I bet you all thought i would jump in about now, you're to a point.
(Sorry for rambling, much longer than I thought I would post)
I will only say this from an "outsider's" standpoint, I totally agree with what has been said. I too work in a company that makes equipment and in the past shortcuts have been taken when it was very clear what should have been done.
This is not unlike Harley that sidesteps just about every issue that pops up on new bikes. For years Harley had been noted as having a high speed death wobble on their touring bikes that several aftermarket companies saw as an opportunity to fix and make some money at the same time. Even after years of denial, Harley in '09 came out with a new frame and swingarm that toughted as the cure-all fix to a problem they would never admit existed. I bought a new '08 CVO Road King that I thought rode well and traded up for my '09 CVO Road Glide with the new as the motivating factor. Boy what a difference a new frame and swingarm makes to a bike without any issues. They should have called the "comfort" frame.
The same thing with engine oil leaks on their '07 and early '08 110" CVO touring bikes. They never made a recall, they just reluctantly fixed the bad ones under a service "enhancement", again not making any waves.
This is very similar to the M3W frame cracks. Don't issue a statement or recall, just fix quietly the ones that fail and atempt to fix new ones before they ship out.
So I'm glad that I had nothing to add, but I really feel for all of you and HOPE Morgan hears your cries for help.
I was going to say something weeks ago about the fact that guys feel like you've won the lottery by driving 1k miles without being towed in. I imagine the odds are about the same. (Sorry about that)
As said before, I hope you all have a great weekend and are able to put some smiles on your faces.
