NHTSA Complaint #10272423 — 2003 HONDA GL1500C

HONDA CRUISER MOTORCYCLES DO NOT INDICATE WHEN HANDLEBARS ARE LOCKED CAUSING HANDLEBARS TO POSSIBLY BE LOCKED WHILE STARTING AND RIDING VEHICLE. IT IS ONLY AFTER THE RIDER ATTEMPTS TO STEER THE VEHICLE AT SPEED DO THEY FIND THAT THE HANDLEBARS ARE STILL LOCKED. I OWN A 2003 HONDA VALKYRIE AND WAS INVOLVED IN A CRASH WHEN I BELIEVED THAT THE HANDLEBARS WERE PREVIOUSLY LOCKED, BUT THEY WERE ACTUALLY UNLOCKED. I TURNED THE LOCK TUMBLER AND PROCEEDED TO START THE MOTORCYCLE AND RIDE AWAY AND THEN CRASH AT WHICH TIME I REALIZED THAT I HAD LOCKED THE HANDLEBARS INSTEAD OF UNLOCKED THEM. I EXAMINED THE CURRENT MODEL OF HONDA CRUISER 2009 AND THE STEERING LOCK MECHANISM IS DESIGNED THE SAME WITH NO INDICATION OF THE HANDLEBARS BEING LOCKED OR UNLOCKED AND NO IGNITION LOCKOUT MECHANISM OR INDICATOR IF THE HANDLEBARS ARE STILL LOCKED. THE LOCKING MECHANISM TURN 180 DEGREES TO LOCK OR UNLOCK THE HANDLEBARS. IN ADDITION THE IGNITION AND HANDLEBAR LOCK IS LOCATED IN DIFFERENT SPOTS ON THE VEHICLE INSTEAD OF BEING A COMBO IGNITION/LOCK MECHANISM. *TR