Harley-Davidson recall potentially affects 17,000 bikes over brake issue

Harley-Davidson is issuing a recall which could impact 17,000 bikes, with some of its most popular Softail models affected.

Simon Hancocks

23 Apr 2026

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Harley-Davidson is in the midst of a vast recall action, with a potential 16,994 units affected. The recall, which has been notified by the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), relates to a rear brake issue which could result in total rear brake failure.

The recall notice on the NHTSA website specifically notes: “The rear brake line may contact the Body Control Module (BCM), resulting in a hole in the brake line, a brake fluid leak, and loss of the rear brakes.” Rectification of the issue includes Harley-Davidson replacing the BCM caddy and any related hardware at no cost to owners. While the bike is in, dealers will also check over the rear brake line, and if there’s any sign of damage to the brake line, it’ll be swapped out along with any associated parts. Again, this will be free of charge.

Harley-Davidson recall potentially affects 17,000 bikes over brake issue

The Harley-Davidson FLHC Heritage Classic

Affected models noted by the NHTSA are the FLHC (Heritage Classic), FXBB (Street Bob), FXLRS (Low Rider S), and FXLRST (Low Rider ST).

Owner notification letters are due to land from May 18, 2026, although if you want to get ahead of the game, you can contact Harley-Davidson customer service in the USA on 1-800-258-2464.

It’s worth noting that while this recall could affect a great number of bikes, it doesn’t look to be affecting UK models, at least not as far as we can see. Both the Gov.UK recall website and the FEMA recall website, which list European recalls, have no recall notices for the above-mentioned products.

You can search for UK recalls on the Gov.UK website, and use the FEMA website for EU-wide recalls.