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2006 HONDA VTX1800N — SERVICE BRAKES

crash1 injured · 1063564 · 2014-05-09

Vehicle

Make
HONDA
Model
VTX1800N
Year
2006
Manufacturer
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Component
SERVICE BRAKES
Miles at failure
1
Speed
30 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
1
Fire
No
Crash
Yes
Police report
No
Medical attention
Yes
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

THIS MOTORCYCLE HAS A BRAKE INTERLOCK THAT APPLIES 2 OF THE FRONT BRAKE'S 6 PISTONS WHEN THE REAR BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED. ON ANY SLICK SURFACE OR ON SOFT SURFACES, THE FRONT BRAKE CAN LOCK WITH A LIGHT TOUCH TO THE REAR BRAKE PEDAL ONLY, CAUSING COMPLETE LOSS OF CONTROL, AND THE MOTORCYCLE FALLING OVER. HONDA CALLS IT A SAFETY DEVICE. IT ALMOST KILLED ME ON A WET ROAD ONE DAY. I STEPPED ON THE REAR BRAKE TO TEST THE TRACTION AVAILABLE, AND SINCE THE REAR WHEEL DIDN'T SKID, I PRESSED A BIT HARDER, UNAWARE OF THE BRAKE CONNECTION SYSTEM. BOTH WHEELS IMMEDIATELY LOCKED, AND BEFORE I COULD DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT, IN A SPLIT SECOND THE BIKE WENT DOWN ON THE RIGHT SIDE, TRAPPING MY FOOT UNDER IT AND REMOVING SKIN FROM MY LEG, ANKLE, ELBOW, AND HAND, AS I WAS DRAGGED ALONG, CRASHING INTO A WOODEN POST BY THE ROAD, AND BREAKING THE HEADLIGHT OFF AS WELL AS THE BRAKE LEVER AND MASTER CYLINDER FOR THE FRONT BRAKE AND OTHER NASTY SCRATCH DAMAGE. THIS MOTORCYCLE WEIGHS OVER 750 POUNDS, AND IS IMPOSSIBLE TO GET OUT FROM UNDER IF IT FALLS ON YOU, HENCE THE BODILY INJURY. THE MANUFACTURER NEEDS TO ENGINEER AND SUPPLY A KIT TO ELIMINATE THE BRAKE CONNECTION SYSTEM. THE APPLICATION OF REAR BRAKE ALONE ON A REGULAR MOTORCYCLE STABILIZES THE BIKE AND ALLOWS FOR FEEL OF REAR TRACTION, TELLING THE OPERATOR IF IT IS SAFE TO APPLY THE FRONT BRAKE, AND HOW HARD YOU CAN APPLY BOTH OR ONE OF THE MOTORCYCLE BRAKES. THIS SYSTEM DEFEATS SAFETY OF SEPARATELY APPLIED FRONT AND REAR BRAKES WHICH HAVE ALWAY

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10587445
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown