exskibum
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Let's limit it to the question I first responded to: designing and fabricating a fix for the existing adjustable height Penske clevis being used in conjunction with the OEM bolt assembly.
I'm not going to get into the politics of personal responsibility or the profit motive driving what you can safely do, Fred. There are worse and far more common abuses of the little guy in the legal system than the situation with Doc's widow. (Hint: they involve 800 pound gorillas using the expense of the system to bludgeon others into submission even when that gorilla is unlikely to win on the merits - a too frequent occurrence in real estate law.)
For this issue in this system, you CAN insure against the risk. You pay a premium that probably only makes economic sense if it is a part of a business, like an engineering firm or machine shop, but that is the choice. Having seen good hard working people who have been thrust into despair by the true negligence of others, this isn't quite so black and white that I'm willing to take empathy off the table or call all plaintiffs "law parasites." There is seldom a perfect solution to competing social objectives but it is what it is, and like I said, the process is broken enough that very often it doesn't work for someone. The real problem is one of human nature seeking individually beneficial results to the detriment of others; think "prisoners' dilemma" logical construct.
If you're not going to take the alternative routes of getting Penske to fix the defective part or to get insurance as part of your decision to offer the fix to others, that doesn't mean you can't publicly discuss the defect or what you think could be done to fix it. What has been done in this thread so far seems highly unlikely to be the basis for a negligent design or manufacture lawsuit. I'm not guaranteeing that result for the same reason that you cannot safely guarantee that your fix will avoid breakage with an apparently defective clevis design.
I think you can safely say that if it were your bike (or your son's), here is what you would do. You're neither affixing an engineer's stamp to a design nor offering to design or provide parts to anyone in particular, and you include a caveat that it's not intended to be adopted without review and approval of the design, fabrication and installation by an appropriately licensed and insured professional (like a shop that sells Penske shocks). Or you can be so absolutely certain that with your design fix, it is a true certainty that the Penske suspension set-up it goes on never can fail. In that case, it is your certainty that is your security.
As to other issues, OCfjr did indeed shoot this messenger when I noted a possibility that if a lawsuit was filed after an accident, an insurer might well attempt to blame the rider who installed the CT in an effort to get out of paying benefits. I believe we buried that hatchet later when he understood that I was not disagreeing with anyone's decision to dark-side. To be clear:
I do not think that discussing technical problems and possible engineering solutions is a problem for which anyone is likely to get sued. I do not think that anyone fabricating farkles is likely to find themselves in the Doc's widow scenario. I am cautioning those who might design or fabricate a fix, intended to be applied or used by others, for a part that might be critical to the safe functioning of the motorcycle.
Now for the disclaimer: I am retired, having inactive status with the state bar and am therefore currently prohibited from engaging in the practice of law in this state or others. Nothing I have said in this thread shall be construed as being reliable legal advice to be relied upon by anyone who might read it, and certainly should not be relied upon in the specific circumstances in which you might find yourself. Seek competent legal advice from a licensed attorney before taking or refraining from any action discussed in my posts here and elsewhere. Lastly, any comments or opinions expressed by me in this thread are worth exactly what each of you has paid me to read them - $0.00. And with that, I am done here, other than to read the enlightening opinions of the technically gifted forum members to whom credit for this thread should be given.
