Harley Recall

OFF THE WIRE

Harley-Davidson announced a recall yesterday of the motor company’s 2014 touring and Softail models and trikes. Harley also warned affected owners not to try to ride their new bike’s into the nearest dealership.
The recall affects 29,046 motorcycles. The defective bikes are all FLHTCU, FLHTK, FLHTP, FLHX, FLHXS, FLHTKSE, FLHRSE, FLHTCUTG, FXSBSE and FLSTNSE models built between May 3, 2013 and this Monday. Since the recall effects bikes built as recently as three days ago it appears the company was surprised to learn of the potentially fatal defect.

Release Speak

In a press release issued yesterday the company stated the problem is “with a hydraulic clutch system that may pose a safety issue for riders and/or passengers. The recalls include a Do Not Ride notice to owners and a Do Not Deliver notice to Harley-Davidson dealers until the motorcycle is fixed.”
The release continued: “’The safety of our customers is our highest priority,’ said Tony Wilcox, Harley-Davidson General Manager of Motorcycle New Product Delivery. ‘We have identified potential safety issues and are moving quickly to notify our customers and dealers. The inspection and repair of these motorcycles is extremely important, so it’s critical that our customers with affected vehicles contact their dealers immediately. We apologize for this circumstance. The company is committed to correcting this issue and providing customers with the quality experience and service they expect.’”
“Some of these motorcycles may exhibit a condition in which the hydraulic clutch system may lose the ability to generate enough lift to disengage the clutch,” the release explained. “If the clutch does not disengage as intended, the rider may have difficulty slowing or stopping the motorcycle, which could result in an accident. Harley-Davidson has initiated these recalls to correct the affected motorcycles.”

Hooray For Harley

“The company is taking the additional measure of issuing a Do Not Ride notice to riders given the potential safety issues,” the company said. “The company wants owners of affected motorcycles to contact an authorized Harley-Davidson dealer immediately to arrange for an inspection. The dealer will pick up, inspect and make the necessary repairs at no cost to the owner. The repairs have been identified and should take less than one hour.”
In the release, Harley also takes time to congratulate itself for voluntarily recalling the motorcycles even though there was actually no government at the time to force them to do the right thing.

“Although the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration is closed as a result of the partial government shutdown, Harley-Davidson is proceeding with these voluntary recalls consistent with NHTSA’s process,” the release explained.