Harley tries to kill its rider

[Last1Out]

Michael xxxxxxx, was traveling
west on Wayah Road on a 2003 Harley-
Davidson when the front fender came off and
fell under the front wheel, causing the bike to
turn onto its left side and slide down the road,
according to the report from the Highway Patrol post.
The motorcycle ran off the right hand side
of the road and flipped, coming to rest partially
on the shoulder and partially on the road.
The rider sustained injuries in the crash and was
transported to hospital

[Cheddarhead]

Michael xxxxxxx, was traveling
west on Wayah Road on a 2003 Harley-
Davidson [/b] [/i]  when the front fender came off and
fell under the front wheel, causing the bike to
turn onto its left side and slide down the road,
according to the report from the Highway Patrol post.
The motorcycle ran off the right hand side
of the road and flipped, coming to rest partially
on the shoulder and partially on the road.
The rider sustained injuries in the crash and was
transported to hospital

Really?

I understand that it's considered fashionable to seek out new and different ways to bash H-D...but without having the least insight into how this motorcycle has been maintained for the past EIGHT Years...it seems a bit premature to blame this crash on some perceived lack of quality on the part of the Motor Company.

For all you or anybody else knows, this fender has been removed and reinstalled several times...and the last installer failed to use the proper hardware and/or torque the machine screws appropriately...yet it's still Harley's fault?  And "if" there is / was prior evidence of stress cracking / metal fatigue on the fender...how much liability / responsibility rests with the rider?

How much "skin in the game' does the rider have to ensure that his motorcycle is road-worthy.

(Feel free to insert gratuitious jokes about the amount of "skin in the game" is/was left on the pavement if you so desire...)

[hovmaven]

Michael xxxxxxx, was traveling
west on Wayah Road on a 2003 Harley-
Davidson when the front fender came off and
fell under the front wheel, and he had to lay her down. . ..

FTFY.  

[J-Mac]

Bummer the dude crashed. An even bigger bummer for his choice in bikes.

[jfusaro]

Michael xxxxxxx, was traveling
west on Wayah Road on a 2003 Harley-
Davidson when the front fender came off and
fell under the front wheel, causing the bike to
turn onto its left side and slide down the road,
according to the report from the Highway Patrol post.
The motorcycle ran off the right hand side
of the road and flipped, coming to rest partially
on the shoulder and partially on the road.
The rider sustained injuries in the crash and was
transported to hospital

How can someone post this nothing more to say

[sfalexi]

Really?

I understand that it's considered fashionable to seek out new and different ways to bash H-D...but without having the least insight into how this motorcycle has been maintained for the past EIGHT Years...it seems a bit premature to blame this crash on some perceived lack of quality on the part of the Motor Company.

I dug a little deeper and found out a some information that might shed some light on this...."Michael xxxxxxx, was traveling west on Wayah Road on a 2003 Harley-Davidson..."  Hope that helps explain it.













  Thank you.  I'll be here all week.  

Alexi

[cbsnbiker]

Any word on how the rider is doing?

[Rammer]

Wow... someone needs this....


Since when does the phrase, "Harley tries to kill rider", mean "the motor company"?  I think it means the same as, "motorcycle tried to kill rider", only with the addition of the brand name!

If I say "I ride a Kawasaki", does that mean I'm over in Japan on top of the factory roof going vrooom vrooom??? I think not.

LUFFS.

[Rincewind]

They should put a bullet in that bike before it tries to kill again.  

[county]

This could as easily have been titled "lack of maintenance almost kills rider"

Any real rider checks those fender mounting bolts regularly...esp on a Harley.

[veefer800canuck]

Here I thought I would read that he grabbed the front brakes and it threw him over the bars.

Srsly, maybe the owner never maintained his bike. No matter what brand, zero maintenence will killya eventually. I totally dismantle my front suspension/brakes and check, clean and grease everything, then retorque properly during one winter, then the next winter I do the same for the rear suspension/driveline/brakes. And that is in addition to Preride and other random checks and adjustments throughout the riding season.

[dm_gsxr]

This could as easily have been titled "lack of maintenance almost kills rider"

Any real rider checks those fender mounting bolts regularly...esp on a Harley.

Pretty much. When I got my Harley back from the local dealer, I noticed the right turn signal, mounted on the right shock kept turning to the right. I found it hadn't been tightened back down after service (although they didn't need to muck with it so no idea why it was loose). I took it back and made them go over the bike, checking all the fasteners then I spent the next month or so eyeballing the bike looking for loose stuff.

Carl

[jfurf]

Wayah Road! One of my favorites. An evil, evil road.  

Can be pretty hairy. Horrible pavement, decreasing radius turns, sand and gravel in the corners. It's so much fun.  

[stromgal]

Wayah Road! One of my favorites. An evil, evil road.  

+1  

FWIW, my Buell is pretty good at shaking stuff loose, too.  

[Biking Sailor]

Loctite, a big twins best friend.

[mjrfd99]

Charlie Bxxx, was traveling west on Rt 71 on a 2006 Kawasaki when the front fender came off and
fell under the front wheel, causing the bike tocrash,
The rider sustained minor injuries

My friend- sued dealer - still in litagation.

[atadaskew]

"Charlie Bxxx, was traveling west on Rt 71 on a 2006 Kawasaki when the front fender came off and
fell under the front wheel, causing the bike tocrash,
The rider sustained minor injuries "

My friend- sued dealer - still in litagation.

Look I know how owners of Japanese cruisers go out of their way to make their bikes seem like Harleys, but this is ridiculous.












 

[JSharp]

Really?

I understand that it's considered fashionable to seek out new and different ways to bash H-D...but without having the least insight into how this motorcycle has been maintained for the past EIGHT Years...it seems a bit premature to blame this crash on some perceived lack of quality on the part of the Motor Company.

For all you or anybody else knows, this fender has been removed and reinstalled several times...and the last installer failed to use the proper hardware and/or torque the machine screws appropriately...yet it's still Harley's fault?  And "if" there is / was prior evidence of stress cracking / metal fatigue on the fender...how much liability / responsibility rests with the rider?

How much "skin in the game' does the rider have to ensure that his motorcycle is road-worthy.

(Feel free to insert gratuitious jokes about the amount of "skin in the game" is/was left on the pavement if you so desire...)

On the other side of this, the bike probably only had about 900 miles on it. How much maintenance should you need to do in 900 miles?  

[Brad1445]

Harley, yup risk it all trying to kill its owners.  What a stupid post Subject.  Obama was born in Kenya and Iraq had WMD Harley sucks, yada yada.

[Rogue]

+1  

FWIW, my Buell is pretty good at shaking stuff loose, too.  

Loctite everything.  I did that on my XB12R and nothing ever came loose.

[Jet Jock]

Loctite everything.  I did that on my XB12R and nothing ever came loose.

Ah, so you used the RED Loctite. Should do it.

[Hunter]

Loctite, a big twins best friend.

Damn, beat again.  

[ManWorkingHere]

Any real rider checks those fender mounting bolts regularly...esp on a Harley.

Where do you change the oil on H-D fender mounting bolts?  Do they leak that much?

[coho]

Don't you guys realize it's a safety feature?  If the ShriekingChickenDangerSensor goes off, the bike lays itself down to protect the rider from inadvertently activating the FrontBrakeOfInstantDeath.  Obviously something dangerous was about to happen.  Duh.

[gradus]

Wayah Road! One of my favorites. An evil, evil road.  

Can be pretty hairy. Horrible pavement, decreasing radius turns, sand and gravel in the corners. It's so much fun.  

Eeesh .... I'm jumping over to 28.