Dropped bike who's at blame?

**EZAS** · 15th January 2006, 17:08

I have only just got my ZX9R, picked it up yesterday brand new warrant.
Today I was just about to head out, my mate in his legacy, and me on my bike. I was facing down hill with the front brake on, both legs on the ground. The front brake leaver snaps off ... which relieves all tension of the actual brakes and the bike starts rolling forward and is layed down on the right hand side. Like there's no way I could put on the back brake cos my legs were trying to keep the bike balanced and with no front brake there was no way of stopping the bike and its heading on an angled downhill.

This isn't a simple case of a newb laying the bike down cos the I have the front brake leaver that has been snapped off, and if your thinking that the front brake leaver got snapped off due to the drop, then it would have been marked in some way ... which it is not. It has a simple straight break on the leaver. The back brake mount is snapped in three places, the fairings are now all scratched up and there is a very slight scratch/dent in the can. The bike is now, completely unridable as there is no front or rear brake!

If it didn't happen on my drive way, it would have happened at the end of my road which leads onto the open highway = NOT GOOD. Shouldn't this have been checked on the warrant? I've only done 167km's on the bike so far, am I covered in anywayz? NO ... No insurance. bought from a dealer though.

**StoneChucker** · 15th January 2006, 17:23

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. That really is a shame. That wouldn't be checked, and isn't the responsibility of the W.O.F. centre. Unfortunately I don't think you would have any luck with the manufacturer either. You would need to prove that the lever broke off before the fall (or more importantly that it caused the fall). The fact that there is no mark on the lever means nothing I'm afraid. I dropped my bike once, lever snapped off on the garage floor and the lever was unmarked.

You would know where it snapped. If it snapped while you were holding it, it would be clear to you that it happened before the fall. If that's the case, and you have heaps of free cash, I guess you could have the metal in the lever examined.

My advice, tell the dealer/seller what happened and see what they say. It's unlikely they'll admit guilt, but they may give you a deal on any repairs that need doing. (Edit: I see it's a '95 model, some of my advice was partly for a brand new bike)

Crash Bungs can be fitted once you're up and running again. They protrude out the side of your bike (neatly, not an eyesore), and should prevent any major damage, should that or anything else happen again. Hard luck, but everyone does it at some stage. New bikes always cause obsessive compulsive protection, but in time, small chips, and even scrapes will seem less of a tragedy. Still, it sucks, and I know how you feel :spudwhat:

**deathstar** · 15th January 2006, 17:26

well as far as i know from my job is that if the part failed due to bad production then yes call the dealer and tell him to pick it up and replace everything on the warrant and everything should be covered without you having to pay a thing, although many warrents have small print so be careful and read up cause people don't want to live up to warrents as i found from personal experience

**Colapop** · 15th January 2006, 17:30

If you picked it up from the dealer yesteraday then no worries go back to the dealer and explain the situation. As long as you convey your innocence without getting too worked up (let them calm you down without making any concessions) I reckon you should be fine. If it was picked up just yesterday or within the last 7 days the consumer garuntees act enables you to return the whole bike if you so chose. Most dealers when faced with the return of a vehicle will help you out prety quickly.

**EZAS** · 15th January 2006, 17:35

The bike is a '95. It had only just been givien a warrant, but ... I don't think there was a warranty. I guess ... I'm just gonna have to see how much it's gonna cost... Man ... this sux ... The last bike I had for less than 2,000k's this bike hasn't even hit 200!!!!

I have to witnesses that saw the bike be laid down while the lever was still in my hand. If stress fractures are not covered in warrants then I guess I'm just gonna have to lump it.

**RantyDave** · 15th January 2006, 17:36

Bummer.

Levers snap due to little microscopic cracks which spread quite nicely (because the smaller a crack is, the higher the stresses at the edges). Cracks also spread through high carbon steels as used in crappy quality castings. I know this because when I laid by bike down (very low speed, no drama) the clutch lever snapped off revealing crappy quality cast steel. I can only assume you've suffered the same thing - does the break look really lumpy?

But back to the bummer, on a ten year old bike I really do think it's a bummer more than the dealers fault. And while I feel your pain, and the dealer ... if any good ... will also feel your pain, I don't see a way you can paint it as them being liable.

Talk to them about it? Maybe swing a "parts at cost, no labour" deal in getting it fixed as a sort of "shit, sorry mate" thing?

Dave

**Sniper** · 15th January 2006, 17:37

Take it back to the dealer. Talk to him nicely and cross your fingers

**SuperDave** · 15th January 2006, 17:40

That does suck, not really too sure how you'll be able to get the dealer/manufacturer to admit fault as it sounds like something hard to prove.

I'm interested, does your bike not engine brake? Surely once its picked up enough speed then you would have been able to put your feet up and hit the rear brake? Not trying to attack you or anything just curious as to what happened, is your driveway real short than you had to lay it down before it smashed into something solid?

In any case, having your front brake lever snap on you is something pretty unexpected.

**Keeper** · 15th January 2006, 18:08

There are laws to protect consumers against this type of event, buying a used motorvehicle not suitable for any use etc., as long as you payed a reasonable amount for what your bike is, and for the condition it was in when you collected it, it needs to be usable, ask them to help out or cough up (the dealer), if not get their managers e-mail and e-mail fairgo and CC the bike store, that usually sturs people up a bit. Remember don't be rude, just say, I brought this bike too ride, I haven't even done 2000kms on it and the lever snapped which shouldn't ever snap, making it unsuitable for its intended purchase use.

http://www.consumer.org.nz/topic.asp...summary&bhcp=1
Use this link, I think you have too pay for any of the reports but it has some numbers to call at worst.

**Zed** · 15th January 2006, 18:31

Sorry to read about this Ezas, one minute you're jubilant about going for a ride on your new 'unexplored' bike and the next minute your life has turned upside down it seems...i can imagine the feeling and you have my sympathies.

As has been suggested, you should discuss this with the dealership that you purchased it from before any other course of action is taken. Hopefully they'll be understanding and help you with some compensation.

I bought a bike from a dealer recently and asked if they could give me any kind of warranty without me having to pay extra, so they generously gave me a written 3 months warranty covering any unforseen manufacturing faults. *Remember*, you don't get if you don't ask! Also, you really should be insured!

Hope u get it sorted out without too much heartache.

**Motu** · 15th January 2006, 18:47

Your bikes a '95,that's over 10 yrs old y'know? Unless you can provide proof the lever has been replaced in the last couple of years you'll have no luck on any warranty.The dealer mechanics and the WoF tester don't have Xray vision,it was ok at the time of their test.Now if it had broken while the WoF inspector was road testing it and crashed I guess it'd be his fault then too? It broke while you were on it and you still want someone to blame......scream loud enough and somebody might give you a brand new bike to shut you up.

**Karma** · 15th January 2006, 18:51

Originally Posted by SuperDave

That does suck, not really too sure how you'll be able to get the dealer/manufacturer to admit fault as it sounds like something hard to prove.

I'm interested, does your bike not engine brake? Surely once its picked up enough speed then you would have been able to put your feet up and hit the rear brake? Not trying to attack you or anything just curious as to what happened, is your driveway real short than you had to lay it down before it smashed into something solid?

In any case, having your front brake lever snap on you is something pretty unexpected.

Would imagine it was in neutral, but that's just a guess.

Bit of a shitter mate, but can't see that anyone is at fault, WOF wouldn't have checked for it, so no way they would have known, bike is way outta warrenty, and if you didn't notice it before then how could anyone else?

Shit happens. Just have to hope it's not too expensive to fix.

**Ixion** · 15th January 2006, 20:43

I've had front brake levers break in my hand, clutch levers break in my hand, rear brake pedals break under my foot, brake actuating arms break, handlebars break in half and fall off (at 120kph! ),front and back axles break, swingarms break.

Shit happens, no-one's fault, just part of life's glorious tapestry. Suck it up and move on.

**Motu** · 15th January 2006, 20:54

Yep,we can treat our bikes like aircraft and replace every component when it exceeds service life.The Japs do - when their cars exceed service life and require replacement of every safety system....they send them to NZ.