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Harley-Davidson Motor Company has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging their motorcycles’ engines run too hot and pose a serious risk of injury.
“This is a case about companies placing profit above human safety and product utility,” plaintiffs Michael Berke and Wolfgang Costello allege in the Harley-Davidson class action lawsuit.
Berke and Costello claim that Harley-Davidson sells their motorcycles at a higher price than its competitors, taking advantage of its status of having one of the strongest brands in the world.
According to the Harley-Davidson class action lawsuit, the Twin Cam 103 engines are plagued with a design defect that poses a risk of significant injury due to an excessively hot engine. The plaintiffs claim that the engine defect can cause motorcycle riders to suffer burns on their bodies.
Berke and Costello allege that the Twin Cam 103 engine is also prone to wear out more quickly than expected, requiring replacement at a significant cost.
The motorcycle engine defect class action lawsuit asserts that Harley-Davidson was aware of the engine defect and had a duty to warn about the dangers associated with it. However, the plaintiffs claim Harley-Davidson failed to address the engine defect and failed to adequately warn consumers about the issue.
“Like the earlier Twin Cam engines, the Twin Cam 103 is ‘air-cooled,’” the Harley-Davidson class action lawsuit says. “That means that the engine is, b design, cooled exclusively by the flow of air. Simply put, if there is no or little to no airflow, which is caused by moving the bike to allow air to flow over the engine’s fins, the engine is not cooled. As Harley-Davidson is aware, air-cooling as a method of keeping and maintaining a safe and efficient heat level has limited effectiveness.”
According to the Harley-Davidson class action lawsuit, most cars and motorcycles have a liquid-cooling system made up of a radiator, water pump and hoses that circulate water and coolant throughout the engine. The Twin Cam 103 engine lacks a liquid cooling system and relies entirely on air to cool the engine.
The plaintiffs claim that the air-cooling system is insufficient to cool the Twin Cam 103 engine to a safe temperature, and that the design defect poses a threat of injury to motorcycle riders. According to the Harley-Davidson class action lawsuit, the motorcycle company has known about the defect since at least 2006.
Berke and Costello each claim that they purchased a Harley-Davidson motorcycle from dealerships in California. They say that they have experienced intense heat from their motorcycle engines and that they were not warned about the dangers.
Berke and Costello seek to represent themselves and a Class of California residents who have purchased, owned or leased a Harley-Davidson motorcycle with a Twin Cam 103 V-Twin engine.
The plaintiffs are represented by Christopher P. Ridout and Hannah P. Belknap of Zimmerman Reed LLP, Raymond P. Boucher and Shehnaz M. Bhujwala of Boucher LLP, and Gregory J. Owen, Susan A. Owen and Tamiko B. Herron of Owen Patterson & Owen LLP.
The Harley-Davidson Twin Cam 103 Engine Class Action Lawsuit is Michael Berke, et al. v. Harley-Davidson Motor Company Group, et al., Case No. 2:16-cv-08939, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
UPDATE: On December 22,2016, the Harley-Davidson Twin Cam 103 Engine class action lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed.
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37 thoughts onHarley-Davidson Class Action Says Engines are Unreasonably Hot
An engine that gets hot????? Who would have EVER imagined that??? THIS is ridiculous and they ought to be ashamed of themselves for filing such a ridiculous lawsuit!!! Riding 101 ~ DONT TOUCH THE ENGINE!!!
what dorks…if you rode your bike it wouldn’t be so hot for your girly thighs…you pieces of shit.
I rented a Road Glide and my left leg got burned because of the excessive heat, they just told me that is the way it is designed?
These motorcycle engines, just like their counterparts, have always been air cooled. Harley engines have been air cooled since the company was founded in 1903. Now these pussies are seeking to capitalize on the design by claiming that their delicate pansy asses were subjected to the big bad hot engine. They know that H-D will settle rather than spend a fortune fighting this crap lawsuit. This is why consumers pay more and more for products.
maybe some of you are missing the point,there is more to it than you know,like at 10,000 miles replace compensator sprocket,then 4500 miles later replace it again,now again for the 3rd time you do the math
What PUSSIES……they`re too hot ….nobody told us ….it`s not fair …bo hoo hoo
Hahahhaahaha
Hmmmm – probably Limousine Liberals averaging 58 miles of road time per month – March through Sept.
Same here in Delaware. Unreasonably hot on the right side.
I was wondering the same thing….can people from other states join in this suit?
I have a 2009 Softtail Heritage bagger. It runs very hot even with a Harley Dealership installed Oil-Cooler. On a number of times the legs of my pants have had holes burned Through them with they came in contact with the muffler system. The pant would rest on the muffler pipe when I came to a stop at a light and I would smell something burning. I looked down at my plants they were smoldering and smoking. Of course I got off the bike in the street and padded the smoldering area of my pants until they were not burning anymore. This has happened twice. Of course now I make sure when I stop that my clothes are away from the muffler system.
I also have to be careful that my boots don’t melt as I ride the bike. The heals and the side of the sole on the muffler side have scars and melted areas where they have made contact with the muffler. So I must also be aware and careful to keep my boots away from and not allow to touch the muffler.
Just FYI Thanks
Pipes will run hot regardless of model of bike. They’re talking about the engine itself.
Pipes will always be hot, regardless of the engine cooling system. I barely touched one of my pipes with my arm when reaching down to my ignition key and still have the scar 25+ years later. That was an old Panhead chopper which never had anything but air cooling. Chaps (good heavy duty ones) don’t catch fire so easily.
Do you know if people fro other states can join this suit?
i’m in Alabama and my 2013 triglide get hot enough to catch my shoe on fire I’ve rapt the pipes with pipe rap still gets really hot dukelikins@yahoo.com ,duke likins 2811 matsu Ln ,opelika ,Al. 36804