MOTORCYCLE FRONT WHEEL SEPARATION

THIS PE WAS OPENED AFTER NHTSA RECEIVED 3 VOQS CONCERNING ALLEGED FRONT AXLE SEPARATIONS ON CERTAIN BMW F650 GS MODEL MOTORCYCLES SOLD FOR USE IN THE UNITED STATES (THE SUBJECT VEHICLES). COMPLAINTS INVOLVING MOTORCYCLES IN NON-US MARKETS ARE NOT COUNTED IN THIS TOTAL. AFTER GATHERING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THIS SUBJECT, WE ARE NOW AWARE OF FOUR CONFIRMED INCIDENTS INVOLVING MODEL YEAR 2001-2003 SUBJECT VEHICLES. ALL FOUR BIKES WERE BUILT BEFORE SEPTEMBER, 2002. OF THESE, TWO INVOLVE MY 2001 BIKES AND THE OTHER TWO, MY'S 2002 AND 2003, RESPECTIVELY. THE INCIDENTS OCCURRED IN 2002, 2003, AND TWO IN 2008. IN EACH INSTANCE, THE LUG FRACTURES ARE FORCED FRACTURES RATHER THAN FATIGUE-RELATED. BETWEEN OCTOBER 1999 AND SEPTEMBER, 2002, BMW BUILT APPROXIMATELY 4,300 SUBJECT VEHICLES. AFTER SEPTEMBER 12, 2002, ALL F650GS'S WERE BUILT WITH REINFORCED LOWER FORK TUBES TO REDUCE, ACCORDING TO BMW, "THE POSSIBILITY OF ANY SIGNIFICANT FRACTURE THAT COULD OCCUR AT THE FORK LEG AXLE LUG AREA" DURING A CRASH. BMW TOOK THIS ACTION BECAUSE THE SUBJECT VEHICLES ARE DESIGNED FOR OFF-ROAD USE WHERE CRASHES (MANY MINOR) ARE COMMON AND DID NOT WANT RIDERS TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH A BROKEN FORK AS A RESULT. CURRENTLY, THERE IS NO DATA CONCLUSIVELY ESTABLISHING THAT THE SUBJECT FORK LUGS ARE SEPARATING BEFORE AN ALLEGED CRASH OCCURS. ADDITIONALLY, THE INFREQUENT, SPORADIC, AND RANDOM NATURE OF THE FAILURES FAILS TO ESTABLISH A DEFECT TREND CURRENTLY EXISTS. A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT HAS NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED AT THIS TIME AND FURTHER USE OF AGENCY RESOURCES DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE WARRANTED. ACCORDINGLY, THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED. THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY NHTSA THAT A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT DOES NOT EXIST. THE AGENCY WILL TAKE FURTHER ACTION IF WARRANTED BY THE CIRCUMSTANCES.