Indian motorcycle manufacturer Royal Enfield have issued a recall on their Himalayan motorcycle which will affect 4,891 motorcycles and potentially even more on a global scale.
The company were made aware of brake fade and failure on motorcycles that began to experience corrosion on the brake calipers, however this has been documented and investigated for the better part of two years.
The latest official recall has come from RE in the USA however more recall notices are being rolled out in several other countries too.
This from the recall report:
“Royal Enfield North America Limited (Royal Enfield) is recalling certain 2017-2021 Himalayan motorcycles. The salt used to treat the roads in the winter may corrode the brake calipers, causing a decrease or total loss of brake function”
The investigation by Royal Enfield and that of Brembo who supplied the calipers and Bosch with the ABS finally revealed that riding in winter months on salt treated roads had caused abnormal corrosion on the calipers leading them to bind and reduce braking efficiency.
The recall will notify owners to return their motorcycles to dealerships for the caliper replacement however the new calipers are reported to have been anodised which means there will be further corrosive protection.
Owners of the Himalayan will be notified on or around the 31st March 2023 with the bikes being affected are those manufactured between 1st March 2017 to 28th February 2021
Whilst the motorcycles for the time period are for those just shy of 5000 units, it is assumed the recall will be for all units sold regardless of where the bikes have been ridden or whether the calipers are showing any signs of corrosion.