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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
The EPA requires leaner, hotter running engines. That’s why people modify them,to cool them down. It’s a known problem, and one reason I’m still on a 2003, 88.
JEEEZUS!
The rear jug shuts down if it over heats, you can buy heat shields, wear pants, wear chaps, and for the love of Pete quit your belly aching.!!
kind of a dead issue since Honda is buying HD in Feb of 2017 , the stock is expected to split, much better to be ran by the Japanese, most yankee workers are very lazy, always playing silly games on their mobile phones, etc
Lol, we ride them in 120 degree heat in the desert every summer. The 103 is no hotter than an 88. All motors will burn you if they sit idling, even my water cooled Yamaha. This is such a bullshit lawsuit if its real. You mean you didn’t know that an internal combustion motor gets hot? The air cooling worked fine for damn near 100 years, and now suddenly its bad? Y’all have lost your cotton picking minds.
I have owned a 2005 road king a 2010 road glide and a 2014 Deluxe i have never got burned by the engine or the exhaust , Maybe the guys who are getting burned are wearing shorts just a thought , i also own a Honda cb 1100 AIR COOLED nope no Burns on this bike Either
I have a 2009 Heritage softail and I do expierance the same problem but im in Texas would I be able to file.
I paid almost 30k for my bike…2013 HD Ultra Classic. I took it back right after I purchased it and complained. My other HD never did this. They all run hot but not to the degree that it burned a softball size spot on my right calf where I have a permanent scar from it.
I had to pay 2k to have a Stage 1 system installed on my bike to take the burn away.
For the smarties that keep saying grow a set of kuhuna’s…well I say unless you’ve experienced it keep your mouth shut!
I love riding my bike; and this is ridiculous!!!
I live in FL and I would welcome an Atty in FL to follow up with me. I called everybody I could find and placed a complaint about it.
HD knows it was a poor design now make it right!!!
Laura
I’m in FL. Spent some bucks on new breather, tuner, and exhust, losing the cats and baffles. Bike is so much cooler now even on hot days. Please keep in mind much of the problem is fed emission requirements on air cooled bikes. Likely why other manufacters have had to go liquid. I’m not wasting riding time suing Harley when it’s emissions regulation that’s the real issue. Be happy your not in California. Suit won’t go anywhere and doubt Harley will settle.
My guess is that real Harley riders have bigger balls than most and thus their legs are spread wider apart and so no burning as a result. I have over 150,000 km on a Harley since 2008 and no setting my undies on fire even once.
I own a 103. Love it. Does it get hot? Yes. It’s a Harley. Air cooled engines. Have always been made this way. I changed out my exhaust and header pipes. Exhaust the majority of heat out the back now. 4′ V&H. Awesome. These guys need to put their big girl panties on. I rode my bike from the panhandle of Florida to NOLA in 4th of July traffic and didn’t get injuries from engine burns. These guys don’t need to be riding a Harley anyway by the sounds of their tender bodies. Signed, female rider on Streetglide Special.
NICE!!
Would love to know if other states are going to be included in this suit or a following suit!!!!!! Does anyone read the comments?