Indian recall Chief for rear brake issues

Indian Motorcycle have issued a recall to address a fault with the rear brake master cylinder piston assembly on selected bikes in the Chief family of models. 

The fault could lead to complete rear brake failure, which in turn could lead to loss of control of the motorcycle. 

The recall first surfaced in the USA, where the NHTSA identify 7611 affected motorcycles, including: 2015-16 Chief Classic, Chief Vintage, Chieftain and Roadmaster, and 2016 Dark Horse models, all manufactured from January to October 2015. In Europe, this is believed to affect 343 individual motorcycles from those model lines. 

Indian say: “Motorcycles assembled with an affected master cylinder may experience a loss of pressure to the rear brake caliper resulting in rear brake failure. 

“An analysis of field warranty claims indicated that the rear brake master cylinder on the affected motorcycles was failing at a slightly elevated rate. Based upon an analysis of field returns, discussions with the vendor and a thorough evaluation of the system a decision was made to perform a safety recall for the rear brake master cylinder.

“Polaris has released a service bulletin to Indian Motorcycle dealers instructing them to replace the affected rear master cylinder piston assembly using the updated part. Polaris is sending a safety recall letter to all consumers on record instructing them to present their machine to an Indian Motorcycle dealer so that the aforementioned corrective measure can be taken, at no cost to the consumer.”