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Recall

The Ducati Panigale V4 Gets Its First Two Recalls

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New model teething issues are always a reality, and it seems that the Ducati Panigale V4 is no exception to the rule. Finding not one, but two issues with the Panigale V4’s fueling system, Italy’s newest superbike is being recalled in the United States.

Both recalls seem to affect the full-lot of Panigale V4 models that have made it to US soil thus far this year, which means 692 units (base, S, and Special trim levels) are being recalled for two issues related to the bike’s fuel system.

As such, the first recall centers around the breathing system valve plug on the Panigale V4, which might have a fuel leak if the O-ring was damaged during production.

Accordingly, the second recall involves the fuel tank cap, which can spray gas when opened, because again of breathing issues within the fuel system.

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News

Indian Recalls Bike That Might Start on Their Own

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One of the weirder recalls we have ever seen at Asphalt & Rubber, Indian is recalling 3,341 motorcycles because they could potentially start on their own.

The issue stems from the bikes’ right-hand control cluster, which can become corroded over time. If a bike’s wireless key is nearby, this can lead to a situation where the motorcycle can initiate the startup procedure without action from the owner.

Obviously such a situation can lead to several potentially dangerous scenarios, with carbon monoxide poisoning at the top of the list.

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News

Ducati Will Start Making Motorcycles with Radar

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Ducati is making an interesting announcement today, boasting that it will bring front and rear radar technology to its motorcycles by the year 2020.

Using radar technology developed with the Politecnico di Milano University, Ducati will use radar not only to detect vehicles in the motorcycle’s blind spot, but also to detect the flow of traffic ahead of the motorcycle, and use that information for an adaptive cruise control system.

Ducati plans a number of other rider alerts as well, with the fore and aft radar units, which will help riders know when there is a fast-approaching vehicle coming from the rear, when there is a risk of head-on collision in front of the motorcycle, and so forth.

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Recall

ICON Recalls Alliance & Alliance GT Helmets

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Owners of ICON Alliance and ICON Alliance GT helmets should take note that the apparel designer has recalled a batch of the street bike helmets because of issues with its D-ring closure and retention system.

The specific pieces being recalled are the Alliance “Dark” helmets manufactured from January 2017 through July 2017, as well as the Alliance GT “Horror” and “Rubatone” helmets manufactured from March 2017 through July 2017.

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Recall

Battery “Thermal Events” Lead to Zero Recall & Buy-Back

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Zero Motorcycles is reporting a very serious defect with its 2012 model year bikes, specifically affecting the Zero S, Zero DS, and Zero DSP (Police) models.

The recall concerns Zero’s battery architecture for the 2012 model year, which may cause cells to fail, and thus create a runaway “thermal event” (read: catches on fire) within the battery pack.

In total, this recall affects 218 motorcycle units – the entire volume of Zero S, Zero DS, and Zero DPS motorcycles that were sold for the 2012 model year.

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Recall

Polaris Recalls 24,000+ Slingshots for Seat Belt Failures

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Here’s one you don’t usually see on a motorcycle new site, as Polaris is recalling over 24,000 Slingshot autocycles for issues with their seatbelt and seat design and manufacturing.

This recall is a big one, as it applies to seemingly all Polaris Slingshots sold between 2015 and 2018, for a tally of 24,235 vehicles affected by this recall notice. In its recall documents, Polaris estimates that roughly 1 in 100 vehicles exhibit the problem.

What’s at issue is that the driver and passenger seats might have a seat belt and seat back anchoring bracket that may have been improperly welded.

Additionally, there may have been a difference in the seat assembly at the factory, which may prevent the proper latching of the seat slider, which would allow the driver’s seat to move unexpectedly.

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Products

AGV Just Made the Lightest Modular Helmet Ever

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AGV has a new helmet out for the 2018 riding season, which by itself isn’t a big news item. But, this isn’t your typical helmet, as the Italian brand has made the first all carbon fiber modular helmet. They call it the AGV Sportmodular.

The advantages of a carbon fiber helmet design should be obvious, as there are significant weight savings that come with composite construction designs. AGV calls the Sportmodular the lightest modular helmet on the market.

By our scales though, the Sportmodular is lighter than even the featherweight Pista GP R – the AGV’s top-of-the-line track-focused helmet that Valentino Rossi wears – which would make the AGV Sportmodular one of the lightest helmets on market..if not the lightest.

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Lifestyle

The Miracle That Is Cornering ABS, Explained

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Cornering ABS, it’s the hot new thing on motorcycles rights now. So important is this braking technology, one industry CEO explained it to me in the following terms: in terms of safety, it does to the front wheel what traction control has done for the rear wheel.

I won’t make the bold statement that IMU-powered (that’s inertial measurement units for the uninitiated) braking systems make it impossible to tuck the front wheel of a motorcycle, but they do make it exceedingly difficult to do so, especially by use of the brakes.

Not surprisingly then, we see a number of motorcycle brands offering this technology now, usually on their more premium models. KTM was the first do so, getting an exclusive from Bosch, one of the leaders in this space.

Since then though, cornering ABS has come to virtually every brand (strangely, none of the American motorcycle brands offer a motorcycle with cornering ABS right now), and we see several players offering systems to these OEMs, with Bosch and Continental leading the pack.

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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

Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R Lineup Recalled Because Gears Might Break from High Impact

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Attention owners of the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R and Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR motorcycles from the 2016 thru 2018 model yeas, as news has come from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that roughly 4,000 of these machines might have issues with their gearboxes.

According to the recall, a high impact force can cause the transmission gears to break during shifting – specifically the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gears in the gearbox.

First discovered in the Thai market, Kawasaki found upon further investigation that the strength of these gears was not sufficient, and could break under excessive force. As such, two warranty claims in the US have already been made for this issue.

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Recall

Harley-Davidson Recalling 174,000 Motorcycles Because Owners Might Be Bad at Basic Bike Maintenance

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Yup. You read that headline correctly, and thus here is our second recall notice of the day, and as you might expect, it is an interesting one.

Harley-Davidson is having to recall over 174,000 motorcycles because their brake components may form deposits internally if the brake fluid is not replaced after a prolonged period of time, i.e. beyond the two-year maintenance schedule specified by Harley-Davidson.

In total, 31 Harley-Davidson models are affected by this recall, namely the Touring, CVO Touring, and VSRC models that have ABS brakes equipped.

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