Some 2022-2024 Husqvarna and GasGas Motorcycles Recalled For Potentially Faulty Rear Brake

Only specific models produced between specific dates are believed to be affected, but so far one crash in Germany has been attributed to this issue.

By: Janaki Jitchotvisut

Jul 16, at 8:15am ET

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On July 8, 2026, KTM North America issued a safety recall report for some 2022 through 2024 Husqvarna FE 501S and FE 350S motorcycles, as well as 2024 GasGas ES 500 and ES 350 motorcycles. The reason: The rear brake calipers used on these particular bikes may be susceptible to a design flaw, in which "the J Juan/BrakTec rear brake caliper primary pin casting can crack/break when rolling backwards, which could cause the caliper bracket to crack/break and possibly cause the caliper to break in forward motion."

Approximately 6,257 individual motorcycles may be affected, which KTM NA estimates is around 1 percent of the population. Additionally, while some issues that result in safety recalls have warning signs noted that may occur ahead of any potentially dangerous situation, this safety recall report notes that this is one that can occur completely without warning.

According to KTM's chronology of this issue, the company noted the first instance of this issue occurring in March 2024 with KTM Austria Customer Service. Both KTM Austria and J Juan began reviewing this issue at that time, in order to perform a root cause analysis and determine the best course of action.

This issue affects the following motorcycles and production date ranges:

2022-2024 Husqvarna FE 501 S produced between January 13, 2022 and October 11, 2023
2022-2024 Husqvarna FE 350 S produced between January 13, 2022 and October 11, 2023
2024 GasGas ES 500 produced between June 27, 2023 and October 23, 2023
2024 GasGas ES 350 produced between June 27, 2023 and October 23, 2023

From 2025 model year motorcycles forward, an improved brake caliper design was used on those motorcycles, which is why they are not included in this recall. However, on April 16, 2026, Transport Canada (which is Canada's equivalent to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) reportedly contacted KTM North America regarding issues with Braktec rear caliper failures on some machines sold in that market. This, in turn, resulted in additional investigation at the KTM Austria level.

So far, as of July 8, 2026, one crash related to this issue has been reported in Germany.

KTM North America is notifying its dealer network about this recall on July 15, 2026, via its internal Dealernet network. The company also plans to notify all registered owners of affected vehicles via postal mail on or about September 2, 2026. VINs of affected motorcycles should be searchable in the NHTSA database as of July 15, 2026.

The replacement part has an increased pin area that has significantly increased in size, going from 6.5 millimeters to 10.5 millimeters. It has been in use on KTM's production line from the 2025 model year forward.

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The recall notes that all dealers will be required to repair the motorcycles in their inventories prior to delivering them to customers. If any KTM/Husqvarna/GasGas owners already paid to have this issue serviced, they may be eligible for reimbursement, provided they have evidence to back their claims.

Owners will be instructed to contact their local authorized KTM dealer, who will schedule a recall service appointment where the rear brake caliper will be completely replaced with a non-defective unit, free of charge. Owners may contact the KTM and Husqvarna North America customer service hotline at 1-888-985-6090. Additionally, owners may contact the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-888-275-9171) or go to www.nhtsa.gov.