Harley-Davidson Australia has voluntarily recalled the Street 500 over a fuel issue as the popular learner-approved motorbike soars towards the top of the sales charts.
It is part of a global recall notice and is yet another example of the local distributor getting in first to be on the front foot over recall issues, unlike some other manufacturers that “hide” their recalls in routine service inspections. International recalls are expected to follow in coming days.
Spokesman Adam Wright says they want to reassure their customers.
“It’s important to be transparent,” he says. “All manufacturers have recalls and we apologise for the issue which is an inconvenience. We’re riders too and we share in your frustration.
“But, at the end of the day, it’s about ensuring our product is number one in quality and customer safety.”
The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission recall notice refers to the XG500 and XG750 Street models, although we only get the XG500 in Australia.
The notice says: “These motorcycles may have poor a poor seal at the fuel pump inlet. This could allow an interruption to the fuel supply under acceleration at low fuel levels, possibly before the low fuel light indicator has illuminated.
“If this condition remains undetected, under acceleration with the fuel level below 3.2 litres, the motorcycle may briefly hesitate and then restore power abruptly, possibly leading to a loss of control.”
There have been no reported incidents in Australia. Harley recommends riding no further than 160km on a full the tank. The repair kits start arriving on September 14.
Harley will contact owners by letter and advise them to head to their nearest authorised dealer for an inspection to confirm whether their motorcycle is affected. Bikes needing the new kit will be repaired for free.
Adam says the 1591 bikes affected in Australia, were built between January 20, 2014, and July 15, 2015.
“Those not yet delivered will be fixed before being offered for sale. It will slow down sales a bit, but it’s the right thing to do.”
We tipped the Street 500 to be one of the top three motorcycles sold in Australia this year and at the end of the first half of the year, it had climbed to fourth position with 745 sales after just four months on the showroom floor.
Surprisingly, the $9995 (rideaway) bike is beaten by the Harley Breakout at $29,495 (rideaway), helping Harley beat Honda as the top-selling road bike company in the country for the first time.
The top-selling bikes in Australia are the Honda postie bike and the Kawasaki Ninja 300, but at the rate it is selling we now believe the Street 500 could even top those.
Recall notices are issued by the manufacturer through a voluntary industry code under the ACCC.
Despite hundreds of recalls by various automotive manufacturers, none has ever been mandatory. All have been issued by the manufacturer.
While any recall is not good news for the manufacturer, it shows that they are largely diligent in fixing problems.
If you believe there is an endemic problem with your bike that should be recalled, contact the ACCC on 1300 302 502.
To check whether your motorcycle has been recalled, click on these sites:
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Australia
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USA
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UK
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New Zealand
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Canada