Have You Had Your Bike Checked?

Back in October we reported that Harley-Davidson had recalled over 300,000 motorcycles for a possible brake failure. Fox News had shared the information that there was a switch problem that can cause failure of the brake lights and possibly even the brakes themselves.

This recall applies to HD Touring, CVO Touring, and Trikes from 2009 thru 2012 model years.  So we ask, "Have you gotten your bike checked out?"  You would have received notification in the mail directly from Harley-Davidson, and it should have directed you to reputable dealers that would install a new switch kit free of charge.

Texas Biker Lawyers of the Cole Legal Group know a thing or two about the dangers of manufacturers defects, and we take recalls seriously.  Automotive defects can cause catastrophic injuries and even death.  Brake failure tops a list of common defects that statistically claims numerous injury victims.

While proving these cases can be difficult, the Cole Legal Group is committed to improving vehicle safety and protecting Texans from these unsafe defects and designs. We will immediately secure and inspect your vehicle for manufacturing or design defects to purse justice from the auto manufacturer, distributor, or retailer who contributed to your injuries.

It's a different story when the manufacturer offers up a recall notice.  They're not always the first to find out about product defects, as many of those victims of the statistics can attest.  We advise you to check your bike out soon, before you make that trek to one of the many summer motorcycle rallies going on this year.

If you've been involved in a motorcycle accident in Texas, contact an attorney with riding experience.

Motorcycle lost in Japan tsunami found on Canadian island

It must have been a wild ride. Japanese media say a Harley-Davidson motorcycle lost in last year's tsunami has washed up on a Canadian island about 4,000 miles away.

The rusted bike was found in a large white container where its owner, Ikuo Yokoyama, had kept it. He was located through the license plate number, Fuji TV reported Wednesday.

"This is unmistakably mine. It's miraculous," Yokoyama told Nippon TV when shown photos of the motorcycle.

Yokoyama lost three members of his family in the March 11, 2011, tsunami, and is now living in temporary housing in Miyagi prefecture (state).

The motorcycle is among the first items lost in the tsunami to reach the west coast of North America. In March, an Alaska man found a football and later a volleyball from Japan; their owners were located last week using names that had been inscribed on the balls.

Canadian Peter Mark, who found the bike and its container, told Fuji that he "couldn't believe that something like that would make it across the Pacific." The report said he found it April 18 on Graham Island, off the coast of British Columbia.

The motorcyle was caked with "a lot of corrosion, a lot of rust," said Mark.

When he saw the Japanese license plate, Mark wondered if it might have drifted from Japan after the tsunami, and contacted a local TV station.

The Fuji report said the motorcycle would be shipped back to Japan, and that the shop that sold it to Yokoyama would help with paperwork and storage.

Debris from the tsunami initially gathered in the ocean off Japan's northeastern coast and has since spread out across the Pacific. In February, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said currents would carry much of the debris to the coasts of Alaska, Canada, Washington and Oregon between March 2013 and 2014, though they correctly predicted that some of it could arrive this year.

Last month, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter fired on and sank a fishing boat in the Gulf of Alaska that had drifted from Japan after the disaster. Authorities had deemed the ship a hazard to shipping and to the coastline.


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source:  Fox News (AP, 5/2)