Harley-Davidson Recalls 185K Cycles for Saddlebag Issue

The motorcycle company is issuing a campaign affecting 185,272 examples of its 2014 and 2015 products, including the Road King, Street Glide (pictured above), Electra Glide, and many other models (full list below). On the affected cycles, the hardware holding on the bags might not secure them properly, and this can lead to the storage areas falling off while riding.

According to the documents submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (as a PDF), the specific problem is that a spring wire in the saddlebag-mounting receptacle may not maintain adequate tension. Harley started investigating the issue in January following an increase in warranty claims. Engineers finally diagnosed the problem in June, and a recall was decided.

Affected owners will be notified by Harley to have the saddlebag mounting receptacles replaced with updated parts. According to the NHTSA documents, the campaign to fix this problem will begin in July 27. Bikes built after May 26 already have the improved component.