Harley-Davidson issues 5th hydraulic clutch recall

Harley-Davidson is issuing its fifth recall since 2013 for a hydraulic clutch problem that affects about 238,300 motorcycles worldwide and 3695 in Australia.

This latest voluntary safety recall is for all 2017 and 2018 Touring, Trike and CVO Touring models, as well as some 2017 Softails.

Affected Harleys

2017 Touring, Trike, CVO Touring models built between 08/03/16-08/11/17 and 2017 Softail and CVO Softail models built between 04/03/16-28/04/17
FLHP, FLHR, FLHRC, FLHRXS, FLHTCU, FLHTK, FLHTKL, FLHTK SHRINE, FLHTP, FLHX, FLHXS, FLTRU, FLTRX, FLTRXS, FLRT, FLHTCUTG, FLHTKSE, FLHXSE, FLSS, FLSTFBS and FXSE.

2018 Touring, Trike and CVO Touring models built between 27/03/17-28/09/18
FLHP, FLHR, FLHRC, FLHRXS, FLHTCU, FLHTK, FLHTK ANV, FLHTK SHRINE, FLHTKL, FLHTP, FLHX, FLHX ANV, FLHXS, FLHXS ANX, FLTRU, FLTRX, FLTRXS, FLRT, FLHTCUTG, FLHTCUTG ANV, FLHTKSE, FLHTKSE ANV, FLHXSE and FLTRXSE.

A full list of the Vehicle Identification Numbers of all 3695 affected Harleys is published at the end of this article.

Owners should contact their Harley dealer for a free inspection and repair, if necessary.

Harley CFO John Olin describes the recall as “frustrating”.

“However, the safety of our riders is our highest priority. We, along with our dealers, are committed to addressing this issue and continuing to provide customers with the quality experience and service they expect,” he says.

In February, Harley recalled over 250,000 motorcycles for a brake issue in 2008-11 Touring, CVO and V-Rod. The company only had one recall last year.

Harley sales

This latest hydraulic clutch recall will cost Harley about $35 million.

It comes as the company has announced increased earnings in the third quarter. This is despite Trump’s trade wars resulting in increased tariffs in Europe and China and costing the company $US48m in lost revenue this year.

However, global sales were down 7.8% to 59,226 compared with the same quarter last year.

Worst affected were domestic sales, down 13.3% to 36,220, while international sales were actually up 2.6%.

Australian sales were -20.4% to 5196, despite the Asia/Pacific region only being down 0.3% to 7433.

The company has announced an “accelerated strategy” to offset the decline of domestic sales. It includes developing the brand in the international markets.

Company boss Matt Levatich pointed out that the company was heading into a new era of bold product. Harley is introducing the Pan America adventure bike, a new range of street fighter and custom bikes and electric motorcycles over the next four years.

“This plan is not a short-term fix for what is a fundamental issue in the US industry,” he says as US motorcycle saes were down 8.7% in the quarter.

“It is a way to optimise in the near-term and create domestic and international opportunities to provide sustainable growth over time.”

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