Harley-Davidson is recalling a staggering 238,300 motorcycles worldwide to fix a clutch problem.
In the USA, the recall affects 178,000 bikes. It covers 26 models from the 2017 and 2018 model years. As you can imagine, that’s a long list. We’ll post it in its entirety below.
The problem is with a leaky clutch. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (a US government agency) says that the clutches may leak internally — which could mean that you don’t realize what’s happening. After a critical amount of fluid loss, the clutch will no longer engage/disengage. That could put you in a situation where you’re unable to take the bike out of gear and could lead to a crash. Harley says it has reports of five crashes — mercifully, al ofl them have been injury-free.
Photo courtesy of Harley-Davidson
Harley says the recall will cost $35 million (that’s USD,) although they won’t be footing the entire bill because it’s fundamentally a supplier problem.
The recall starts on November 5th. Dealers will install a new clutch secondary actuator piston, at no charge to owners (duh.)
Unfortunately, this is far from being the first time that Harley-Davidson has had huge recalls because of issues with their clutches. In 2013, they had to fix 29,046 machines. In 2015 it was 45,901 clutches. And in 2016, 27,232 machines were called across 14 product lines.
Photo courtesy of Harley-Davidson
Although the company posted a profit in the third-quarter, sales were down, presumably the result of a call for a boycott due to trade issues.
OK, take a deep breath. If you own a Harley, here’s the long list you’ll have to comb through to see if your model is affected.
- Harley-Davison recall:
- FLHP 2017 – 2018
FLHR 2017 – 2018
FLHRXS 2017 – 2018
FLHTCU 2017 – 2018
FLHTCUTG 2017 – 2018
FLHTK 2017 – 2018
FLHTKL 2017 – 2018
FLHTKSE 2017 – 2018
FLHTP 2017 – 2018
FLHX 2017 – 2018
FLHXS 2017 – 2018
FLHXSE 2017 – 2018
FLRT 2017 – 2018
FLSS 2017
FLSTFBS 2017
FLTRU 2017 – 2018
FLTRX 2017 – 2018
FLTRXS 2017 – 2018
FLTRXSE 2018
FXSE 2017
