MV Agusta joins Brembo fault recall

MV Agusta Australia is the fourth motorcycle company to join the global recall over a fault in Brembo front master cylinders.

The other brands which issued official recalls last month are Aprilia, Ducati and KTM. (Click on the brands in the previous sentence to see which models are affected by the recall.)

The MV Agusta models affected by the fault are only the expensive and limited-edition F4 RR and F4 RC.

MV Agusta Australia urges owners to contact an authorised dealer to arrange an inspection and free repair.

The full list of Vehicle Identification Numbers of affected bikes is listed at the end of this article.

Brembo fault

The recall does not affect brake master cylinders sold as aftermarket kits through Brembo authorised dealers.

The fault is believed to be a crack in the internal piston of the PR16 radial master cylinder.

The crack can result from prolonged and hard use such as track work or frequent use of ABS.

Obviously, if it breaks, not only will braking force be diminished, but owners could also end up wth highly corrosive brake fluid leaking over their bike.

Brembo says the problem is with the plastic (polyphenylene sulphide) they used. To fix it, they will replace the plastic piston with an aluminium piston.

Here is the official notice from Brembo about the fault:

The anisotropy of the piston material, in addition to potential porosity introduced during the injection process, could lead to crack generation and thus potential component failure. The failure may occur with no warning to the rider, although a significant loss in brake effectiveness may be an early indicator.

In May, 2017, Ducati received initial information from the field regarding front brake malfunction involving a motorcycle in the European market. During the same month Ducati received a second European front brake malfunction report.

Ducati initiated an investigation and began to jointly conduct an analysis with Brembo, the component manufacturer. In September, 2017, a third European case was discovered. Failure was found to have occurred during race track use in two of the three cases. In November, 2017, the investigation was finalised and the root cause was identified as above. On December 14th, 2017, Ducati determined that a worldwide safety Recall was justified. For subject motorcycles sold in the US, there have been no reports of injuries due to the defect.

The only previous recall for a Brembo brake fault we could find was an ABS modular in Triumph Street Triple and Daytona models in 2013.

YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS ON RECALLS

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:

• Australia

• USA

• UK

• New Zealand

• Canada

VINS of affected MV Agusta models