Triumph Motorcycles Fined $2.9 Million for NHTSA Violation

Of that money, $1.4 million goes to the USA government, and the bike maker must spend at least $500,000 to improve its safety practices. Violating any of NHTSA's stipulations would add another $1 million onto the punishment.

The investigation that led to the huge fine started with a safety campaign for over 1,300 bikes in September 2014. NHTSA found that Triumph reported the problem late and then discovered other violations, like submitting quarterly recall completion rates late and not supplying warranty data. Making matters worse, the motorcycle maker also took too much time in meeting the deadline for the government's inquiry.

"Today's enforcement action penalizes past violations, and it promotes the proactive safety culture manufacturers must adopt if they are to reduce safety defects and identify them more quickly than they occur," NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said. As part of the settlement, Triumph has to hire an independent auditor to check the company's safety practices. It also has to create a position for a compliance officer and submit written reports to NHTSA.