FAILURE OF A REPLACEMENT MOTORCYCLE TIRE INNERTUBE. I HAVE A 2000 HARLEY DAVIDSON SPORTSTER. THE FRONT WHEEL IS A SPOKE WHEEL WITH A TUBE TYPE TIRE. ABOUT 6 MONTHS AGO, I HAD THE FRONT TIRE AND TUBE REPLACED BY A REPUTABLE MOTORCYCLE DEALER. ALL WAS WELL UNTIL MAY 12 WHEN I SENSED THAT HANDLING HAD DEGRADED. I DETERMINED THAT THE FRONT TIRE PRESSURE WAS NEAR ZERO. I ADDED AIR TO THE RECOMMENDED PRESSURE AND CAREFULLY MONITORED PRESSURE. I COULD SEE NO DEFECT. A LEAK OF MORE THAN A FEW PSI/HR WAS EVIDENT. I TOOK THE MOTORCYCLE TO THE DEALER WHO ORIGINALLY INSTALLED THE NEW TIRE AND TUBE FOR REPAIR. THE DEALER FOUND THAT THE TUBE HAD A SPLIT IN IT ALONG THE MOLD PARTING LINE. THIS DEFECT COULD HAVE HAD SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES IF I HAD NOT SENSED I HAD A PROBLEM. THE DEALER IS GRAND PRIX MOTORSPORTS OF LITTLETON COLORADO. THE DEALER INFORMED ME THAT THE TUBE ORIGINALLY INSTALLED, ( AND LIKELY NOW PRESENT) IS MADE BY OR FOR MALCOLM SMITH RACING (MSR). IT IS A "HEAVY DUTY" TUBE MODEL 288208. AT THE TIME OF SERVICE ON MAY 12, I WAS TOLD THAT THE DEALER HAS SEEN OTHER MOTORCYCLE TUBES THAT HAVE SPLIT ON THE MOLD PARTING LINE. A CONTACT AT THE MOTORCYCLE DEALER IS CHRIS STINSON (303) 761-2471. MAILING ADDRESS IS GRAND PRIX MOTORSPORTS, 3105 W. COUNTY LINE ROAD, LITTLETON, CO 80129. PLEASE NOTE..THE TIRE ON THIS BIKE IS A DUNLOP 402 IN 90 X 21 SIZE. THE TIRE DOES NOT APPEAR TO HAVE ANY DEFECT. THE ONLY DEFECT IS IN THE TUBE MOUNTED THEREIN. *TR
2000 Harley-Davidson XL1200C
Routine
Owners filed 1 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the unknown or other. No safety recall has been issued.
What fails
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown or Other | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsUnknown or Other
Filed May 13, 200918,150 milesCO
1 of 1 complaints, reproduced as filed.
Reading this record
No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.
Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.