Over 400 hundred 2013 Triumph Trophy motorcycles have been recalled due to an issue with the center stand. Apparently the mount for the center stand my break causing the bike to fall over.
From what I can tell from a few Triumph blogs/forums, Triumph has already notified some of the owners who are affected. The recall number from Triumph is SB508RM2013/033.
According to an article on consumeraffairs.com, you can contact Triumph at 678-854-2010.
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The National Insurance Crime Bureau reports, that in 2012, there was a small drop in motorcycle thefts….only 46,000 bikes were stolen.
California, Florida and Texas led in thefts per state but New York City, Las Vegas and San Diego were the worst overall. Honda was the most stolen bike followed by Suzuki. So if you ride a Honda in New York City….lock it up! 😉
Another item of good news is that if your Honda in NYC is stolen the chance for recovery has increased. In 2011 only 37% of stolen motorcycles were recovered, in 2012 that increased to 39%! See the full article here
As I have mentioned before, Fox News must have a motorcyclists/biker on their web staff. They have published an interesting but misnamed article regarding why auto drivers do not see motorcycles.
Titled Insurance Tips the article on the Fox Business website is really about how Texas Tech University psychologists studying how the human brain perceives objects, their size and motion in relation to time to impact. The long story short is that because bikes are smaller our brains misjudge what is happening thus causing accidents.
A bit of a read but worth it in understanding if, when we are on our bikes, we are optical illusions or human miscalculations.
If you own a BMW F800S or F800ST built 2007-2009 you should know that National Highway Transportation Administration has issued a recall.
The recall is due to “incorrect tolerances, the rear wheel drive bearing and rear axle may wear”. The bearing and axle ware, due to the bad tolerances, could increase the risk of a crash. If you have one of these motorcycles you can contact BMW at 1-800-525-7417 or email BMW at CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com.
Apparently Harley is still having issues with 2014 clutches.
In addition to the issues recalled earlier in the year (see this post) the Motor Company has issued recalls for 2,886 of its 2014 Trike (FLHTCUTG), CVO Breakout (FXSBE), and CVO Softail Deluxe (FLSTNSE) motorcycles due to being assembled with incorrect clutch plates.
Harley says “if the clutch does not disengage, the rider may have difficulty slowing or stopping the motorcycle, increasing the risk of a crash”.
If you have one of these bikes please contact your local dealer or 1-800-258-2464.
With nearly 2500 bikes affected BMW is recalling 2012 K1600 GT and K1600 GTL motorcycles for an engine control unit defect that can cause the motorcycles to stall unexpectedly. Apparently an issue with the software is causing the problem. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) notice that this software issue could cause the engine to stall, and increase the likelihood of a crash. The notice states
“A calibration threshold within the throttle valve control software has been determined to be overly sensitive. As a result, under certain operating conditions, an implausible signal may be registered within the engine control unit. If this happens, the engine control unit may initiate a ‘fail safe mode’ (i.e. ‘limp home mode,’ engine speed limited to approximately 2,000 rpm). In rare cases, the engine could stall, increasing the risk of a crash,”
If you have one of this motorcycles you can call BMW customer relations at 1-800-525-7417 or email BMW at CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com.
Photo from Fox News
Fox News’ website has a nice article on helmet laws across the county. In addition to the table explaining the laws they also discuss some of stats around helmet usage. Check it out here.
DOT Approved? Not likely!
Consumer Reports is reporting that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has revised its helmet labeling requirements. That due to the ease of counterfeiting the current labels to many people are using “novelty helmets”.
The article states that “Novelty helmets often bear labels similar to those formerly used by the Department of Transportation to identify helmets in compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218.” So the new label should reduce the fake DOT stickers on the back of helmets.
The risky location I flagged.
Earlier this year the Allstate Insurance Company introduced a Facebook app to help riders identify risky areas in which we ride (North America only). The application also allows us to identify new high risk areas on the “Rider Risk Map”.
The application allows users to flag locations that they deem dangerous to motorcycle riders. In addition to flagging the location you can also post pictures and comments to further articulate the risk at that location.
I installed the application and found two riders had identified two locations in my area as dangerous. I concur with both those locations. I added a third location at point of rock where Route 15 south enters the round-about. There are many close calls at that point and motorcyclists should be over cautious at that spot!
Allstate has several other applications for riders available including a Facebook page called “Allstate Motorcycles”. I will cover some of these applications in future posts.
Ann Margret Triumph
Following up on the last post about a crash, how about more crashes!
Motorcycle.com recently published a top 10 list of “Celebrity Motorcycle Accidents”. While these are all US based they are interesting to read.
Who knew that Ann Margret and Lauren Hutton even rode motorcycles!
I JUST WANT 2 RIDE!! 