Recently, on August 4th, Harley Davidson recalled the RH 975 Nightster Motorcycle for the year 2022. This comes after reports that a rider accidentally broke off the left side of the handlebar. Harley’s Technical Subcommittee quickly investigated and made the recommendation to recall.
Through examination by Harley Davidson, they identified that weld variability was the root cause. Up to 1.63% of the handlebars currently in use on the Nightster may be replaced due to inadequate welds. The handlebars were supplied by Vietnam Precision Industrial No. 1 Co. The recall only affects bikes that were produced from December 6, 2021, until September 9, 2022. A total of 1,074 bikes are affected by this recall.
Currently, Harley Davidson says they are not aware of any accidents or injuries related to the handlebars breaking on customers, however, they made the decision to recall due to it being an unreasonable safety risk. The defective handlebars have part number 55801154 and will be replaced at no cost to the customer.
As a general rule, crashes on motorcycles can easily be fatal even with personal protective equipment. In 2018 in the state of Texas there were 436 reported motorcycle fatalities. Approximately 5% of all motorcycle crashes end with a fatality. As compared to other motor vehicle collisions, the percentage of collisions leading to fatalities is only about .7%.
If you or someone you know has suffered injuries or the loss of a family member due to a dangerous or defective product, please contact an attorney at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz, & Stogner by calling 713-222-7211 or toll-free at 1-800-594-4884.