The 2004 Big Dog Chopper has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 1,895 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 5 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system. Last updated July 5, 2026.
BIG DOG IS RECALLING CERTAIN 2004 CHOPPER, BULLDOG, RIDGEBACK, MASTIFF, BOXER, AND PITBULL MOTORCYCLES. THERE IS A POSSIBLE LOOSE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE HARNESS CONNECTOR AND THE ELECTRONIC HARNESS CONTROLLER.
Consequence
THIS CONDITION MAY CAUSE THE MOTORCYCLE TO EXPERIENCE INTERMITTENT LOSS OF ELECTRICAL POWER TO VARIOUS COMPONENTS, WHICH CAN LEAD TO, AMONG OTHER THINGS, A LOSS OF HEADLAMP FUNCTION OR A VEHICLE STALL, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy
BIG DOG WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND DEALERS WILL REPAIR THE MOTORCYCLES FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 24, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BIG DOG AT 1-316-219-9121.
Complaints by component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
2
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
1
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
1
SERVICE BRAKES
1
Total complaints5
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Where do I get a 2004 master cylinder for my bike??? Everything that's on recall is on my bike!! And even more to be pissed about is they sold this to me a few months after there recall when they new about it, everything that was fixed because of multiple problems I had to pay out of pocket. But…”
“Head light turn signals stopped working. They went out while driving at night. Had to have my bike towed. *tr”
“Head light turn signals stopped working. They went out while driving at night. Had to have my bike towed. *tr”
“Head light turn signals stopped working. They went out while driving at night. Had to have my bike towed. *tr”
“Tl* the contact owns a 2004 big dog motorcycle chopper. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for repairs under nhtsa recall campaign id number: 10v180000 (electrical system) in 2006, but the repair did not correct the failure. The contact stated that the motorcycle continued to stall while…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationRQ10002 Opened 2010-01-27 · closed 2010-05-10
Motorcycle Stalling
This RQ was opened based on seemingly related owner complaints involving motorcycles outside the scope of 06V-301.During the course of subsequent discussions with the company, we learned that the earlier model year Big Dogs had a problem with the electronic harness control module connector that they'd previously…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2004 Big Dog Chopper as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.