The question after what happened to leoquattro and before him to halogrinder: What further? Are we going to wait till one of us will die in such incident/accident Or are we going to take action and do something?
CycleRob has done great and professional job but how many one of us has the skill and the possibilities of Rob? I don’t think it is a good idea to modify the bike individually because then we give BMW the legal reason to claim that the modification is the reason of (e.g. weaken the assembly etc…). IMO is a collective action of a group of almost 4500 members is much stronger than a letter of an individual. Even if BMW will not accept to solve this problem, this can be used as proof against them if some thing will go wrong again in the future.
For the people who didn’t follow this subject here is the links:
Yikes, the guys on the other site must suffer from terminal anal stoppage.
Mean bunch......do they really ride BMW's, maybe they are the ones that don white evening gloves during their rides.....or those that refer to their exhaust at "that shiny little thingy on the side".......
On the other hand, a class action suit would make the Germans and their teutonic arrogance fall backwards laughing....Ahhh....der Amerikaner suing BMW Motorrad on a design that is 60 years old on which we have bestowed a sprinkle of technology and charge good money for it....Ja, Ja, Ja..... dar line forms to the right.....
No I'm not embarrased or ashamed since I also have German in my blood....so there......
Last edited by boxermania on Tue Jan 15, 2008 6:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
Member #312
06 Suzuki Burgman 650 "state of flux"
79 CBX
Robert
I of course agree with you that something should be done vs BMW.
What in particular annoyed me is the sufficient attitude I got from BMW Italy, when they replied that the famous bolt is tightened at the factory with such and such torque and using a special glue which could keep a Titan rocket attached to the ground while trying to lift off. Who cares? The fact is that the bolt disengaged and I risked my life!
I was expecting a frank admission that a simple mod like the one CycleRob did would be applied to the bike since now. Or at least that their expensive periodic maintenance check will also include a visual control of the attachment, is it so difficult?
I tried to get in touch with BMW Germany but I didn't succeed in getting an email address. Has anyone got an email address to directly contact BMW Germany? My company happens to have a branch in Germany so for instance I could ask a colleague to translate the issue in pure teutonic with the proper Walkirian curses and threats that even a stubborn German engineer would understand.
On the other hand, a class action suit would make the Germans and their teutonic arrogance fall backwards laughing....Ahhh....der Amerikaner suing BMW Motorrad on a design that is 60 years old on which we have bestowed a sprinkle of technology and charge good money for it....Ja, Ja, Ja..... dar line forms to the right.....Laughing Laughing
No I'm not embarrased or ashamed since I also have German in my blood....so there...... Cool
Boxermani,
What do you suggest? Shall we wait till it will happen next time and maybe one of us will die in it? Then we will say “ja, it is Pech!†or maybe “it is the will of God� Or do you have another idea?
leoquattro,
I don’t think that the language is the real problem. Big companies like BMW are mostly depending on export and they have enough people to deal with languages. I don’t think it is a good idea to write them a letter as individual but as group and let it be signed by as many members as possible.
I'm truly sorry about your bad experience. I certainly don't want any rider to meet their maker, or for that matter become injured while riding a motorbike.
Unfortunately, I don't have a solution to address and resolve the potential issues. It is not uncomon for large companies to remain aloof and unresponsive when it comes down to product liability.
The only positive thing for me to contribute is: Make absolutely sure that all the critical fasteners are tight and torqued to the right value.
Member #312
06 Suzuki Burgman 650 "state of flux"
79 CBX
OU812,
I was reading your comment at that Forum "I think BMW makes the best! Again, BMW ignores problems that are not safety related.". I think this problem (which we are discussing here) is very safety related. What do you think that we as group or BMW must do about it?
Robert
Or are we going to take action and do something? 
As for as us, I really don't know.
…OH,...but it is not mine! 