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1998 BMW R1200C — SUSPENSION:FRONT

crash1 injured · 340525 · 2002-03-25

Vehicle

Make
BMW
Model
R1200C
Year
1998
Manufacturer
BMW of North America, LLC
Component
SUSPENSION:FRONT
Speed
35 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
1
Fire
No
Crash
Yes
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

LEAVING WORKPLACE, ABOUT 200 YARDS @ APPROX 35 MPH, FRONT LEFT TELESCOPE DISENGAGED AND SEPARATED FROM THE CROSSBAR MECHANISM. INSTANTLY THE HANDLEBARS TURNED RIGHT AND THE 'CYCLE COLLAPSED ONTO ITS RIGHT SIDE, PITCHING ME TO THE GROUND. THE CYCLE AND I SKIDDED TO A STOP, RESULTING IN SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGES.MOTORCYCLE HAD BEEN RECENTLY SERVICED UNDER BMW MANUFACTURER RECALL FOR A RELATED SUSPENSION COMPONENT THAT REQUIRED THE DISASSEMBLY AND RE-ASSEMBLY OF THE COMPONENT THAT FAILED. AGAINST MY FIRM REQUESTS THAT THE CROSSBAR NOT BE TAKEN APART UNTIL A BMW REPRESENTATIVE WAS PRESENT, THE DEALER (SALE AND SOLE SERVICER) PROCEEDED TO OPEN THE CROSSBAR. THE NUT THAT WAS TO HOLD THE TELESCOPE INTO THE CROSSBAR WAS PRESENT, HOWEVER, ACCORDING TO THE DEALER, HE COULD NOT THREAD IT ONTO THE UPPER TELESCOPE BOLT. THE DEALER QUESTIONED THE MECHANIC WHO HAD WORKED ON THE RECALL WORK ORDER, AND SAID, "HE (THE MECHANIC) SAID, 'NO WAY HE DIDN'T TORQUE ALL THREE NUTS'..." (THE SERVICE MANUAL DOES NOT INDICATE THAT THIS NUT IS A "TORQUE COMPONENT" .. IE DOES NOT SPECIFY "TORQUE FORCE" TO BE USED.. (BEGGING THE QUESTION "HOW DOES THIS NUT 'LOCK'?" ... AND NO ONE HAS ANSWERED THIS QUESTION...) BMW DID NOT RESPOND TO CALLS UNTIL I ESCALATED THE ISSUE. I UNDERSTAND THAT THE BMW WEST COAST REP WAS SENT DIGITIZED PHOTOS OF THE UNIT, AND APPARENTLY DENIED ANY BMW RESPONSIBILITY TO THE DEALER. WHEN I FINALLY SPOKE WITH THE BMW WEST COAST REP, HE INFORMED ME THAT THE DEALER HAD INSTRUCTED HIM NOT

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
759800
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown