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
|
|