Harley-Davidson has issued a recall order for 66,421 Touring and CVO Touring motorcycles with model year 2014 due to brake line issues.
The issues can cause the front wheels of the motorcycle to suddenly lock up while moving. The front brake line of the recalled motorcycles could possibly be pinched in between the motorcycle's frame and fuel tank, causing the brake fluid pressure at the front to build up and cause the sudden locking up.
Also included in the company's recall order are motorcycles that have anti-lock brakes that were manufactured between July 1 of last year and May 7 of this year.
Harley-Davidson has connected the brake line issue to five reported crashes, involving two minor injuries.
The brake line issue was discovered by the company through warranty claims by their customers last fall. On Oct. 8, 2013, Harley-Davidson determined that "six warranty claims/consumer contacts" were potentially linked to the brake line issue. Among those six incidents was "one crash with no injuries."
A week after, Harley-Davidson completed corrective action on its York facility's final assembly line, where a cable strap was added to the assembly to prevent the brake lines from being caught between the fuel tank and the frame. The investigation was then closed on November 11 of that year.
However, Harley-Davidson revisited the investigation on May 7 this year when the issue once again surfaced in the York Final Vehicle Audit. A re-analysis of the company's warranty claims data revealed "a cumulative total of 39 warranty claims potentially related to this issue, four of which reported crashes (with one reported minor injury)." On May 20, another customer complaint was connected to the problem.
These recent revelations prompted Harley-Davidson to issue the recall.
Harley-Davidson will send out notifications to the owners of the defective motorcycles within the month.
Customers owning the motorcycles included in the recall order will have to take their vehicle to their respective dealers. Dealers will provide a free replacement for the brake lines, along with strap attachments to secure the position of the brake lines once in place.
This issued recall order by Harley-Davidson is not the first one for the company's 2014 Touring line, which included several major upgrades from its Project Rushmore design. In October of last year, Harley-Davidson issued a recall order for over 29,000 units for hydraulic clutch issues. This previous recall also came with a Do Not Ride warning to the owners of the motorcycles, as the issue may lead to the clutch not being able to disengage in the middle of travel.
