is this normal for a brand new bike? nearly killed girlfrien

[MaybeGuy]

bit of a long one... FUCKING READ IT!!! tha's right

so... lifan samurai? you remember the posts...

less than 1 year old and absolutely shit eye.
i've had 2 'offs'. both of which were minor and resulted in cosmetic only damage.

my exhaust manifold bolts sheared off due to engine vibrations, the warranty didnt cover it because they couldnt get it out again, so it was left as it was.

apparantly this voided my warranty because they couldnt sort it?

so now, 2 days ago, the bike starts feeling a bit shakey and spongey around corners, when i noticed this, i stopped soon as soon as i felt this and had a full check of the bike, didnt notice anything odd, chain was ok, bushes were ok, engine running ok in neutral and revving freely...

so the missuses dad wants to have a talk to her (about family stuff), so i wait outside as i dont really want to intrude, and i get bored and have another check of the bike...

turns out just underneath the radiator the FUCKING FRAME SNAPPED!!!!

a clean snap!

so this annoys me a bit, because the bike is 11 months from new,
so i ride SLOWLY to the bike shop for them to tell me 'nope, were not doing anything about it because its crash damage'.


crash damage??
surely the frame should be stronger than the CLIP ON handlebars??
so apparantly when i had my off's (most recent about 4 months ago) it snapped the frame!

so yeah, the mothers a lawyer so legal action
for free!

these past 5 days ive had the missus riding bitch, and this frame could have properly snapped at any second!

all my other bikes are over 20 years old, one of which had a bad crash and ive restored to roadworth, and no frame damage or even sign of it!
what does this say about that?

i even asked for a new frame from manufacturer and id even pay registration for it, but they were set in their ways...

1) what should i do about it?
2) is this grounds for legal action?
3) do i have a leg to stand on?

sorry about the gayness of the post, it just angered me.

cheers queers xxx
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Blue_SV650S wrote: it was a sh1te wheelie, but it proves that he can get it up in 3rd and can do angles. In summery, mattsprattuk is a gobby little sh1tebag, dopehead tw4t, but sadly for all of us, he probably isn't THAT full of sh1te!!
Kickstart wrote: Hi I tend to agree with Matt. All the best Keith

[truslack]

Didn't read any of that. But from the title: Yes, almost killing your girlfriend with a new bike is normal, either A) when she finds out how much it was or B) when she faints from being scared you might kill yourself.
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Current: Suzuki RG 125 Gamma, Honda H100, Triumph Tiger 800XC, Suzuki SV650 (minitwin)

[MaybeGuy]

ya.. try reading it next time, you might get the gist of it...
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Blue_SV650S wrote: it was a sh1te wheelie, but it proves that he can get it up in 3rd and can do angles. In summery, mattsprattuk is a gobby little sh1tebag, dopehead tw4t, but sadly for all of us, he probably isn't THAT full of sh1te!!
Kickstart wrote: Hi I tend to agree with Matt. All the best Keith

[Jamie S]

The Cb Frame won't snap because its not made of monkey metal!

Lifan built quality is not the best lets face it, What do you expect !

[iooi]

[Evo]

[truslack]

[MaybeGuy]

[truslack]

Is it the metal bar that has snapped, or a weld?

It MAY be enough to make a crap weld snap, but a metal bar shouldn't unless it has been under severe tension. How big is the gap between the snapped parts?
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Current: Suzuki RG 125 Gamma, Honda H100, Triumph Tiger 800XC, Suzuki SV650 (minitwin)

[MaybeGuy]

its the actual bar thats snapped in 2 and its about a 1cm gap between the 2 ends.
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Blue_SV650S wrote: it was a sh1te wheelie, but it proves that he can get it up in 3rd and can do angles. In summery, mattsprattuk is a gobby little sh1tebag, dopehead tw4t, but sadly for all of us, he probably isn't THAT full of sh1te!!
Kickstart wrote: Hi I tend to agree with Matt. All the best Keith

[.Chris.]

If you tell them you've got a lawyer in the family who'll sue them for you at no cost to yourself then they may cave in. Also threaten to write to all the bike publications with your story about how crap the bike and their aftersales service is.

Chances are they won't want a dispute over a snapped Lifan frame to get that public as it won't do their sales much good.
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Chris
1985 Kawasaki Z550F

[truslack]

[G]

[MaybeGuy]

[sickpup]

[Jamie S]

Sorted , now go ride the damn thing !

[MaybeGuy]

wow thanks for that jamie, not only does my bike look like something from dangermouse,
it now looks like something the IRA would do driveby murders on!
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Blue_SV650S wrote: it was a sh1te wheelie, but it proves that he can get it up in 3rd and can do angles. In summery, mattsprattuk is a gobby little sh1tebag, dopehead tw4t, but sadly for all of us, he probably isn't THAT full of sh1te!!
Kickstart wrote: Hi I tend to agree with Matt. All the best Keith

[iooi]

[.Chris.]

It's worked for me before. If they just take the piss (trying to fob off a snapped frame on a minor spill) when you ask nicely then you have to ask a bit less nicely!

They obviously don't care about you because you're not going to buy another Lifan from them = no more money for them. Therefore you have to hit them where it's going to hurt them, i.e. their future sales. Don't let them get away with it or they'll just do it to other people.
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Chris
1985 Kawasaki Z550F

[MaybeGuy]

the thing is, they have a very misleading parts warranty.
basically anything thats possibly expendable is not covered.

the only thing that is covered really is the clocks and SOME electrics, its bloody rediculous.
i managed to squeeze a reg/rect from them and an indimacator relay at a push.

ive spoken to the mother this morning and she says that its not their fault, i need to go above them to the manufacturers...

i dont speak chinese! :'(

so we'll threaten them a bit more, im going there on the GIX before i take it to the MOT tomorrow to get it picked up by the RAC, then ill tell them whats what.

ill explain that im getting free legal action (thanks chris ) and im getting it checked out by an independant mechanic (ie: bloke who is doing my MOT tomorrow).

either way, they will have to pay for legal advice, and it will cost them more than shipping in and registering a new frame.

it annoys me how people like this can get away with it.
whenever im there, theres always someone else in a similar boat to me with one problem or another, and the manager there just bought himself a brand new goldwing with all the trimmings.
id be tempted to kick it over if i saw it, but it would probably just pick itsself up again

cheers queers xxx
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Blue_SV650S wrote: it was a sh1te wheelie, but it proves that he can get it up in 3rd and can do angles. In summery, mattsprattuk is a gobby little sh1tebag, dopehead tw4t, but sadly for all of us, he probably isn't THAT full of sh1te!!
Kickstart wrote: Hi I tend to agree with Matt. All the best Keith

[Finglonga]

1st thing the exhaust bolts. . . You have statutory rights, which means it must be fit for the purpose regardless of what the warranty says. It sounds like a design fault and should be rectified FOC. However you need to look after the bike, as in, if it has been neglected and it has caused corrosion they can fall back on that as a contributing factor. I would have a word with your local CAB, they might put you in touch with Trading Standards.

The frame snapping is more dodgy. If you have told the dealer you had an off they will use that against you. As they don't know how severe it was and the damage it may have caused. Your best bet at the time would have been to have it inspected by them for damage then if they gave it the all clear then they would be more liable now for the snap.
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Andy Sez....
F.Y.Y.F.F.

[G]

[MaybeGuy]

what your saying is understandable, but even so, forensics would show that any impact would damage the yokes rather than the frame.
have a look at a lifan samurai on google images and see where the yokes are placed, nowhere near the break.
also there is no damage at all to the lower fairings.

its all a bit shit if you ask me.

if it is the case of it being the british importers rather than the manufacturers, then the shop is at fault? as they import the bikes.
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Blue_SV650S wrote: it was a sh1te wheelie, but it proves that he can get it up in 3rd and can do angles. In summery, mattsprattuk is a gobby little sh1tebag, dopehead tw4t, but sadly for all of us, he probably isn't THAT full of sh1te!!
Kickstart wrote: Hi I tend to agree with Matt. All the best Keith

[andrew]

[G]

If the shop imports them directly, then it’s them that the claim is against – otherwise you’d be trying to sue a Chinese company in British courts!
Even so, I thought in such cases it was usually who you gave money to that was liable – then it was up to them to pass it down the chain.

Can you afford to employ an appropriate ‘expert witness’, on the risk that he might not find in your favour also?
When I was being prosecuted for a tyre in an unfit state – something I am 100% sure wasn’t the case when the journey started – I was looking at, at the very least £2k for someone just to look at it.
Then if it went to court and I lost I’d be looking at the same again for a rival expert witness.

In the end I just bent over and took it, because I couldn’t justify the time or risk or losing money I didn’t have.