Harley-Davidson Recalls 2026 Baggers Over Gear Sensor Flaw
Heads up, late-model Harley owners: Harley-Davidson has issued a voluntary safety recall for nine of its 2026 Grand American Touring and Custom Vehicle Operations (CVO) bagger models. The issue is a potentially faulty gear position sensor that can tell the motorcycle’s electronics it is in neutral when a gear is actually engaged.
The Part 573 Safety Recall Report, submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), is available here for readers’ review. In it, the Milwaukee-based manufacturer lists 21,643 potentially affected motorcycles, though it estimates that only about 0.1 percent of them actually have the defect. The filing is dated November 3, 2026, and carries NHTSA Recall No. 26V730. Harley-Davidson’s internal recall number is 0194.
The Affected Models
The recall covers the following 2026 motorcycles, with unit counts taken from the filing: Harley-Davidson Road Glide (FLTRX), 7,794 units; Harley-Davidson Street Glide (FLHX), 5,459 units; Harley-Davidson Road Glide Limited (FLTRXL), 3,013 units; Harley-Davidson Street Glide Limited (FLHXL), 2,195 units; CVO Road Glide ST (FLTRXSTSE), 1,360 units; CVO Street Glide Limited (FLHXLSE), 677 units; CVO Street Glide ST (FLHXSTSE), 598 units; Harley-Davidson Road Glide Police (FLTRXP), 329 units; and CVO Street Glide (FLHXSE), 218 units.
Across the nine models, the affected production run spans roughly nine and a half months, from October 22, 2025, through August 3, 2026, although each model has its own window. Harley-Davidson says it identified the specific Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) by reviewing production, inspection and shipping records.
The Defect
The faulty part is a gear position sensor, part number 32700166, which may have left the factory with plastic molding flash on it. Molding flash is excess material that seeps out of a mold during manufacturing and is normally trimmed away before a part ships. The sensor comes from SSI Technologies, LLC, a Tier 1 original equipment supplier in Janesville, Wisconsin, and Harley-Davidson attributes the flash to a manufacturing problem at that supplier. According to Harley-Davidson, the flash can corrupt the gear position signal sent to the engine control module (ECM), so the ECM reads neutral even though the transmission is in gear.
The company states that a false neutral reading could let the motorcycle move forward unexpectedly, which raises the chance of injury. For example, a rider who trusts the neutral indicator could release the clutch lever and have the motorcycle lurch forward. Harley-Davidson says it knows of two injuries that may be connected to the problem.
There can be warning signs. Riders or technicians might see the gear indicator flicker between neutral and another gear, or see the display read neutral while the motorcycle is moving forward under power.
The issue first came to Harley-Davidson’s Technical Subcommittee on April 16, 2026, after a technician found sensor flash on a 2026 Road Glide (FLTRX) during a service visit. The subcommittee held its first review on April 30. From May 5 through October 1, the company investigated further. It quarantined parts to check sensors for flash and damaged spring clips, inspected components and monitored the field. The subcommittee referred the case to Harley-Davidson’s Field Action Committee on October 1. That committee escalated it to the company’s Executive Decision Authority on October 20, and a voluntary recall was approved on October 27.
Harley-Davidson had already moved to keep the problem off the assembly line before the recall was approved. On August 3, 2026, it began screening sensors at its York Vehicle Operations plant in York, Pennsylvania, so that flawed parts would not be installed on new motorcycles.
The Fix
Dealers will replace the gear position sensor on every motorcycle in the recall population. The replacement part is made with new tooling that eliminates the flash problem. Harley-Davidson says it will follow its general reimbursement plan on file for owners who already paid for related repairs.
Dealers are scheduled to be notified between November 6 and November 13, 2026, and owner letters are expected to go out between November 16 and November 23, 2026. Affected VINs were scheduled to become searchable on November 6, 2026.
Owners of 2026 Street Glide, Road Glide and CVO models can look up their VIN on NHTSA’s recall site at nhtsa.gov/recalls, call the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236, or contact an authorized Harley-Davidson dealer. Until the sensor is replaced, riders should watch the gear indicator and confirm the gear by feel before releasing the clutch.
Source: Harley-Davidson, NHTSA
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