MY WIFE WAS RIDING HER MOTORCYCLE TO WORK AND HAD JUST LEFT OUR RESIDENCE. SHE WAS APPROACHING A CURVE IN THE ROAD AND WENT TO APPLY HER BRAKES TO SLOW DOWN BEFORE ENTERING IT. THE REAR BRAKE PEDAL FAILED WITH ABSOLUTELY NO PRESSURE. SHE WAS ABLE TO DOWNSHIFT, SLOW DOWN, AND SAFELY RETURN TO OUR RESIDENCE. UPON INSPECTING THE REAR BRAKE SYSTEM, WE COULD FIND NO OBVIOUS DEFECTS (NO LEAKS, FLUID FULL AND PROPER TYPE, PADS GOOD, AND CALIPER FUNCTIONING). INITIALLY WE THOUGHT THE REAR BRAKE PADS MAY BE TOO WORN (ALTHOUGH THERE WAS APPROXIMATELY 0.25" OF MATERIAL LEFT ON BOTH PADS) AND REPLACED THE PADS. AFTER THIS WAS DONE, WE COULD SEE THE CALIPER MOVE, THE PADS CONTACT THE ROTOR, BUT THERE WAS INSIGNIFICANT PRESSURE TO STOP THE REAR WHEEL. WE BEGAN RESEARCHING ONLINE AND DISCOVERED NUMEROUS PEOPLE HAVE REPORTED REAR MASTER CYLINDER FAILURE AFTER HAVING THE REAR TIRE OR BRAKE CALIPERS REMOVED FOR SERVICE (WE HAD REPLACED TIRES ON THE MOTORCYCLE APPROXIMATELY A YEAR BEFORE). ALL SIGNS POINTED TO THE SECONDARY SEAL INSIDE THE MASTER CYLINDER RUPTURING AND FAILING. WE CONTACTED OUR LOCAL HARLEY DAVIDSON DEALER TO INQUIRE ABOUT A POSSIBLE RECALL AND WAS TOLD THERE WASN'T ANY REPORTED ISSUE. WE PURCHASED A REAR MASTER CYLINDER REBUILD KIT AND REPAIRED THE CYLINDER. OUR FINDING WAS EXACTLY AS DESCRIBED AND EXPECTED: THE SECONDARY INTERNAL SEAL WAS RUPTURED. WE BELIEVE THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE THAT H-D IS AWARE OF AND SHOULD BE MADE TO RECTIFY. IF MY WIFE HAD TO MAKE A SUDDEN OR EMERGEN
2004 Harley-Davidson XL883
Owners filed 3 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the service brakes. No safety recall has been issued.
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsMY WIFE WAS RIDING HER MOTORCYCLE TO WORK AND HAD JUST LEFT OUR RESIDENCE. SHE WAS APPROACHING A CURVE IN THE ROAD AND WENT TO APPLY HER BRAKES TO SLOW DOWN BEFORE ENTERING IT. THE REAR BRAKE PEDAL FAILED WITH ABSOLUTELY NO PRESSURE. SHE WAS ABLE TO DOWNSHIFT, SLOW DOWN, AND SAFELY RETURN TO OUR RESIDENCE. UPON INSPECTING THE REAR BRAKE SYSTEM, WE COULD FIND NO OBVIOUS DEFECTS (NO LEAKS, FLUID FULL AND PROPER TYPE, PADS GOOD, AND CALIPER FUNCTIONING). INITIALLY WE THOUGHT THE REAR BRAKE PADS MAY BE TOO WORN (ALTHOUGH THERE WAS APPROXIMATELY 0.25" OF MATERIAL LEFT ON BOTH PADS) AND REPLACED THE PADS. AFTER THIS WAS DONE, WE COULD SEE THE CALIPER MOVE, THE PADS CONTACT THE ROTOR, BUT THERE WAS INSIGNIFICANT PRESSURE TO STOP THE REAR WHEEL. WE BEGAN RESEARCHING ONLINE AND DISCOVERED NUMEROUS PEOPLE HAVE REPORTED REAR MASTER CYLINDER FAILURE AFTER HAVING THE REAR TIRE OR BRAKE CALIPERS REMOVED FOR SERVICE (WE HAD REPLACED TIRES ON THE MOTORCYCLE APPROXIMATELY A YEAR BEFORE). ALL SIGNS POINTED TO THE SECONDARY SEAL INSIDE THE MASTER CYLINDER RUPTURING AND FAILING. WE CONTACTED OUR LOCAL HARLEY DAVIDSON DEALER TO INQUIRE ABOUT A POSSIBLE RECALL AND WAS TOLD THERE WASN'T ANY REPORTED ISSUE. WE PURCHASED A REAR MASTER CYLINDER REBUILD KIT AND REPAIRED THE CYLINDER. OUR FINDING WAS EXACTLY AS DESCRIBED AND EXPECTED: THE SECONDARY INTERNAL SEAL WAS RUPTURED. WE BELIEVE THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE THAT H-D IS AWARE OF AND SHOULD BE MADE TO RECTIFY. IF MY WIFE HAD TO MAKE A SUDDEN OR EMERGEN
REAR MASTER CYLINDER HAS FAILED. *TR
3 of 3 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.