Landsurfer74
Well travelled
I received an offer from BMW UK , a day on one of their latest bikes, foc.
Why not i thought.
I selected the R NineT, a 1200cc air-cooled flat twin bike.
Tony from the local dealer got in touch, dates where arranged and all looked well.
On the day the weather was not good, 2 deg c, pouring with rain ... or Britain .. as we call it.
Paid the optional £15 for insurance which reduced my excess in the event of damage to the bike from £1000 to £250.
Tony took me to the bike .....
"How much fuel is in it " i asked .... He opened the fuel cap. Moved the bike from side to side and said, "Plenty but keep an eye on the fuel light"
"What fuel light" as he was unable to access fuel levels on the computer memory.
"Don't worry a fuel light will come on over the trip if your short of fuel".
So off i went ... Amazing torque from the air cooled engine, but at 70mph on the motorway i was being blown off the bike ... it was not for me ...
But ..What an amazing engine.
I decided to return the bike to the dealer by the shortest route. M1 North junction 29 - 33 and then local roads.
Heavy rain, massive spray, i moved into the 4th lane on a UK Smart Motorway for what i thought was my own safety ...
80mph in the outside lane, no hard shoulder ... the engine cut !!!!
I managed to get across 4 lanes without being hit by another vehicle... 30+ people killed on UK Smart Motorways in the last 3 years !!!
Rescued by Highways England .. top chaps, recovered by BMW ... many thanks ...
The bike ran out of fuel, i nearly killed myself as a result of waiting for the fuel light to come on ... there wasn't one !
So duty of care ....
The dealer failed in their duty of care .. they did not understand the operation of the bike they where giving to a third party.
I failed in my personal duty of care by not understanding the fuel system operation and not asking the right questions of the dealer.
So the point of the post .......
Understand the operation of the bike your taking out as a demonstrator ... and if the dealer doesn't understand how their own bike works .... walk away ..!!
And the question lingers ... If your giving a £12,000 ( $15500 ) motorbike out to a potential customer why not make sure it's full of fuel ???????
Why not i thought.
I selected the R NineT, a 1200cc air-cooled flat twin bike.
Tony from the local dealer got in touch, dates where arranged and all looked well.
On the day the weather was not good, 2 deg c, pouring with rain ... or Britain .. as we call it.
Paid the optional £15 for insurance which reduced my excess in the event of damage to the bike from £1000 to £250.
Tony took me to the bike .....
"How much fuel is in it " i asked .... He opened the fuel cap. Moved the bike from side to side and said, "Plenty but keep an eye on the fuel light"
"What fuel light" as he was unable to access fuel levels on the computer memory.
"Don't worry a fuel light will come on over the trip if your short of fuel".
So off i went ... Amazing torque from the air cooled engine, but at 70mph on the motorway i was being blown off the bike ... it was not for me ...
But ..What an amazing engine.
I decided to return the bike to the dealer by the shortest route. M1 North junction 29 - 33 and then local roads.
Heavy rain, massive spray, i moved into the 4th lane on a UK Smart Motorway for what i thought was my own safety ...
80mph in the outside lane, no hard shoulder ... the engine cut !!!!
I managed to get across 4 lanes without being hit by another vehicle... 30+ people killed on UK Smart Motorways in the last 3 years !!!
Rescued by Highways England .. top chaps, recovered by BMW ... many thanks ...
The bike ran out of fuel, i nearly killed myself as a result of waiting for the fuel light to come on ... there wasn't one !
So duty of care ....
The dealer failed in their duty of care .. they did not understand the operation of the bike they where giving to a third party.
I failed in my personal duty of care by not understanding the fuel system operation and not asking the right questions of the dealer.
So the point of the post .......
Understand the operation of the bike your taking out as a demonstrator ... and if the dealer doesn't understand how their own bike works .... walk away ..!!
And the question lingers ... If your giving a £12,000 ( $15500 ) motorbike out to a potential customer why not make sure it's full of fuel ???????
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