Victory is leading the way with its latest safety recall notice, protecting riders even before they get their bike.
While some companies issue notices to dealers to perform certain safety checks for known issues at routine maintenance services, others issue an official safety recall through government agencies. In Australia it’s the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and in the US it’s the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Victory Motorcycles Australia has gone one step beyond with a media release a couple of days before issuing the official ACCC notice. Furthermore, the company identified the problem as part of their quality control checks, so only one bike has gone out to a rider.
They could easily have just rung that one rider and got the problem fixed and quietly fixed the other bikes before they went out on the showroom floors – and they have done that. But Victory has really nailed this one with their press release and official safety recall notice. As they say in their press release “The safety of Victory riders is always the #1 priority.”
The product issue relates to possible engine seizure, which could cause a loss of control and increases the risk of an accident. The issue affects Victory Motorcycles produced on and between 22/01/2014 and 25/04/2014. “Motorcycles with build dates outside of the specified range have been determined to not require any further inspection or attention related to this issue,” their release says.
The one owner has had his bike fixed and the other bikes not yet sold have also been fixed. “Victory’s swift response to this product issue has minimised any customer inconvenience and safety risk,” their release says.
The only other safety recalls issued in Victory’s six-year history in Australia was 2011 Cross Country with a loose handlebar problem, 2012 Jackpot and Kingpin with loose back rests and 2012 models that had loose throttle cable retention nuts.
Thousands of motorcycles are voluntarily recalled each year for free safety checks. The system seems to work quite well and in Australia, the ACCC has never had to make a recall mandatory.
While motorcycles continue to improve in technology, safety and performance, there are so many working parts that faults can occur. Sometimes they are minor, but sometimes they can have major safety ramifications.
While owners are usually notified, they should also periodically check with their dealer to ask if any safety recalls are relevant for their bike. Recalls affect not only original owners, but subsequent owners.