
| March 26, 2008 MR. DAVID RYAN GENERAL MANAGER BIG BEAR AMERICAN MADE CHOPPERS, INC. 41922 FOX FARM RD PO BOX 1741 BIG BEAR LAKE CA 92315 NVS-215dgl 08V-129 Subject: FRAME FAILURE Dear MR. RYAN: This letter serves to acknowledge Big Bear American Made Choppers, Inc.’s notification to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of a safety defect in the products described below, for which a safety recall campaign shall be conducted pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 30119. Please review the following information to ensure that it conforms to your records as this information is being made available to the public. If the information does not agree with your records, please contact us immediately to discuss your concerns. Makes/Models/Model Years: BIG BEAR CHOPPERS/DEVILS ADVOCATE CHOPPERS/2004-2005 BIG BEAR CHOPPERS/SLED CHOPPERS/2005 BIG BEAR CHOPPERS/VENOM CHOPPERS/2004-2005 NHTSA Campaign Number: 08V-129 Mfg’s Report Date: March 20, 2008 Components: STRUCTURE Potential Number of Units Affected: 351 Summary: BIG BEAR CHOPPERS IS RECALLING 351 MY 2004-2005 VENOM AND DEVIL'S ADVOCATES CHOPPERS AND MY 2005 SLED CHOPPERS. SOME MOTORCYCLES MAY HAVE INADEQUATE WELD PENETRATION BETWEEN THE NECK, BACKBONE, AND DOWN TUBES OF THE FRAME. HIGH LOADS CREATED WHEN RIDING ON ROUGH ROAD SURFACES, STRUCTURAL MODIFICATION MADE TO THE FRAME BY OWNERS, AND/OR FAILURE TO MAINTAIN THE SPECIFIED TORQUE SETTING OF THE TOP MOTOR MOUNT MAY CAUSE THE AFFECTED WELDS TO CRACK. Consequence: THE WELDED AREA COULD BREAK WITHOUT WARNING RESULTING IN NECK SEPARATION AND FRONT-END COLLAPSE. THIS COULD RESULT IN A CRASH. Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND MAINTAIN THE PROPER TORQUE OF THE TOP MOTOR MOUNT OR MODIFY THE FRAME AS NECESSARY. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING MARCH OR APRIL 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BIG BEAR CHOPPER AT 1-909-878-4340. Notes: BIG BEAR CHOPPERS RECALL NO. 1B9/631. CUSTOMERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION’S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV. Please provide the following additional information and be reminded of the following requirements: You are required to provide an estimated date including month, day, and year, when you will send notifications to owners, dealers, and distributors as soon as it becomes available. Copies of all notices, bulletins, dealer notifications, and other communications that relate to this recall, including a copy of the final owner notification letter and any subsequent owner follow-up notification letter(s), are required to be submitted to this office no later than 5 days after they are originally sent (if they are sent to more than one manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or purchaser/owner). Your contacts for this recall will be Pat Wallace or Delia Lopez, who may be reached by phone at 202-366-5232 or 202-366-9525 or by email at Patricia.wallace@dot.gov, Delia.lopez@dot.gov, or through the office email at RMD.ODI@dot.gov. We look forward to working with you for successful completion of this recall campaign. Sincerely, George H. Person Chief, Recall Management Division Office of Defects Investigation Enforcement |
| BELOW IS BBC'S LETTER SENT TO OWNERS, WITH AFFECTED MOTORCYCLES ON 3-26-08 |
| Please visit the NHTSA website CLICK HERE for more information, repair procedures and PDF's of the correspondance related to this recall. |
| PRO-PERFORMANCE WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND OUR HELP TO OUR AFFECTED CUSTOMERS. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CALL THE SHOP 763-391-8055 OR SEND AN EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE. greg@pro-performance.biz |
| ALL 2004-05 Devil's Advocates Choppers, 2004-05 Venom Choppers, and 2004-05 Sled Choppers HAVE BEEN RECALLED |