[ROSKO]

from Motorcycle Consumer News
Volume 37, Number 1, January 2006 p. 6

Wrenching News: In response to regulations proposed
for the European Union which would restrict the sale
of motorcycle parts and service to factory authorized
dealerships, making owner-servicing impossible, the
Motorcycle Riders Foundation has come out in support
of HR 2048 “The Right to Repair Act of 2005," which
seeks to protect the right of Americans to work on
their own bikes by making it illegal for manufacturers
to withhold
information necessary to diagnose, service , or repair
the motor vehicle.
The legislation will protect the owners of both four
and two-wheeled vehicles.

The article continues from there. You can read the
MRF info at
http://www.mrf.org/hr2048.php





BORN TO LURK, FORCED TO WORK.

 

[Eric750]

your we should all hope that this isnt the way things are going.
but as a manager of a parts store i watch this kind of stuff and
it keeps getting closer and closer to the point that we as riders
and drivers wont have anyrigths left.


eric750

 

[LiLBull]

those of us that can remember lines at the gas pumps during the gas wars. Just think of all the people not showing up to work because thier car or bike has been at the dealer for over a month waiting for its repairs to be done.
Its a nice idea for the dealers,but really dealers dont do repairs they do small service work.
They want in and out cream work its really the corner garage and home repairs that do actual repairs.
Im sure it may happen for hibred cars as fuel economy and emissions will be the key.But by then we would not be interested in working on these things anyway.We will be modifying Jet Packs.
And Im sure they will have a cut off date like .nobody can work on new cars from year 3000.But grandfather in cars below.

 

[Geeto67]

for a long time there was consumer protection in the auto industry for this stuff, but then with OBDII it kinda went away since the government didn't want the home reparier disabiling the equipment.

I can understand why they would want this kind of legislation in europe, a lot of europeans do their own repairs and a lot of the work is often shoddy. The shop I used to work for would get vespas and small moto guzzis in from italy all the time and the things done to these poor bikes to keep them alive ranged from the unsafe to the bizarre and extremely dangerous. Some of these bikes were in states of disrepair because an attempt to fix something simple was made 10 times worse by the repair the owner tried to make.

I don't think there is such a problem here in America and as the article states no legislation in this country was proposed to take away a persons rights to work on their own stuff (although it has in the past). This seems like a proflactic move on the part of the MRF.

Food for thought, most dealers sell you only assemblies these days anyway. For example my father's Chevrolet suburban has a bad gas gauge sending unit. The sending unit is part of the fuel pump. The sending unit was made so it could clearly be seperated from the fuel pump but if you want to buy it as a consumer you have to buy the whole fuel pump. The dealer making a warranty repair can get the sending unit seperatly, but if you are paying for the repair he has to order the pump. I think this kind of practice is very unfair, but it isn't illegal, and the proposed legislation does not seek to remedy this kind of unfair business practice.

Motorcycles are a little better since they are not as complicated as cars, but as they get things like computers and emissions equipment, this kind of dealer practice will be more common.

more food for thought: you never really own software, just the license to use it and that includes the computer controls on your car or bike, all you have is a license to operate that software. You also do not have permission under the licensing agreement to make changes to that software (yes you can "Hack" your honda). So while the legislation proposes to protect your ability to work on the car, it does not offer any protection as to the software powering your vehicle.



Edited by - Geeto67 on Dec 28 2005 10:04:36 AM

 

[UngaWunga]

The also just passed a new law in England giving the police the ability to track license plates all over the country. They say its to cut down on crime where the bad people steal a car to go rob a house. And that they'd be negligent if they didn't share the tracking info with the British version of the CIA, whatever that is.

Crazy, I tell you. They're starting it here in the US with speed cameras and red light cameras...

 

[Geeto67]

quote:
And that they'd be negligent if they didn't share the tracking info with the British version of the CIA, whatever that is.

Crazy, I tell you. They're starting it here in the US with speed cameras and red light cameras...

MI6 (James Bond's old outfit) is the British Version of the CIA.
MI5 is the British version of the FBI and more likely the people they would share info with.

And we have had red light cameras in NYC for 20 years now. They are a pain in the arse.