Recall - serious quality defect
- Thread starter Kirkish_Delight
- Start date
stroem
fast rider
I know on the 401, at least part of the license plate bracket, if not all of it is assembled by the dealer. Anyone know if it is the same as the 701?
Max Kool
pro rider
And anyone with a tail tidy and/or does regular maintenance him-/herself need not worry.
DWB
expert rider
I just had my Svart 701 in for initial service and they attempted to do this recall, but I had a tail-tidy, so the recall didn't apply. They state this explicitly on the work order.
Interesting on the recall, as I installed the tail tidy previously, I thought about the design of this cantilevered license plate holder and that there is a significant amount of torque applied to the mounting area, and only on one side. I didn't give it too much thought as I was replacing it, but I did wonder about it's design and how stout it was.
I'm not sure if the design allows it to be installed improperly or just is not strong enough to handle the load and needs to be checked.
From the start I've been none to impressed with the design and robustness of this bike. Neat bike, some clever design aspects, but not up to the level of the Japanese bikes as far as design. This is our third major recall/issue, plus some minor ones as well.
That said, the power/weight ratio is wonderful, and after some dialing in of the tune, it's very fun to ride.
Interesting on the recall, as I installed the tail tidy previously, I thought about the design of this cantilevered license plate holder and that there is a significant amount of torque applied to the mounting area, and only on one side. I didn't give it too much thought as I was replacing it, but I did wonder about it's design and how stout it was.
I'm not sure if the design allows it to be installed improperly or just is not strong enough to handle the load and needs to be checked.
From the start I've been none to impressed with the design and robustness of this bike. Neat bike, some clever design aspects, but not up to the level of the Japanese bikes as far as design. This is our third major recall/issue, plus some minor ones as well.
That said, the power/weight ratio is wonderful, and after some dialing in of the tune, it's very fun to ride.
Dr.Shifty
expert rider
The 401 is also a different design. It's mounted to the swing arm with two bolts of its own, not on the axle bolt. The 701 relies on the teeth meshing properly, which should not be a problem with a bit of basic care when installing it.
BISavage
champion rider
Probably like comparing a Bösendorfer to a Yamaha. (even if Yamaha does own them now...)
I have to say though there is a wide array of Japanese bikes, and only a couple of Austrian bikes.
I would venture to say the 'pilen is better than most Japanese bikes, but the best Japanese bikes, well... you get what you pay for.
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DWB
expert rider
I've owned 7 Japanese bikes, from 1980 to 2015, and I've ridden and wrenched on many more. I'm a mech engineer and designer and work part-time in a shop for fun. I have lots of hands-on exp with motorcycles.
When I'm writing about "design," I'm talking about mechanical design - how things go together, how they work, how they are to wrench on, whether the designers considered maintenance considerations in their design, and, or course, reliability and functionality.
The Vit/Svart has some clever design aspects (eg how the panels connect over the gas tank then get secured with the neon yellow plastic piece. Fit together, locking items in place, and done well. Another example is of their floating mount points in some key positions - they function just fine but avoid very difficult design and manufacturing tolerance issues with the multiple plastic, interlocking pieces.) but it also suffers from some that suffer from design-over-functionality. This is my perspective after quite a bit of experience on it and others. There is a definite difference between the Japanese bikes and this bike. And the Japanese are superior on this aspect.
Regarding price, remember the original price on the Vit was ~$12k USD. So the "you get what you pay for" concept doesn't apply here. Yes, they dropped the price by a third and that made it much more reasonable, but the 2018 purchasers got it in the shorts.
There are longstanding issues regarding this bike and design that are recalled or "fixed as needed". The CAN problem can be extreme, as can the "magnet fell out of kickstand sensor" issue. This, I have never seen on a Japanese motorcycle that I've worked on or owned. There must be some out there, but not that I've owned. My last, just before the Svart 701 was the FZ-07. It was my favorite bike of all time. Just a great bike and the Jap design and quality was there as well - and this is a "cheap" Jap bike, not one of the expensive ones.
My point is that this bike has workability and design limitations that I see as compromises for aesthetics and visuals. AND it has a significant list of recurring problems, some that are serious. Add to that Husky's casual response to some of these issues, and my support wanes. (eg they have not "fixed" the clutch slave cylinder issue, they just replace it when it blows. This is crazy, as it strands riders without a clutch AND in some circumstances can absolutely be a safety issue. What are people doing as a fix on this issue? Replacing it with a reliable aftermarket one. Several demerits for Husky.)
Again, I like this bike, but in contrast to others I've owned and worked on, it's not up to the Jap bikes quality of design and robustness, and I disagree with the statement: "better than most Japanese bikes". Respectfully.
My 2 cents.
Max Kool
pro rider
So what are we talking about? There's a bit of a tolerance between the teeth of the license plate hanger, and the teeth in the swingarm. And because of the weight of the license plate hanger, there's a chance the teeth don't properly grab into each other during install, which in turn can loosen the axle nut due to vibrations. The whole design is smart and stupid at the same time. Smart because the chain adjuster is integrated into the license plate hanger, which makes it a clean design. But stupid because you're attaching a few lbs of dead weight at the end of the swingarm, locked in by the axle nut, which will surely try to vibrate...
Ben Oldschool
top rider
The factory rear axel slider kit certainly helps to keep the rear axel nut in place
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Check out my post 'Close Call' in Adventures, Trips, ... Think I may started the recall
Happened the 16th of June. Also a Vit 701 of 2018
virtualvid
new rider
Not good - reminder to fit the tail tidy I've had for several months but not got round to it!