Royal Enfield, the motorcycle-making arm of Eicher Motors, will be recalling 2,36,966 bikes owing to a defective ignition coil that can cause misfiring and reduce vehicle performance and in rare cases, cause an electric short circuit, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. This is the biggest recall announced by the company since automakers started reporting recalls voluntarily in 2012. 

The recall includes Classic, Bullet and Meteor models. Of these, the company will call in Meteor motorcycles manufactured and sold between December 2020 and April 2021, and the Classic and Bullet manufactured and sold between January and April 2021. These motorcycles will undergo inspection and replacement of the said defective part, if required. “We estimate that less than 10 per cent of these motorcycles will require replacement of the part,” the company said. 

While the issue is rare and does not impact all motorcycles manufactured during the above-mentioned period, in keeping with safety regulations and as a precautionary measure, Royal Enfield has decided to undertake “a proactive, company-initiated recall of select motorcycle models produced in the above-mentioned time period,” it said. 

The defect was discovered during a routine internal testing, and the issue has been clearly identified and isolated to specific batches of material sourced from the company’s external supplier between December 2020 and April 2021. 

Royal Enfield’s service teams and local dealerships will reach out to consumers whose motorcycle Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) falls within the manufacturing period mentioned above, the company said.