Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Inc., Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

Topics:  Harley-Davidson XG500, Harley-Davidson XG750

Jeffrey M. Giuseppe
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
November 21, 2014

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 225 (Friday, November 21, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69553-69554]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-27587]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0113; Notice 1]


Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Inc., Receipt of Petition for 
Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Receipt of Petition.

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SUMMARY: Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Inc. (Harley-Davidson) has 
determined that certain MY 2015 Harley-Davidson model XG500 and model 
XG750 motorcycles do not fully comply with table 3, footnote 4, of 
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 123, Motorcycle 
Controls and Displays. Harley-Davidson has filed an appropriate report 
dated September 3, 2014, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and 
Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.

DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is December 22, 
2014.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written data, 
views, and arguments on this petition. Comments must refer to the 
docket and notice number cited at the beginning of this notice and 
submitted by any of the following methods:
     Mail: Send comments by mail addressed to: U.S. Department 
of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Deliver: Deliver comments by hand to: U.S. Department 
of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. The 
Docket Section is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except 
Federal Holidays.
     Electronically: Submit comments electronically by: logging 
onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Web site at http://www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. Comments may also be faxed to (202) 493-2251.
    Comments must be written in the English language, and be no greater 
than 15 pages in length, although there is no limit to the length of 
necessary attachments to the comments. If comments are submitted in 
hard copy form, please ensure that two copies are provided. If you wish 
to receive confirmation that your comments were received, please 
enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard with the comments. Note that 
all comments received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.
    Documents submitted to a docket may be viewed by anyone at the 
address and times given above. The documents may also be viewed on the 
Internet at http://www.regulations.gov by following the online 
instructions for accessing the dockets. DOT's complete Privacy Act 
Statement is available for review in the

[[Page 69554]]

Federal Register published on April 11, 2000, (65 FR 19477-78).
    The petition, supporting materials, and all comments received 
before the close of business on the closing date indicated below will 
be filed and will be considered. All comments and supporting materials 
received after the closing date will also be filed and will be 
considered to the extent possible. When the petition is granted or 
denied, notice of the decision will be published in the Federal 
Register pursuant to the authority indicated below.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    I. Harley-Davidson's Petition: Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 
30120(h) (see implementing rule at 49 CFR part 556), Harley-Davidson 
submitted a petition for an exemption from the notification and remedy 
requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 on the basis that this 
noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
    This notice of receipt of Harley-Davidson's petition is published 
under 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency 
decision or other exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the 
petition.
    II. Motorcycles Involved: Affected are approximately 3,929 MY 2015 
Harley-Davidson model XG500 and model XG750 motorcycles manufactured 
from March 6, 2014 through August 12, 2014.
    III. Noncompliance: Harley-Davidson explains that due to a label 
design error the numerals on the speedometers of the affected 
motorcycles are labeled at 20 mph intervals instead of 10 mph intervals 
as required by table 3, footnote 4, of FMVSS No. 123.
    Rule Text: Footnote 4 of FMVSS No. 123 table 3 requires in 
pertinent part:

. . . Major graduations and numerals appear at 10 mph intervals, 
minor graduations at 5 mph intervals. . .

    V. Summary of HARLEY-DAVIDSON's Analyses: Harley-Davidson stated 
its belief that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential to motor 
vehicle safety for the following reasons:
    (A) Harley-Davidson stated that FMVSS No. 123 does not require that 
motorcycles be equipped with speedometers. Specifically, the standard 
only requires that if motorcycles are in fact equipped with a 
speedometer, that the speedometer must be marked in 10 mph intervals. 
This has led Harley-Davidson to believe that NHTSA has implicitly 
acknowledged that a speedometer is not, itself, necessary for the safe 
operation of motorcycles, which is consistent with NHTSA's decision in 
1982 to rescind FMVSS No. 122 which had required installation of 
speedometers on all vehicles.
    (B) Harley-Davidson also stated that while the labeling error 
constitutes a technical noncompliance with table 3, footnote 4, of 
FMVSS No. 123, the noncompliance does not affect any aspect of vehicle 
performance--braking, steering, acceleration, visibility, etc. The 
speedometer remains fully visible to the operator and Harley-Davidson 
believes that the 20 mph numeral intervals adequately provide 
indication of speed to the rider.
    (C) Harley-Davidson believes that the lack of 10 mph numerical 
labels will not present confusion for riders, as evidenced by the lack 
of complaints, claims or incidents. Furthermore, they believe that 
motorcycle owners typically also own and operate other vehicles, such 
as passenger cars and light trucks, which are not subject to any 
speedometer graduation requirements and which, in many cases, are 
equipped with speedometers with 20 mph numeral intervals.
    Harley-Davidson has additionally informed NHTSA that beginning on 
August 22, 2014 it corrected the noncompliance so that all future 
production of the subject motorcycles comply with FMVSS No. 123.
    In summation, Harley-Davidson believes that the described 
noncompliance of the subject motorcycles is inconsequential to motor 
vehicle safety, and that its petition, to exempt Harley-Davidson from 
providing recall notification of noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 
30118 and remedying the recall noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 
30120 should be granted.
    NHTSA notes that the statutory provisions (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 
30120(h)) that permit manufacturers to file petitions for a 
determination of inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to exempt manufacturers 
only from the duties found in sections 30118 and 30120, respectively, 
to notify owners, purchasers, and dealers of a defect or noncompliance 
and to remedy the defect or noncompliance. Therefore, any decision on 
this petition only applies to the subject motorcycles that Harley-
Davidson no longer controlled at the time it determined that the 
noncompliance existed. However, any decision on this petition does not 
relieve vehicle distributors and dealers of the prohibitions on the 
sale, offer for sale, or introduction or delivery for introduction into 
interstate commerce of the noncompliant motorcycles under their control 
after Harley-Davidson notified them that the subject noncompliance 
existed.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: delegations of authority at 
49 CFR 1.95 and 501.8.

Jeffrey M. Giuseppe,
Acting Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2014-27587 Filed 11-20-14; 8:45 am]
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