Posts Tagged ‘NHTSA’

Ijustwant2ride.comThe US DOT on the 20th of Aug mandated that all major manufactures now list all the VIN numbers of vehicles affected by recalls.  And you can check that list at the Safercar.gov website.  Well not quite all manufactures yet, but the stragglers are coming around.

What is the mandate, all major light vehicle and motorcycle manufacturers are required to provide VIN search capability for uncompleted recalls on their own websites. This data must be updated at least weekly.

NHTSA’s new VIN look-up tool directly relies on information from all major automakers.

Determining whether there is a recall that consumers need to take action on is easy. After entering the VIN number into the field, results will appear if the consumer has an open recall on their vehicle, and if there are none, owners will see “No Open Recalls.”

If this works as advertised it will be, in my view, the second website that the government has gotten right.  The first being the American Byways site that I wrote about here.

Ijustwat2ride.com

Victory is recalling 2014 Victory Cross Country, Cross Country Eight Ball, Hammer Eight Ball, High Ball, Jackpot, Judge, Ness Cross Country, Vegas Eight Ball, Vision, Boardwalk, and the 2015 Victory Gunner.  The problem, their engines may seize unexpectedly.

victory logoApparently the crankcases on these bikes were machined to incorrect standards.  A lack of clearance between the crankshaft and the crankcase could cause the engine to seize, which could cause a lack of control and a crash.

OWNERS ARE ADVISED NOT TO RIDE THEIR MOTORCYCLES UNTIL THE REPAIR IS COMPLETED.

If you own one of these motorcycles you can contact Polaris customer service at 888-704-5290.

The recall NHTSA campaign number is 14V227000

 

In other Victory News: 

The 2014 American Victory Rally in Spirit Lake Iowa has been canceled.  According to the press release:

“All of us at Victory are disappointed that we are unable to host the rally this year as we know our riders are passionate about their bikes and the opportunity to connect with each other, the Spirit Lake community and Victory employees at the annual rally,” said Marcy Bosch, committee chair for the American Victory Rally. “We will be transforming our manufacturing lines this summer to keep up with the demands fueled by the continued enthusiasm for Victory logo-victory-riders-association_hdbikes and our other products, which means we won’t be able to free up the facilities and dedicate the resources necessary to support a quality rally. We are grateful to our riders and the Spirit Lake community for their continued support and passion for the Victory brand.”

Wonder how much of the Victory line is being converted to Indian?

Photo from Fox News

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.

picture by scott massey

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.

Recall

Victory Cross Country

The National Traffic Highway Safety Administration (NTHSA) has directed a recall on “certain Lock & Ride accessory passenger backrests, part numbers 2877938 (chrome) and 2877938-266 (black) for use on Cross Country, Cross Country Touring, Cross Country 8-ball, Cross Country Touring, and Hardball motorcycles”.  If you have one of these parts for a 2010-2013 bike contact Victory (the number is below)  According to the NTHSA recall 13,709 parts are affected.

Here is the recall issued by the NTHA (it is quite a ways down the page do a search for Victory):

Summary: 
Polaris is recalling certain Lock & Ride accessory passenger backrests, part numbers 2877938 (chrome) and 2877938-266 (black) for use on Cross Country, Cross Country Touring, Cross Country 8-ball, Cross Country Touring, and Hardball motorcycles. If a passenger backrest has, or has had, a luggage rack attached to it, part numbers 2877950 or 2877950-266, the backrest can fail due to the additional load of the luggage rack

Consequence:
If the passenger backrest fails while the motorcycle is in motion, it may increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy:
Polaris will notify owners, and dealers will mail a recall notice to all registered owners of any 2010 through 2013 Victory Cross Roads, Cross Country, Cross Country Tour, and Hard Ball motorcycles. If they have, or have had, an affected passenger backrest/luggage rack combination installed on their motorcycle, the backrest and luggage rack will be replaced, free of charge. Polaris will mail an interim letter to owners in September 2013. Owners will be mailed a follow up notification in Spring 2014, when parts are expected to be available, so they may schedule the repairs. Owners may contact Polaris at 1-888-704-5290

Notes:
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov