Drove home on a rigid...

PapaGeno21 said:
Well he is not being a dick about it, so we shall see.
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Well I'm sure he doesn't want any "negative" publicity out of the deal. Hopefully you get your money back soon.

This should be a lesson to all of us. Anytime you modify the bike from stock you take a risk and while some of these risks are negligible some such as this one are not. I know that not many of us here are mechanical engineers (or have the capability of doing testing on parts), but we should all think of the consequences of our mods. Papa was lucky that this link broke when it did and not while he was pushing it through the twisties or flying down the highway. In either case the outcome would have been much, much worse...
 
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gtbigup01 said:
One a side note, all this lawyer talk is ridiculous. When a person choses to modify their vehicle with parts other than that made for the vehicle then he/she assumes the risk of failure/malfunction.
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Such is the case with non-OEM parts. Parts like that are not road legal, not tested or certified in any way and as such are 'use at your own risk' or 'for off road use only'.

NJFZ1 said:
This should be a lesson to all of us. Anytime you modify the bike from stock you take a risk and while some of these risks are negligible some such as this one are not. I know that not many of us here are mechanical engineers (or have the capability of doing testing on parts), but we should all think of the consequences of our mods. Papa was lucky that this link broke when it did and not while he was pushing it through the twisties or flying down the highway. In either case the outcome would have been much, much worse...
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You said it better than I did! One should consider all possibilities when modifying their bike. I don't have a problem with homebrew parts or things produced by tiny shops, sometimes I question their level of testing :)
 
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Dustin said:
Such is the case with non-OEM parts. Parts like that are not road legal, not tested or certified in any way and as such are 'use at your own risk' or 'for off road use only'.
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Copied from their website:


Designed for race and street duty! Our fully adjustable suspension components are being used on everything from stock bikes to 500hp drag bikes and land speed racers!
 
Street duty my ass. The bump that killed this thing would rival that of running over a Hershey bar in the road.

I sent them the link, as per their request. I could care less what they do with it, I just want my cash back and I will be content. Fact is, I did not get hurt from it so if i just get a refund that will end this.

If I had gotten hurt, then yes there would be a totally different way of contacting them, and it would have been a lawyer.

I really just cannot fathom if this ever happened on an on ramp doing 65 in full lean.
 
I've just noticed this thread and had a read through it and it's interesting to say the least!

The failure of the part is bad, it could've been far a far worse outcome but thankfully not this time.
In my opinion, just looking at the link, there's no way on this earth that I'd fit that to my bike, it doesn't look up to the job, more like something that someone has knocked up in their garage!

One thing I would be very wary of with things like these links is that if you have an accident and you've got this fitted, I'd imagine that your insurance company would just laugh and tell you you're not covered as the suspension has been modified with non-genuine parts. I'm not sure if that's the case in the US but in the UK I'd expect it from them if they inspect the bike.
 
Honestly it was pretty beef when holding it in your hand. Plus, if a heim joint is of good quality they don't have to be big to do the job. This just was not up to the task.

Oh and for the record, I am 190lbs. Its not like im 500. What confuses me is why this never broke when I was driving this thing hard, or when me and my girlfriend were on it. I must have logged a good 800 miles 2 up on this link.

I am just glad it broke when it did, I can't stress that enough. I think about it all the time and just knowing I was less than 4 blocks from my house was nice.

I will say this though, I DON'T understand how people can drive rigid framed bikes. For those 3 blocks my rear tire was my suspension, and it was smooth road and I still did not like it!
 
PapaGeno21 said:
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I will say this though, I DON'T understand how people can drive rigid framed bikes. For those 3 blocks my rear tire was my suspension, and it was smooth road and I still did not like it!
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Trust me people with rigid frames don't usually ride their bikes too far...lol
 
I don't see how they could!

When I used to wheel my Jeep, we would go to an off road park in PA. The camp ground was like 20 miles away, so when we aired our tires down to about 10PSI for the trails and didn't bother airing back up, so on the street the roads were SO much smoother.. However, steering was like a 2 second delay due to the enormous amount of sidewall roll over on a 35" tire when you are at 10psi.. LOL

Problem is on a bike, you could never get away with lowering the PSI in the tire so that it was smoother. Man, must be a terrible ride.
 
I read some of this thread while in New Mexico this past weekend & honestly it scared the crap outta me! I have that link on my bike and every bump I hit, I just cringed! :eek:
But there's one question I have to ask Geno.....in the weeks or so before this happened, do you remember hitting any other bumps or potholes that gave you an "oh 5hit" moment?
 
Soupy has some issues to address from the other instances posted it is only a matter of time. If I had one I think I would remove it just to err on the side of safety. You can buy the triangles on Ebay I'll try to find a link and post it. I hope anyone who has read what has happened to Papa at least takes a look at their for any sign of failure.
 
Nope. Nothing unusual.

I felt bad when I posted this, and the two people I thought of immediately were you and MrsFZ1inNH. I remembered reading you guys installed these, and now I am just praying the same does not happen to you guys.
 
lytehouse said:
I read some of this thread while in New Mexico this past weekend & honestly it scared the crap outta me! I have that link on my bike and every bump I hit, I just cringed! :eek:
But there's one question I have to ask Geno.....in the weeks or so before this happened, do you remember hitting any other bumps or potholes that gave you an "oh 5hit" moment?
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Sidetrack.....but where in NM? Im presently 25 miles S. of Chama.......unfortunately, still without a bike......
 
BroHay said:
Sidetrack.....but where in NM? Im presently 25 miles S. of Chama.......unfortunately, still without a bike......
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We spent the first 2 nights in Santa Fe, rode over to Old Town Albuquerque for a day, went up Sandia Mountain (fun!), and our 3rd night was in Taos. We had lunch in Chama on Saturday. The place was over run with Harley's that day! :eek5:
I guess I should post a few pics huh?!?!
 
PapaGeno21 said:
Nope. Nothing unusual.

I felt bad when I posted this, and the two people I thought of immediately were you and MrsFZ1inNH. I remembered reading you guys installed these, and now I am just praying the same does not happen to you guys.
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Yeah, me too.....but I'm hoping yours was an isolated incident. Stuff happens.
 
First, I am NOT an attorney. But in the world of commerce, there is a legal term/concept called merchantability. In short, it means that an item is supposed to do what is says it will do. Here is the definition from West's Dictionary of American Law :

Merchantability: A promise, arising by operation of law, that something that is sold will be merchantable and fit for the purpose for which it is sold.

Every time goods are bought and sold, a sales contract is created: the buyer agrees to pay, and the seller agrees to accept, a certain price in exchange for a certain item or number of items. Sales contracts are frequently oral, unwritten agreements. The purchase of items like a candy bar hardly seems worth the trouble of drafting an agreement spelling out the buyer's expectation that the candy bar will be fresh and edible. Implied warranties protect the buyer whether or not a written sales contract exists.

Implied Warranty of Merchantability
Implied warranties come in two general types: merchantability and fitness. An implied warranty of merchantability is an unwritten and unspoken guarantee to the buyer that goods purchased conform to ordinary standards of care and that they are of the same average grade, quality, and value as similar goods sold under similar circumstances. In other words, merchantable goods are goods fit for the ordinary purposes for which they are to be used. The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), adopted by most states, provides that courts may imply a warranty of merchantability when (1) the seller is the merchant of such goods, and (2) the buyer uses the goods for the ordinary purposes for which such goods are sold (§ 2-314). Thus, a buyer can sue a seller for breaching the implied warranty by selling goods unfit for their ordinary purpose.

Read more: Implied warranty: West's Encyclopedia of American Law (Full Article) from Answers.com



When you put new tires on your bike, other than the OEM model, do you expect is to burst while you're doing 70 mph? If you put a new windscreen on, do you expect it to shatter into dangerous shards when a stone hits it?

Now I'm not suggesting you sue Soupy but your life was put at risk by an item he (presumably) produces and sells for the exact purpose you used it for. It should not have done what it did.

In my earlier post, I included a link to the Consumer Protection Division of the Michigan Attorney General. A friend of mine used to head this division and I filed a complaint several years ago. The AG's office sends a copy of your complaint and requests a response. If nothing else happens, this creates a record that a potentially defective and dangerous item is being sold to the public. It takes all of 10 minutes to (electronically) complete and file such a complaint. Effectively, it puts Soupy's on notice and just might save the next guy/gal who buys/uses on of his lowering links from buying the farm.

FWIW this is the same process/concept by which the US Consumer Product Safety Commission works. They rely on consumer complaints to make them aware of defective goods like baby strollers that collapse, childrens' toys with lead paint and toasters that overheat and catch your house on fire.

Filing a complaint with the Michigan AG lets Soupy know he needs to stop selling these items OR redesign the piece OR use a better grade of material.

I see Soupy's links widely advertised, so there have to be hundreds, if not thousands of other bikes out there with his link on them. Maybe those folks at least deserve a letter from Soupy advising them that the link can fail and result in injury...... or worse?




gtbigup01 said:
Wow! Bro you're one lucky SOB. Glad you made it home safely.

One a side note, all this lawyer talk is ridiculous. When a person choses to modify their vehicle with parts other than that made for the vehicle then he/she assumes the risk of failure/malfunction.

You've done the right thing by contacting them by email to inform them of the failure, so maybe, they can look into making a stronger product. GL
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