The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a recall on 700+ MY16-17 KTM 690 Duke motorcycles. While KTM hasn't announced a fix yet, the problem looks like a possible fuel leak around the filler cap. While filling up, we always take care not to dribble the gas on the tank and possibly mar the finish, but it's a little upsetting that the filler cap may leak and create the conditions that could cause a fire.

Continue reading for more on the KTM recall.

What Does It Mean?

The recall looks related to a warped plastic fuel tank and even if the tank is replaced under warranty, the new tank exhibits the same behavior. The tank warps around the filler neck and prevents the cap from sealing properly. When the tank is full or near full, leaning the bike around corners causes the fuel to slosh out. Even rocking the bike side to side when standing still can cause fuel to leak out around the cap. KTM hasn't, at the time of this writing, provided a notification schedule, but 690 Duke owners who experience fuel leaking should limit usage until KTM has a fix for them because leaking fuel is no joke.

KTM has not, as of this writing, provided a notification schedule, but owners can contact KTM customer service at 1-888-985-6090. Alternatively, owners can contact the NHTSA through the safercar.gov website or by calling the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153) and referencing Campaign No. 17V388000.

The 690 Duke's last run-in with a recall was in 2009 over a front fork problem, where cracks could develop in the forks that could cause the inner tube to separate from the axle clamp. Some recalls are for worse problems than others, but anything that can create the conditions for a crash or fire are nothing to ignore.