Harley-Davidson->ke300 owners should take heed of what the company has just announced. Over 185,000 Harley bikes are being recalled by the company over issues pertaining to the saddlebags.

Yes. Saddlebags.

It’s not exactly comparable to potential fire hazards or mechanical malfunctions, but still, the problems are serious enough that Harley determined the need to send out a campaign to recall 185,272 units of its 2014 and 2015 motorcycle lineups. Apparently, the issues surrounding these saddlebags are equal-opportunity nuisances to Harley-Davidson as a range of models are affected by the problem, including the Road King->ke3392, Street Glide->ke3490, Electra Glide->ke3489, and a handful of others.

According to Harley-Davidson, the specific issue pertaining to the saddlebags can be traced to the spring wires in the mounting receptacles. These receptacles apparently can’t maintain adequate tension, thus endangering the security of the times placed inside the bags. This can lead to the items falling off during riding and we all know how annoying that can be.

Harley caught wind of the problem when it received higher-than-usual warranty claims from customers back in January 2015. Upon investigating all these claims, the company discovered the issues and decided to issue the recall.

So here’s where we’re at: owners of affected models will be notified by Harley-Davidson beginning in July 27, 2015, at which time they’ll be advised to bring their bikes to their local Harley dealerships where the saddlebag mounting receptacles can be replaced with updated parts.

Continue reading to read more about Harley-Davidson’s massive saddlebag recall.

Why it matters

I’m under no illusions of the fact that this isn’t the type of recall that I’m overly concerned with. Granted, it’s still a problem that needs to be addressed, but seeing as the models affected aren’t in any danger of catching fire or breaking down unexpectedly, I’m not going to be as, shall I say, neurotic about this one.

I’m sure all owners with affected models will still do their due diligence and have the specific component repaired. That’s the responsible thing to do. You don’t want to be that owner who ignores this recall and ends up losing a lot of important items because of their irresponsibility.

So while I won’t pester anyone about the importance of safety, I still hope that owners will be smart enough to understand the need to have this issue fixed. The repairs shouldn’t take long anyway so if you bring it to your local Harley dealerships as soon as possible, it’s possible that you’ll get it back in no time, good as new and under no threat of malfunctioning saddlebags.