[bradzdotcom]

it almost makes me throw up a little in my mouth, but i think we have lawyers to thank for that.
fortunately, they screwed themselves on this one, while doing us a favor.

one of the biggest "aw crap" moments in court in the 70~80s was when the lawyer dude points out that the manufacturer was aware of a problem but hadn't reacted. or tried to squirm around it, hoping it would go away.

back then, bike lawsuits went from reasonable, due to an honest mechanical failure, to "you gotta be kidding" like the guy who crashed his yamaha, sued honda...and won. at times it was ridiculous.

bike makers figured out that it was much less of a financially beatdown (and afforded a more forecastable future) if they responded quickly, fixed stuff properly and sprinkled more good cheer with their customers.

costs less, not as many lawyer-holes, no overnight surprises (like that whole atv/cbs thing) happy harmonic customers riding on smiling generous wallets, etc.

sure, there's exceptions, but it has shifted significantly since the 70's and 80's (what little of it i can remember).

and when it comes to recalls, don't believe anything you hear. currently one of the companies has discovered minor cracks in wheels. it's cosmetic, not a structural thing, but the wheels will rust over time if left alone.
three weeks later that turns into a guy asking me if i'd heard about the "exploding wheels" yet.
(comes with a story about a guy on the freeway, rear, then front wheels spontaneously explode, guy dies, etc)

sheesh!