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Do you own or drive a Suzuki GSX-R Motorcycle?
Click here now!
 On
January 15, 2009, American Suzuki Motor Corporation of Brea,
California instituted NHTSA Voluntary Safety Recall Campaign
#2A08 in response to repeated cracking of frames on ’05 and
’06 GSX-R 1000s. Suzuki acknowledges in the recall that frames
have broken and may continue to break, due to “reckless”
driving. ASMC’s bulletin says the breakage may occur when the
bike, ". . . is subjected to repeated hard landings from
hazardous maneuvers such as extreme or extended wheelies or
other stunts.” Suzuki points out that this type of driving is
reckless – and illegal when on a pubic roadway. ASMC concludes
this portion of the recall notice by noting that a “crash
could occur.”
The “retrofit” covers:
●
2005 GSX-R 1000 VINs JS1GT76A521000019 through JS1GT7A52110197
●
2006 GSX-R 1000 VINs JS1GT76A62100003 through JS1GT76A62117296
If you are the registered owner of one of these motorcycles,
you should have received a notification from Suzuki about the
recall. If you elect to participate, DO NOT RIDE YOUR
MOTORCYCLE TO THE DEALERSHIP; TRAILER THE MOTORCYCLE TO THE
DEALER. The frames have self-destructed with as little as a
few thousand miles on them.
If you ride on one of these motorcycles, whether you have
complied with the recall or not, you may be taking an
extremely serious risk.
While various components of various vehicles, motorcycles and
other manufactured goods do fail and are recalled, as a
practical matter the frame of any vehicle should never
spontaneously break while being ridden. The consequences can
be extremely serious injury, paralysis or death.
The
“Fix”
Suzuki has now instituted a “fix” for this problem. The recall
fix places a brace that spans the location of the break –
which centers on the horn bracket mount hole on the left side
of the frame. The bike is brought to the dealer, a “dye
penetrant test” is applied in which colored liquid is poured
on the frame to detect cracks and then a brace spanning the
area of the horn hole is epoxied to the frame. The owner is
then sent on his or her way.
Our Firm’s Experience
October 2007, a veteran rider in South Florida was riding with
his friends, most all of whom would gather on Sunday mornings
and head to a straight road, ride and do relatively tame
stunts (certainly compared to what one sees on SuperBikes) and
as everyone knows the GSX-R is NOT made to do wheelies – they
just seem to be very easy to do on a Gixxer. He had recently
retired from serving in the Navy for twenty years and had
married his wife, a sheriff’s deputy, a year earlier. They
were planning their family when the accident happened on his
wife’s birthday.
Our client dropped a front wheelie, the bike came apart under
him, he hit a guardrail and even with his full face helmet on,
he fractured his neck. He was taken by trauma helicopter to a
hospital, was in a coma for weeks and emerged paralyzed from
his C2 vertebra down and was left blind at age 42. He had been
riding speed bikes since his teen years, was very good and
according to friends, had landed this same wheelie numerous,
numerous times without any incident.
Partner Alexander Clark of Winston & Clark, P.A. undertook the
case and instituted an action against ASMC and Suzuki Motor
Corporation of Japan in a Florida court.
Investigation quickly found four bikes which we retain that
have broken in exactly the same place (through the horn hole)
at speeds as low as 25 mph with both wheels on the ground. All
bikes have been examined by our team of experienced experts.
We litigated the case against Suzuki’s extremely competent and
experienced attorneys, developed the facts and settled at
mediation for an amount that is and remains confidential.
Winston & Clark, P.A. then filed a class action in federal
court in South Florida. Very shortly thereafter, Suzuki
instituted the recall affecting the approximately twenty-seven
thousand GSX-Rs made in 2005 and 2006.
Problems with the “Fix”
There may be many serious problems with the fix Suzuki has
undertaken. Among them are the detection of a fracture in the
frame may not even be detectable using the dye penetrant test,
and that the brace may not prevent frame fracture for a number
of reasons, including that it is only done on one side, and
all four of the bikes in our possession broke clean through on
both sides. Further, the “fix” may well give riders a false
sense of security. Finally, Suzuki has asked otherwise likely
competent mechanics to perform a diagnostic test to detect
fractures likely not visible to the naked eye and that were
performed by electron microscope in the Florida case by both
Winston & Clark and Suzuki’s expert metallurgists.
If your frame has already cracked, Suzuki routinely denies any
compensation
on the reverse-logic concept that a broken frame means the
bike must have been abused, and therefore no compensation or
reimbursement is available, and they do this without examining
the motorcycle.
Of the four Gixxers we have in our warehouses with identical
cracks through the horn hole, WARRANTY CLAIMS WERE MADE ON
ALL, AND ALL WERE DENIED, PRE AND POST RECALL.
Winston & Clark has over forty years of collective litigation
experience involving defective vehicles and motorcycles,
catastrophic cases, and specifically have litigated against
Suzuki in motorcycle cases, including the only known case
involving ’05 and ’06 Suzuki frame failure in the country.
If you bought your motorcycle in California and live in
California
(or anywhere else) and have had a problem with this issue,
have participated in the “retrofit,” have suffered injury of
any sort and would like to know how we can help you understand
your legal rights to protect yourself, your family members or
your approximately ten thousand plus investment in your Gixxer,
fill out our email contact form or contact us at 800-475-4206
and ask for Alex Clark or Lori Wheaton. We will either pick up
your call on the spot, return your call or respond to your
inquiry as soon as possible. Your questions will remain
completely confidential.
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