Yes — motorcycles bought or leased primarily for personal use in California and still under warranty qualify under the Song-Beverly Act.
Many California motorcyclists face a common and frustrating problem: a brand-new bike with a recurring defect that the dealer simply cannot fix. Whether it is an electrical issue that causes stalling, a transmission defect, a brake problem, or a persistent engine malfunction, owning a defective motorcycle is not just an inconvenience — it is a safety hazard. The good news is that California’s lemon law explicitly covers motorcycles, and your rights as a motorcycle buyer are the same as those of any other new vehicle owner.
California Civil Code § 1793.22(e)(2) defines “new motor vehicle” to include motorcycles. This means the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act’s full protections apply to any new motorcycle purchased or leased primarily for personal, family, or household use and covered by a manufacturer’s express warranty. The same repair attempt thresholds apply: four or more failed attempts for the same defect, two attempts for safety defects, or 30 or more cumulative days out of service.
Major brands covered include Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Harley-Davidson, BMW Motorrad, Ducati, KTM, Triumph, and Indian — essentially any manufacturer whose new motorcycles come with an express warranty and are sold through authorized California dealers.
For a motorcycle defect to trigger lemon law rights, it must substantially impair the bike’s use, value, or safety. Given that motorcycles offer far less passive safety protection than enclosed vehicles, courts and attorneys generally apply a heightened awareness of what constitutes a safety impairment on a motorcycle. Defects that qualify commonly include:
For defects that could cause death or serious bodily injury if the motorcycle is ridden, the legal presumption of lemon status arises after just two repair attempts (Cal. Civ. Code § 1793.22(b)(1)). Given the inherently dangerous nature of motorcycle riding, many common motorcycle defects — stalling at speed, brake failures, throttle malfunctions — fall into this category. If your dealer has tried and failed to fix a safety defect twice, you may already have a strong lemon law claim.
Motorcycles are sometimes ridden in conditions that are harder to replicate in a dealer’s service bay. Service advisors may dismiss intermittent stalling or electrical gremlins by saying they cannot duplicate the problem. This makes documentation especially important for motorcycle owners. Every time you bring the bike in, ensure a repair order is opened even if the service tech says nothing was found. Note in writing the specific conditions under which the defect occurred — speed, temperature, load, terrain, duration of ride. Photographs or videos of dashboard warning lights or the bike misbehaving are powerful evidence.
Motorcycles are seasonal or recreational vehicles for many California riders. If your bike has spent 30 or more cumulative days at the dealership for warranty repairs — even across multiple different defects — you may have a lemon law claim based on the days-out-of-service threshold alone, regardless of whether any single defect has been attempted four times. During riding season, a bike that has been in the shop for a month of riding days has substantially impaired your use of the vehicle.
The lemon law remedy for a motorcycle is the same as for any other vehicle: a full repurchase or a replacement. A repurchase means you get back your purchase price, tax, registration, and related fees, minus a mileage offset based on miles ridden before the defect first appeared. The manufacturer also pays your reasonable attorney fees — meaning you typically pay nothing out of pocket to pursue your claim.
If your new motorcycle has been to the dealer multiple times for the same defect without resolution — or has been in the shop for an unreasonable length of time — contact a lemon law attorney today. The consultation is free, and if you have a valid claim, the manufacturer bears your legal costs. Do not keep riding a dangerous defective bike and making payments on it when the law entitles you to a remedy.