Cake 0 Emission USA Incorporated, which is Cake Motorcycles' American branch, issued a safety recall for certain 2018 through 2023 Cake Kalk&, Kalk Ink&, and Kalk :work motorcycles due to a potential battery safety issue.
On affected bikes, lithium ion battery cells with specific chemical compositions could fail during charging. This, in turn, could lead to smoke, and possibly also to the battery catching fire.
Approximately 264 units could potentially be involved in this recall, which represents about 50 percent of the population according to Cake's records.
The affected Kalks were produced between January 1, 2018 and November 1, 2023. Their VINs range from YW2C1M108KT000001 to YW2C1M104PT002060 and are not sequential.
Under Description of the cause, Cake's official recall report reads:
"Cells in certain Cake Kalk battery packs have slightly different chemical composition and can be pushed outside their operating range in certain rare cases, which can lead to cell failure. These potential failures will happen during charging."
As for any warning signs that this condition exists with a Kalk battery, Cake lists "abnormal battery behavior, including failed charging, significantly reduced range, and power cut-off while driving."
According to the official Cake international chronology of this problem, the company received a report in October 2023 of an independent Cake dealer in Seoul, South Korea having a Kalk catch fire while charging. An investigation involving Cake and the local fire department tore down the battery involved and conducted an analysis. It then began identifying all batteries that have the same cells.
As of December 29, 2023, Cake 0 Emission USA says that it has not received any warranty claims or reports related to this issue in the US.
What's Involved In The Recall Remedy
According to Cake, the recall will involve replacing the current lithium ion battery in affected Kalks with a different one that uses battery cells with a different chemical composition. These batteries should become available in March 2024.
In the meantime, Cake plans to send interim notification letters to owners on or before January 12, 2024. Owners will be asked to check their battery's serial number to determine whether it is a unit affected by this recall.
In the event that a customer's battery is affected by this recall, Cake has interim charging instructions for those customers to follow until the replacement battery packs are available.
Once the replacement battery packs are available, Cake will send a second letter to let customers know that the replacement battery packs have arrived. The company will also provide instructions to replace the existing battery pack, as well as for disposal of the old battery pack.
Owners may contact Cake customer service via email at service@ridecake.com. Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Association Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153) or go to www.nhtsa.gov.
