From the MRF
 

FOX NEWS –  U.S. safety regulators are investigating two reports of fires

in Can-Am Spyder three-wheeled motorcycles.



The probe covers about 52,000 motorcycles from the 2008 through 2014 model

years.



The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents

posted Friday that the fires appear to be unrelated to three recalls of

the motorcycles. One Spyder was destroyed last month in a fire while being

used by the Morgantown, West Virginia, Police Department. Another burned

in the Mojave Desert region of California.



The safety agency says it will look into what caused the fires.

Investigations can lead to recalls.



The motorcycles are made by Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. of

Canada. Messages were left seeking comment from the company.



The Morgantown police, in a July 23 complaint to NHTSA, said an officer

was riding the Spyder on a city street and felt heat rising from beneath

the motorcycle. The officer saw flames coming from the engine and moved it

to the side of the road. "Within seconds the vehicle was fully engulfed

and flames caught a yard and two nearby trees on fire," the complaint

said.



The Fire Department and a city mechanic determined that the fuel system

was the source of the blaze, the complaint said.



No one was injured in either fire, but the police motorcycle was a total

loss.



The three recalls happened in 2012 and 2013, and all involved the risk of

fires. Last year, the company recalled about 8,200 Spyders because brake

fluid leaks could cause fires. In 2012 it recalled about 34,000 because

fuel vapors could leak due to an ill-fitting gas cap. It also recalled

9,600 because fuel vapors could exit a vent hose in the engine

compartment.





Jeff Hennie

Vice President Government Relations and Public Affairs

Motorcycle Riders Foundation

Offic-202 546 0983

Cell-202-725-5471

1325 G street NW

Suite 500

Washington, DC 20005

www.mrf.org