Honda calls back 10,000 CBR 250 RS

Bikes made during April-Aug recalled to replace nuts & bolts
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India have recalled around 10,000 CBR 250R motorcycles to replace
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nuts and bolts fitted alongside the mirror housing, grab-rail fitting and side fairing. These nuts and bolts could tend to rust but not pose any safety hazard.

The premium motorcycles manufactured in the first five months during April-August 2011 have been recalled. The models manufactured since September 2011 have not been affected by the recall, Honda dealers confirmed.

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India manufactured 9,175 units of 250 cc motorcycles between April and August 2011, according to Siam (society of Indian automobile manufacturers) data. The company refused to term it as a recall.

“There is no recall of CBR 250R. The company is now stepping towards further improvement in aesthetic area of the vehicle. As a normal approach, the benefit is given to existing customers of CBR 250R,” Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India claimed in an e-mail response.

Analysts stressed that public announcement of recalls was not a practice in India due to absence of formal recall policy. “India (auto industry) has no formal mechanism for recalls. Even if (the problem) is not a safety issue, a better thing for manufacturers is to formally announce a recall and reach customers rather than not doing so,” said Abdul Majeed, auto practice leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Mahindra & Mahindra also refrained from making public announcement of its recall of around 5,000 units of its first motorcycle model Stallio earlier this year. The 110 cc Stallio’s clutch and gear levers were replaced, as they were found faulty in motorcycles manufactured between October 2010 and June 2011. The company’s two-wheeler division Mahindra two-wheelers plans to re-launch the Stallio minus the glitches in second half of current financial year.

Honda sold 14,030 units of the Rs 1.68 lakh CBR250R motorcycle between April and November 2011, far outselling rivals such as Bajaj’s Ninja 250 and Hero MotoCorp’s Karizma.