Throughout the state of Pennsylvania Harley owners enjoy jumping on their bikes to take pleasure rides. Imagine heading out for a relaxing motorcycle ride and having your brakes fail because of a product defect. That's just what may happen to hundreds of thousands of Harley Davidson customers.

Harley Davidson Inc. announced a recall of 308,000 motorcycles because of a problem with a brake light switch on the bikes. The defective switch can cause brake lights to fail if the switch is exposed to excessive heat. The switch problems also cause brake fluid leaks, and the rear brakes on the motorcycle may fail.

In June 2010, Harley learned of a Trike motorcycle that had a faulty switch. A month later, the company investigated a second motorcycle crash that may also have been caused by the defective switch. Harley filed documents related to the recall with the National Highway Traffic Safeway Administration, the agency that regulates motorcycle safety. The company recalled more than 10,000 motorcycles in 1999 because of a defective fuel tank vent fitting.

The affected motorcycle models are Touring, CVO Touring and Trike bikes that were built between June 6, 2008 and September 16, 2011 — model years 2009 through 2012. The recall is expected to affect more than 250,000 motorcycles in the United States. Harley announced that it would notify individual owners of the recall and install a rear brake light switch kit that fixes the problem for free.

Because Harley Davidson is a publicly held corporation, it disclosed the cost of the recall — an estimated $10 to $12 million — to investors and the SEC. The company will charge the expense to its balance sheet in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year.

Source: Times Herald-Record, "Harley to recall more than 308,000 motorcycles for switch problem," Oct. 31, 2011

U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Public Affairs, "NHTSA Press Release," Sept. 9, 1999