been that world since 1975.

We carry both of these in the store right now:

• Figurati Reusable Performance Magnetic Oil Filter — 25-micron absolute stainless mesh, five neodymium magnets, serviceable bypass, cooling fins, seven anodized colors
• PC Racing FLO Reusable Oil Filter — proven, long-standing reusable stainless option
• Figurati Magnetic Engine and Transmission Dipsticks — pair them with the filter for multi-point protection

Both filters have been used by tons of riders for years without issue. These are quality products from companies I personally trust, and I run the Figurati on my own Harley.

Free shipping over $100 and no sales tax if you live outside Washington State.

Watch the Full Video

This article covers the highlights, but the full story — including exactly what my Harley-Davidson sources told me — is in the video. Scroll down to the bottom of this page and watch the complete video.

[VIDEO EMBED HERE]

At the end of the day, the biker community is one of the best communities in the world. We look out for each other, we help each other, and we share real information based on real experience. That also means calling out nonsense when we see it.

There is no bulletin. Your warranty is protected by fifty years of federal law. The burden of proof is on the manufacturer, not you. And reusable oil filters like the Figurati and the PC Racing FLO have been proven safe and effective for decades.

Now go ride.