Talkback: US biker sues Harley in ABS light case

mikeprytherch

16/12/2011 at 11:33

Madness, the USA has some of the most stupid law cases, I hope HD win as this will be bad for all bike manufactures.

Joe Brand

16/12/2011 at 12:53

Maybe it would off been easier to wear a helmet, Or just become a better rider as you dont need ABS if you can Break Effiecently !!

Bill Jones 2

16/12/2011 at 13:34

Wait - The riders' bike HAS an ABS indicator on it, but doesn't have ABS, and he may or may not have been told by the salesman that the bike had ABS. Why would anyone think that the light has to light up for there to be ABS installed? How does it work in your car? Does the ABS light come on every time you start up? Wouldn't you expect that the light would only come on if there was a PROBLEM with the ABS that you presumably have, given that there is an indicator on the dash? I think he's got a case. Because you would operate the brakes differently depending on whether you thought you had ABS or not in an emergency situation.

mobus

16/12/2011 at 13:35

What a ****ing dumbass.

By the way. When i turn my bike on the speedo goes round, But as far as i'm aware im not actually doing 170mph in my shed. But if it turns out i'm going that fast could i sue Kawasaki for the damage caused to my shed?

MGPHOPEFUL

16/12/2011 at 14:22

1. Yes. On every car, at least in the US (and I assume with your even worse safety Nazis there the same is in the UK/EU), eqipped with ABS the ABS warning light has to light up on start-up (however briefly). Probabal;y the same for bikes but I do not know that for a fact.
2. He likely would have no reason to have a case at all if she was wearing a helmet. Just ridiculuos that most US states have no helemet laws.

Eric Sorrentino

16/12/2011 at 16:02

The bike does not have an ABS light, the gauge has a cutout for an ABS light when ABS is installed. Simple as that - and no, you don't brake any differently if you have ABS or not.

Yes, the light comes on in a car or on a bike whenever the vehicle is started. It is part of the start up process. It also comes on if there is a problem with the ABS system in either a car, or on a bike. Even if there IS a problem though, if it is the amber ABS indicator that lights up, the brakes default to a standard non-ABS system. The ABS system can completely fail, and the brakes will work normally.

Bottom line is, the guy had an accident, he functionally lost his wife, and is now trying to make someone else pay for it. While I have empathy for him, he is not only wrong, but he has a complete jackass for an attorney.

Runako Mowatt

16/12/2011 at 16:54

Hold on. Bill Jones has a point. I'm into my bike so i want to know everything it does. I maintain it so i'd like to think i know it in detail. But, i never did the same for my car even though i loved driving. Would i assume that there was nothing wrong if a light on the dash didn't come on. Hell yes! I use to run my car WITH the engine light on, and ignored that something was wrong.

The point is, the ABS indicator could be misleading simply by being there regardless of whether it ever worked.

BUT, it is 'basics' that when you buy a new vehicle you should get to know its features. What's the best way to do that? Read the bloody manual that comes along with it! Surely the defence would have been better to argue that he failed to read his manual, which by the way contains information on bike maintenance. What good is ABS if you never bloody maintain your bike because you couldn't be bothered to read the manual? How would you know when to get it serviced if you never had a look?

Alex Z.

16/12/2011 at 17:21

ABS in cars is a bit different: it's required by law (in the EU, at least). Also, when I start my car, at least 10 different little lights appear for a split second. There's no way I could read all of them, even if I wanted to. (I looked up a Youtube video just now to see that yes, my car does have an ABS light that blinks during starts.)

My car doesn't have the optional electronic stability control feature, and so that part of the dashboard is a blank cutout that looks like it could be a button, but is just a flat black plastic square. I'm curious if any carmaker uses actual indicators on their dashboards for features that the car doesn't have.

hextal

16/12/2011 at 18:02

For the guys argument to make sense he would effectively be saying that he would have ridden more safely had he known he didn't have ABS. Which would suggest he consiously rode less safely than normal.

Davie Rsv4r

16/12/2011 at 21:45

My rsv4 has a abs light but the bike doesn't have abs and it also comes on when you turn the key on but but does not come on when the bike is started. Any bike i have ever ridden with abs the light stays on until it does one full rotation, i know my traction control light works like this aswell.

blah blah

16/12/2011 at 22:16

Or learn the difference between 'break' and 'break.'

Ron Kent

16/12/2011 at 22:31

I think he has a case. These days you simply cannot assume that people can figure things out for themselves. Harley has an ABS system that does not have a visible reluctor wheel for the sensor, and if the sales guy indicated the bike had ABS, well? Sure, look in the manual and it's going to say "If equipped" or "optional equipment", which may have been indicated to him at the time of purchase. I mean, if people can't figure out that they can fall from a ladder, hence the stupid decal on ladders, this definately has a chance of going through. I would love to see all the circumstances behind the wreck a swell as what kind of helmets, if any, they were wearing as well as any rider training he may or may not have had.

Red Mille

16/12/2011 at 22:48

This reminds me of the supposed court case when a a Winnebago driver crashed because they put on the cruise control and went and sat in the back and made a cup of tea!! Yanks, you have to love ''em!!!

Rick Russell

17/12/2011 at 00:02

California has mandatory helmet laws, for folks that keep asking. Doesn't mean she was wearing a good helmet, of course.

hextal

17/12/2011 at 09:26

Again, I don't know full details here, but most articles on this story say the guy stated he was doing circa 65mph and grabbed the brakes when he saw traffic backing up, causing the back wheel to lock up and him to lose control.

That would seem to suggest that he was not looking far enough ahead and was also likely using his brakes incorrectly.

Not trying to sound preachy here, as i've done my fair share of not paying enough attention to what's ahead and then grabbing a handfull of brake, but I knew these incident's were my fault.

Phil W 7

17/12/2011 at 14:40

Brake or break?

I have a 2010 Road Glide with ABS and you can tell by looking at the bike that it has ABS. There is a wire that goes to each wheel. When you buy any motorcycle you should research everything about it.

Everybody wants to win the lottery

Centauro

17/12/2011 at 19:15

I would say the salesperson was misleading him, but hey, hard to prove. This is to be expected from the States, sue and be sued. Imagine forgetting to label a coffe cup with "contents will be hot" over there......

jeffbiker1000

17/12/2011 at 20:34

I didn't know Harleys had breaks that worked that well! I thought you had to give them a post it note with intention to stop notice.Still a sad fact that he will probably win his case,like the winniebago driver and the woman who dried her poodle in the microwave!!

bim

17/12/2011 at 23:07

They don't have breaks they have brakes !

steve W 19

18/12/2011 at 11:40

Well yes the ABS light does light up in my car every time i start up. Its common sense to know if you have abs, just a 2 second look at the front disc will tell you if you have it or not, plus did he not read his handbook??? It would show him whether it had abs fitted or not. How can he blame HD for his error, he just doesn't want to take the blame for his wives injuries. Honestly, if he doesn't even know if his bike has abs or not then perhaps he shouldn't even be on a motorbike?

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