Federal regulators recalled about 21,040 GASGAS and Husqvarna off-road motorcycles Thursday because the rear brake caliper can crack or break, cutting braking effectiveness and posing a crash hazard that risks serious injury or death. Another 4,140 were sold in Canada. [1]

The affected bikes are model years 2021 through 2024, sold at authorized dealers nationwide from September 2020 through June 2023 for between $7,300 and $13,000. They were manufactured in Austria and imported by KTM North America of Amherst, Ohio; Transport Canada is running the parallel action north of the border. The remedy is a dealer repair; owners can check a vehicle identification number online before riding again. [1]

These are weekend machines, bought by people who tow them to trailheads and let teenagers learn clutch control on them. A rear brake is not an accessory off-road; it is the difference between a berm and a ravine. The failure mode, a caliper cracking mid-ride, gives no dashboard warning and no lever feedback until the pedal goes soft. [1]

The recall landed inside the Consumer Product Safety Commission's large Thursday batch, alongside power stations, ventilation fans with 11 fires behind them, and hundreds of thousands of carbon monoxide detectors. [2] The agency posted it. Most of the country will never hear about it. The rider checking a VIN in a garage tonight is the safety net.

-- MAYA CALLOWAY, New York