What to do if your motorbike is recalled

My Motorbike Has Been Recalled  – What Should I Do?

Nobody likes receiving a letter from a dealership telling you that your bike is being recalled.  At best it is an inconvenience, but at worst it could relate to a dangerous fault on your motorbike, potentially rendering it unrideable.

What Is A Recall Notice?

Vehicle recalls are essentially safety alerts issued by a manufacturer or retailer. They can be issued on a voluntary or compulsory basis by a market surveillance authority (MSA), which monitors and enforces legal safety standards on consumer products. Usually, this will be via Trading Standards departments here in the UK.

When it comes to our beloved motorbikes, a recall notice is a way in which the manufacturer admits that a mistake has been made somewhere during the production process. The recall notice will include details of the make and model of the motorbike effected, as well as a year of manufacture. In most cases, your bike will need to be returned to the dealership or an authorised repair centre to be fixed.

What Should I Do If I Receive A Recall Notice?

If you get the letter through your door or receive a phone call or email about a potential recall for your bike, here’s what you should do:

Read it carefully – a recall is a pretty important piece of correspondence and one that will not have been sent to you without some serious decisions having been made on the part of the manufacturer. You need to get your vehicle, vehicle parts or accessories fixed or replaced by the manufacturer if they find a serious problem with them.

Take action – because you are legally responsible for making sure that your bike is both kept in a safe condition and that is safe to ride whenever you ride it, it is your obligation to follow the instructions on the recall notice.

Book your bike in for work – usually, a recall notice will include a contact number and details for the dealership responsible for making good the problem with your bike.  They sent the letter out, so they will be expecting your call.  Contact them as soon as you can and book your bike in.  If the recall is so serious that it advises you not to ride it in its current condition – take heed of this.  You can probably liaise with the dealership about having your bike transported into their workshop for immediate repairs to be carried out.  

Try to find the upside –  it may well be inconvenient to have to be without your bike whilst the problem is fixed, but try to think of it as the manufacturer actually giving a damn about your safety, as opposed to trying to deprive you of a ride for an hour or so.  Also, recall works are paid for by the manufacturer, so depending on the problem, your bike could come back riding better than ever before, and all for free!

If you are unlucky enough to have your bike recalled, don’t ignore it.  You need to pay close attention to the instructions on the correspondence and get it booked in and sorted as soon as you can.