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Recall

This Is the Beginning of a Big Brembo Brake Recall, Again

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Once again, you are going to see a number of Brembo brake recalls in the coming days, if not weeks, as the Italian company has yet another sweeping recall this year.

Unlike the first recall, which affected the piston on the high performance master cylinders found on a number of superbikes and other sport bike motorcycles, this recall affects the rear brake pads.

Sport bikes will be the focus of the recall, as the again the parts are performance based, and specifically the recall concerns the brake pad friction material which may detach from the brake pad backing plate.

Brembo says that its brake pad supplier (Federal Mogul) improperly thermal treated the brake pads at a higher temperature, which resulted in a reduced bonding of the pad material to the backing plate. This was caused by human error.

Because of this error, it is possible that the friction material on the brake pads could come off during a braking procedure, which would increase the braking distance required to stop. This is an obvious safety hazard.

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MotoGP

What Caused Jorge Lorenzo’s Crash at the Qatar GP?

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After a poor start, which saw him drop from ninth on the grid to thirteenth at the end of the first lap, Jorge Lorenzo was making steady progress through the field at Qatar. His lap times were starting to come down to match, and on some laps even beat, the pace the leaders were running.

As the halfway mark approached, and less than four seconds behind the leaders, Lorenzo started to believe he was capable of salvaging a decent result from a difficult start.

That all ended on Lap 13. The Spaniard crashed out of the race at Turn 4, when his front brake failed and he had to drop the bike in the gravel. “I just felt that the level of the front brake was getting closer to my fingers and I didn’t have brake,” Lorenzo described the incident afterwards.

“I lost some meters so I tried to use less front brake and more the rear to try to delay this thing that was getting worse lap-by-lap.”

“Unfortunately when into this Turn 4 the first part of the brake was OK, but suddenly I just missed completely this brake so I had no brake and was going very fast through the gravel to the wall, and I jumped off the bike to avoid hitting the wall.”

What had caused Lorenzo to crash? “The bike came to the box without one part,” Lorenzo said. “Some mechanics went to the corner to see if they could find it and luckily they found it – it was very difficult, but they found it. One part was missing from the bike. I don’t know if it was before the crash or after the crash.”

Both Lorenzo and team boss Davide Tardozzi remained vague about the problem, referring only to “parts” in general, and not specific components. The entire braking system had been handed to Brembo for further examination.

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Recall

Brembo Recall Officially Hits Husqvarna in the USA

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We had an inclination that the ongoing Brembo master cylinder recall would hit the Husqvarna FS450 supermoto in the USA, after seeing a note for it in the European market, and today we get confirmation that this is the case.

For those not in the loop, this news centers around a defect with the Brembo PR15 and PR16 line of master cylinders, which can see their polymer pistons fracture during severe use. Should the piston fracture, the master cylinder may stop working, thus causing the front brakes to fail. 

Because of this, a bevy of motorcycle brands have had to recall their high-performance motorcycle offerings with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

So far, we have seen recalls from Aprilia, Ducati, KTM, MV Agusta, and now Husqvarna.

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Recall

Brembo Recall Hits Husqvarna FS450 Abroad, USA Next?

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The Brembo master cylinder continues to affects motorcycle brands with high-performance machines in their lineup, and now Husqvarna is part of the massive recall as well.

Though not listed by Brembo in its initial press statement as an affected OEM, Husqvarna does seem to have one model of motorcycle that uses the faulty master cylinder design: the track-only Husqvarna FS450 supermoto.

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Recall

KTM Joins Massive Brembo Brake Master Cylinder Recall

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Now the fourth motorcycle manufacturer (1, 2, & 3) to issue a recall because of issues with its fitted Brembo brake master cylinder, KTM has the dubious task of informing 2,361 KTM 1290 Super Duke R (2015-2018) and KTM 1290 Super Duke GT (2016-2018) owners.

Like the other recalls before it, this one stems from certain 15mm and 16mm radial-pump brake master cylinders that have been fitted as an OEM part to a slew of high-performance motorcycles.

Because of a manufacturing defect, the plastic piston on these master cylinders – made from a polyphenylene sulphide polymer – may crack and brake under heavy load, severe ABS engagement, and/or during a tip-over.

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Podcast

Two Enthusiasts Podcast #70 – Epidemiology

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Episode 70 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is our last recording from 2017, and the show is a good one, with a range of topics to suit all two-wheeled tastes.

Before we get too far into things, Quentin shares a story about riding in a Ferrari Testarossa, which turns into a conversation about the “character” of machines. It’s interesting food for thought, and surely to cause some comments.

We then transition into a talk and explanation about what is going on with the massive Brembo recall, which is affecting a number of superbikes with the Italian brand’s master cylinders.

Keeping things an Italian flavor, we also talk about MV Agusta re-acquiring its shares from Mercedes AMG, and what that means for the Varese-based company…hint: mostly good things.

With a few rabbit holes along the way, we then tackle a listener question about affordable motorcycles for the Western markets, which ties into our ongoing conversation on how to fix the motorcycle industry.

You can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. 

We hope you will join the conversation, and leave us some audio comments at our new email address: twoenthusiasts@gmail.com.

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Reviews

What You Need to Know About the Ducati Panigale V4 S

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Is the Ducati Panigale V4 S the most anticipated motorcycle of 2018? If you are a diehard sport biker, the answer is probably yes, though a number of significant models are debuting this year, from several manufacturers.

Still, in terms of ground-changing machines, the Panigale V4 has to rank high up on the list, as it is Ducati’s first proper four-cylinder motorcycle to go into mainstream production.

Yes, the Apollo came before it – all ~1.9 models that were produced – and the Desmosedici RR was also a MotoGP-inspired V4 motorcycle, but those were only available to a select few, with a total of 1,500 units ever made.

The Ducati Panigale V4 and its progeny, however, are here for everyone…and Ducati has taken quite a gamble in producing this “New Opera” – as the tagline goes.

I am writing to you today from Valencia, Spain – where we just finished a day of riding at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, which is better known as the final stop on the MotoGP Championship calendar.

It is a new track for me to ride, and I have to give Ducati credit for picking a venue that doesn’t play just to the strengths of its new motorcycle. A short and technical course, the Valencian circuit is fun and rewarding to ride, but it is also a torture-rack test for a motorcycle’s handling prowess.

It would have been really easy for Ducati to take us somewhere, say like Mugello, where a fast and flowing circuit could hide any flaws in the Panigale V4 chassis design, while in-turn it could also hightlight the superbike’s claimed 214hp.

But here we are in Spain, getting to ride the first entry into this next chapter of Ducati superbike history, so let me tell you what you need to know about Ducati’s new flagship motorcycle, the Panigale V4 S. 

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Recall

Brembo Master Cylinder Recall Hits MV Agusta

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The massive Brembo master cylinder recall continues to take its toll on the motorcycle industry, with MV Agusta now the latest manufacturer to issue a recall for the faulty braking piece.

Issuing a notice that affects 27 units in total, MV Agusta’s recall applies to 2015 and 2016 MV Agusta F4 RR and MV Agusta F4 RC motorcycles.

As you would expect, MV Agusta will notify affected F4 owners, and MV Agusta dealers will replace the piston on the front brake’s master cylinder, free of charge.

Concerned F4 owners may contact MV Agusta customer service at 1-215-781-1770. MV Agusta’s number for this recall is 18RC01.

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News

Brembo Issues Statement on Its Master Cylinder Recall

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Just over a week ago, we broke the news that a massive recall was coming to motorcycles equipped with a particular Brembo master cylinder. Since then, we have seen recall notices from Aprilia and Ducati (affecting roughly 10,000 motorcycles in the USA) with more recalls expected from other brands.

Because recalls in the United States typically come from the motorcycle manufacturer and not the part supplier, mum was the word from the folks at Brembo, though there were a number of questions regarding these recalls that weren’t answered in the NHTSA documents.

Today, Brembo has finally decided to speak about the recalls that are underway in the United States, and presumably will be occurring in other markets as well.

Though not discussing the cause of the issue, or any particulars, from Brembo’s terse statement we at least now know what other brands have been affected by this master cylinder recall. You can read Brembo’s statement, after the jump.

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Recall

Ducati Now Part of the Massive Brembo Brake Recall

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Yesterday we broke the news about a massive recall that is affecting a number of sport bikes with Brembo master cylinders. The first wave of that recall included Aprilia’s two offerings, the Aprilia RSV4 superbike and the Aprilia Tuono 1100 streetfighter.

Today, we get our first official word of another manufacturer that is involved with this massive Brembo brake recall, and it is Ducati. With six affected models, spanning four model years, Ducati North America is recalling roughly 8,000 units because the piston in their master cylinder may crack.

If you recall our previous coverage, the issue stems from the plastic piston in the master cylinder possibly cracking after hard use. If this happens, the master cylinder can stop operating, which can lead to front brake failure. This is an obvious safety concern

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Recall

Today Is the First Day of a Massive Brembo Brake Recall

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Today is the first day of a massive recall for Brembo brakes, as our inbox just received the first official notice of what is expected to a recall that touches a multitude of brands that use the Italian company’s high-performance line of brake master cylinders.

The issue stems from the Brembo’s popular PR16 radial master cylinder unit (the master cylinder that is often paired with the Brembo M50 calipers), which apparently can crack internally at the piston, which can then lead to front brake failure. 

Because of the physical properties of the piston material used on the master cylinder, and the porosity generated during the injection process used to create them, the piston could crack when used on race tracks, or with frequent ABS intervention, or when the motorcycle falls to the ground.

As such when the piston cracks, the front brakes may not operate properly during a braking procedure, which can lead to the front brakes failing entirely. 

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