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Brammo Empulse and Empulse R Recalled for Dangerous Oil Leak

If you own a Brammo Empulse or Empulse R and live in a region where temperatures drop below 10 C (50 F), you might be in danger while riding your bike in certain conditions. Brammo and the NHTSA announce the campaign 15V053000, a recall which so far is targeting 149 units. The bikes affected by the recall are model year 2013 and 2014 Empulse and Empulse R manufactured from November 19, 2012, to July 8, 2014.
Brammo Empulse R detail 1 photo
Photo: Brammo
These bikes have been fitted with the standard transmission breather tube, but Brammo determined that in certain conditions, oil could leak through this tube, reaching the rear fender and tire. It doesn’t take a bike specialist to understand how risky this scenario is and how much it increases the risk of a crash by cutting rear wheel adherence to the riding surface.

High revs below 10 C can cause problems

Brammo found out that the issue is only manifesting with motorcycles operating in cold weather at sub-freezing temperatures and when revved past the 5,000 rpm mark. The low temperature increases the oil’s viscosity, and the high revving transmission can throw oil into the breather tube. If enough oil reaches the tube it might eventually flow outside the transmission.

The manufacturer says that bikes manufactured after VIN 51RUB5567ET00831 and 7/8/2014 no longer have this problem, while the others must be brought in to a dealer and have a new Gearbox Breather Baffle kit installed at no cost.

However if you still plan to ride your recalled Brammo in the cold before having it fixed, you’d better heed the official advice from the manufacturer. That is, allow the bike to warm up a bit while keeping the revs under the 4,000 rpm bar. As the 10 C mark is surpassed, you can get back to your old hardcore riding habits, as there is no issue. Still you’d better have that ‘lectric beast fixed…
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