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12/15/2012
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We sold a 2026 Honda 450 RX prior to the handlebar clamp recall coming out. Customer wrecked his bike because his handlebars come loose. Broke his femur and had surgery. His wife found him dead due to a blood clot.
Correct me if I am wrong. Are not the handlebars installed by the dealer during the prep and setup process that we pay so dearly for? Are you telling me the highly qualified Technician that we pay for did not catch anything wrong with the handlebar clamps nor ensure they were properly tightened and safe to ride?
Hey jackass.
There was an internal (aka casting) flaw with the batch of clamps. NOTHING a dealer tech or owner is going to see from the outside.
So, GFY.
If the manufacturer is offering a recall on a part. You can be sure that said part (or task) is not specifically outlined on the dealer checklist. So you would be incorrect in your assumption. A dealer tech is not going to catch bad metallurgy...
Had it on my 26 CR250F. It's not evident until you ride the bike. I checked all nuts and bolts before first break-in ride. Luckily, I was taking it easy, and after a small jump wondered why my clutch lever was suddenly sticking up so high. By the time I rolled back to the pits the bars were rolled way back.
I'm really a little surprised there hasn't been a little more urgency about this. The OP shows why it's a big (but easily fixed) problem.
The issue is that the lower bar holder was incorrectly machined and therefore the holder did not have enough clamping tension to hold the bar. Essentially, the rear bolt on the upper bar holder was bottoming out so even at correct torque settings, the clamps were not secure.
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Wow, big words and name calling. 😏 This is the pic of the issue posted in the other thread. Are you telling me someone should not notice that huge gap and loose bars when installing them? Sorry if I expect a little bit of common sense and mechanical know-how from the guy I am paying $500 to put my handlebars on. Got anymore constructive input?
It's not metallurgy. It's incorrect machining, so your assumption is incorrect. And anyone who is calling themselves a "motorcycle technician" should be capable of noticing what is in that pic.
I bought a new 2026 CR450 Works Edition and from the first day, I felt like my steering stem bearings were loose. I kept tightening the spanner and triple clamp bolt, to the point my steering was slow and a little stiff, but no luck. Took the bike back to the dealer, they charged me $350 to inspect the entire triple clamp area are return it to spec, even though I paid $800 for a factory warranty. They didn't find anything either. Then I got the recall notice, and sure enough, took it back and they told me the handlebar mounts were bad, two week back order on that part.
You pointed to a dealer tech, he pointed to parts. Perhaps neither of you use the most accurate language, but he is much closer.
The setup guy at a dealership is usually a young person employed by the sales department. The more experienced techs employed by the service department usually do not assemble the machines. Once a service bulletin is issued to the service manager, action should be taken. This sucks but unfortunately the blame goes much higher up.
The clamp defect is not as obvious on some as it is on others. I have full confidence that our set up techs followed the set up manual 100%.
This is a 450RWE that we haven't completed the recall on yet. As you can see, there is no obvious gap in the clamps like the photo you shared.
^Yeah my 26’ 250WE looks like this photo. Nothing obvious from looking at it. Gonna take it in in the next few weeks. Just moved to GA a few months ago and unfortunately the closest dealer is almost an hour away. Wish they had a way to tell you which bikes were or weren’t affected by VIN.
Think they do...
https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2026/American-Honda-Motor-Recalls-Off-Road-Motorcycles-Due-to-Risk-of-Serious-Injury-or-Death-Due-to-Crash-Hazard
https://powersports.honda.com/recalls
No when you put it in it essentially says it might be you need to take it in to be looked at. Pretty sure if it’s one of the 25-26 CRF models that the recall is for that’s what it says. So not much help.
But oh well could be worse, glad I at least saw the recall before riding it.
Thank you for the level-headed, nuanced response which helps understand the situation more fully. Can you post a pic of the back of the clamps? Are they bottomed out on each other or is there a gap as there should be?
What he ^^^ said. Let's see the gap on the beveled side of the bar clamp.
Idk 26 years around bikes and 20 of them as a tech that looks like a gap to me. Maybe its me but my yzf, ktm and my ride eng clamps on a kxf look much tighter and I made sure to go look before I wrote this to make sure im not assholong myself out. When I teched bikes when I first started I made sure every bar got the massive bar yank like you cased a jump or are trying to rip the bars back. I know someone with these bars mounts in their garage im gonna see if I can grab them or play woth them on at there place to see if the move when being yanked around.
The technical manual is very descriptive with this detail:
I mean, it’s not like you started your comments on the subject level-headed or nuanced……
Pit Row
There was virtually no gap (less than 1 mm) on the OEM clamps when they rotated first ride. I loosened everything and retightened in accordance with the posted section from the manual thinking that I may have missed an incorrectly installed clamp. When I tried the bike again (this time very slowly, no jumps) it rotated again, and I parked the bike until I could get a proper fix on it. I have put Tusk clamps on mine while waiting for the OEM replacements, which I understand are on backorder with no certain delivery date.
Thanks for your opinion. I'm sorry you consider an expectation of safe handlebars for a $500 assembly fee to be not level-headed.
Ridiculous and out of touch with reality. They tighten the bars and obviously they would investigate if they were floppy. I once bent a stock set of steel bars from a hard lending, because the forces when riding are waaaaay more than what anyone would do with a wiggle check. Maybe we need to get some sort of press and load cell into each shop and force them to certify the yield with every bike, then we can all enjoy paying $20k at the dealer. And really it's $50k once you do that for everything else.
Unless the unit was delivered without repair, AFTER the recall, the evil bastard you are looking for is probably wearing dress shoes and has a secretary. And after HE is found, can point to HIS boss that ignored it.
youre right there IS no obvious gap there in that clamp forward of the bolt, and acc to the dsm someone posted it should be torqued to spec, not bottomed out.
petard, hoisted.
please name the dealer so we know not to spend money there.
I’ve got 40 hours on my 25 250WE. Anyway to tell if this is an actual issue without taking it in? I haven’t had any issues and I’ve had some big hits, such that I’ve bent wheels, but bars are fine.
it's ok there was another thread on setup fees, alot of people here seem to think its the only way a dealer can survive, is by charging $350 for an $11/hr kid to roll the bike out of the crate and bolt some bars on.
I quit the dealers decades ago and am not going to defend what they charge, but that kid could have torqued them exactly to spec using a gold-plated torque wrench. The problem originated in Japan.
Shit like this is why I chuckle every time someone scoffs at disassembling/greasing/checking torques on brand-new bikes when I get them home. Just off the top of my head, I’ve found on brand-new bikes fresh from PDI:
-loose bars
-loose front axle clamps
-dry gearbox (93 CR125)
-and others.
I wouldn’t trust dealer techs with my cheap lawnmower, let alone my safety on my bike.
Who doesn't check bolts before you ride? I don't know the details here but, stretch, check sag, check bolts look at the bike idling and see if anything is moving.
Feel bad for the Customer for the injuries.
Dude the guy is dead..
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