Big Bear Choppers Structure

Big Bear Choppers is recalling about 1,152 vehicles over a problem with the structure. The welded area could break without warning resulting in neck separation and front-end collapse.

Campaign
08V129000
Manufacturer
BIG BEAR AMERICAN MADE CHOPPERS, INC
Reported
21 March 2008
Vehicles
1,152
Built between
Jan 2004 – Dec 2005
Models
6
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
26 March 2008
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between January 2004 and December 2005. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2004-2006 Big Bear Choppers Devils Advocate ChopperBuilt January 2004 to December 2005
  • 2004-2006 Big Bear Choppers Devils Advocate ProstreetBuilt April 2004 to December 2005
  • 2004-2006 Big Bear Choppers Sled ChopperBuilt January 2004 to December 2005
  • 2004-2006 Big Bear Choppers Sled ProstreetBuilt April 2004 to December 2005
  • 2004-2006 Big Bear Choppers Venom ChopperBuilt January 2004 to December 2005
  • 2004-2006 Big Bear Choppers Venom ProstreetBuilt April 2004 to December 2005

What the defect is

Big bear chopper is recalling certain my 2004-2006 devil's advocate choppers, sled choppers, venom choppers devil's advocate prostreet, sled prostreet, and venom prostreet motorcycles. 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.

What could happen

The welded area could break without warning resulting in neck separation and front-end collapse. This could result in a crash.

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND MAINTAIN THE PROPER TORQUE OF THE TOP MOTOR MOUNT OR MODIFY THE FRAME AS NECESSARY. THE RECALL BEGAN ON MARCH 26, 2008. BIG BEAR HAS ADDED ADDITIONAL MAKES, MODELS AND MODEL YEARS. ADDITIONAL OWNER LETTERS WILL BE MAILED BEGINNING DECEMBER 18, 2008.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtJanuary 2004 to December 2005
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA21 March 2008
  3. Owners notified26 March 2008

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 21 March 2008.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Manufacturer contact

Owners may contact big bear chopper at 1-909-878-4340.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
1B9/631
Recalling manufacturer
BIG BEAR AMERICAN MADE CHOPPERS, INC
Recall initiated by
MFR

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional 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.

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

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