Even so, I paid him some extra money to fit some new brake pads and a new set of tyres. I was all set for a summer of fun. However, that quickly turned into a disaster on my first outing. On my fourth lap I was doing about a ton and went to bang on my brakes for a hairpin.
At this point I realised the front brake lever had fallen off. I panicked to say the least but managed to scrub off a bit of speed with the rear brake. However, I couldn’t avoid running off into the gravel trap, falling off and breaking my collar bone and wrist. It could have been far worse as I managed not to soil my leathers but nonetheless I’m spanked, my bike is spanked and the dealer is adamant he has no liability as it happened on a track. Is he right?
Answer
Avoiding soiling yourself is always a winner in my books. As for the dealer, he may be trying to pull a stunt; or he may just be ignorant. You paid for a motorbike that should have been safe to use on the track for its first outing. If it wasn’t safe because of the dealer’s negligence; and you can prove that, then you can bring a claim against him for your accident.
Your bike with no front lever is crucial evidence so whatever you do, do not let the bike out of your sight. As the dealer isn’t playing ball I recommend getting a specialist solicitor on board ASAP. You may also need to get an expert engineer to write a report regarding the bike. Lastly, if anyone witnessed the crash and helped get the bike out of the gravel, try and track them down as they may be able to give a statement evidencing the bike had no front brake lever etc.
Andrew Prendergast
Motorcycle Monthly October 2018
