Harley Davidson recalls 57000 bikes in US for faulty oil line

Harley Davidson, the famous motorcycling brand from US, has recalled around 57,000 bikes for loose oil lines which will eventually lead to slippage and crash.

Harley Davidson has voluntarily issued the recall for an issue in its motorcycle models where an oil tube can come loose and leak oil onto its rear tires. Sustained riding with oil on the rear wheels could result in the tyre loosing grip and might eventually lead to a crash.

According to an US based Journal, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the recall affects a number of bikes between 46000 to 57000 units and includes models such as 2017 Electra Glide Ultra Classic, Police Electra Glide, Police Road King, Road King, Road King Special, Street Glide, Street Glide Special, Road Glide and Road Glide Special motorcycles built from July 2, 2016 through May 9, 2017. The problem has arisen mainly due to an overlooked operation by its assembly line workers. Dealers of Harley Davidson will inspect the affected motorcycles and fix the issue with no cost to the customer.

The issue was first spotted by a Harley Davidson dealer in March 2017 when the dealer was testing a bike on a dyno and the oil cooler line came off. The incident was promptly escalated to the factory which in turn had reviewed warranty reports and began a formal investigation.

Though the investigation was closed in April with no similar defects uncovered, it was shortly reopened thereafter when the company received a report of an oil leak because of a loose oil pipe and had resulted in the motorcycle getting crashed. Deeper inquiry further revealed nine such cases of detached oil lines which led to two crashes resulting in minor injuries.

This is the latest of production issues which the Harley Davidson range of bikes have been facing. In US, federal regulators initiated an investigation based on complaints from multiple Harley Davidson owners stating that their brakes had failed. The investigation did not culminate in a recall as it was indicated that the braking issues were not due to faulty braking apparatus but failure from the owners’ side to not follow the company recommendation to change the brake fluid every two years.

As of now, Harley Davidson India has not initiated any recall for its Indian models and we have to wait and see whether there is any, in the pipeline.