The defect
ON SOME MOTORCYCLES, CERTAIN FRAME WELDS DO NOT MEET MANUFACTURING SPECIFICATIONS. HIGH LOADS CREATED WHEN RIDING ON ROUGH ROAD SURFACES OR THROUGH POTHOLES CAN CAUSE THE AFFECTED WELDS TO CRACK.
The risk
THE WELDED AREA COULD BREAK, RESULTING IN REAR SUSPENSION COLLAPSE OR LOWER CROSS MEMBER SEPARATION, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND REINFORCE THE WELDS ON ALL FRAMES. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN DURING OCTOBER 2003. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT HONDA AT 1-866-784-1870.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Honda GL1800 | 2002, 2003 |
| Honda GL1800A | 2002, 2003 |
Components: STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS:UNDERBODY SHIELDS
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honda GL1800 | 2002 | 182 | 6 |
| Honda GL1800 | 2003 | 101 | 6 |
| Honda GL1800A | 2002 | 8 | 4 |
| Honda GL1800A | 2003 | 16 | 4 |
Other structure recalls in 2003
21 of the 527 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2003 concerned the structure; AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO. filed 122 campaigns in all.
| 03V535000 18 Dec 2003 | BIG DOG MOTORCYCLES, LLC |
| 03V533000 12 Dec 2003 | TRAIL KING INDUSTRIES, INC. |
| 03V469000 12 Nov 2003 | BENSON INTERNATIONAL, INC. |
| 03V439000 4 Nov 2003 | GLAVAL BUS DIVISION |
| 03V458000 24 Oct 2003 | CHAMPION BUS, INC. |
| 03V403000 16 Oct 2003 | MID BUS CORPORATION |
| 03V363000 8 Oct 2003 | BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY |
| 03V354000 23 Sept 2003 | IC CORPORATION |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2003