Comments on: Big Bear Choppers Recalls

By: Lightnin'Larry

Lightnin'Larry — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:47:04 +0000

On April 20, 2008 joe wrote
“Well even the weld penetration is an isolated problem. The people who have had theres fixed already say that the certified welder who did the repair confirmed that the weld on there bikes was perfect. “lightening larry’ did wheelies all the time with his 124. crashed his bike and never inspected it afterwards, asked bbc for 375,000.00 for damages and when they would not pay him, he brought all this up. of course leaving out most of the details. read his posts back to feb of 07 on clubchopper.com.he built his bike, drilling holes in the frame right by the top motor mount.”

I just found this thread today and being the person that this ‘joe” is talking about I’d be very interested to know how he seems to know so much about me???? And for the record with 1152 bikes in recall and 5 neck separations that pretty much proves that the weld penetration is far from an isolated problem! Not only did I never do a “wheelie” on my BBC I have never done a wheelie on any motorcycle I have ever owned so I wonder who is feeding him this info? Also the “crash” was at 5-8mph on the soft shoulder of the road and only scratched the paint on the front fender and slightly deformed the air filter and Kevin Alsop himself did inspect the bike about an hour after it happened! I did ask for 375,000 in damages however I did not, as joe states; bring it all up after BBC refused to pay. The NHTSA had already been notified of the situation prior to my Letter of Demand to BBC. It was the NHTSA that suggested that I go on line to discover if any other BBC owners had a failure like mine. Yes I did drill two holes in the frame for wiring, so what; holes in the frame have no effect on weld integrity whatsoever. If the holes were to cause any type of frame integrity issue the frame would have broken where the holes were drilled. Joe you sure seem to know a lot about me having never met me or even seen my bike before. Before you go shooting of your mouth Joe you may want to get your facts straight!

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 23:59:00 +0000

Anybody that buys a big bear crapper is stupid. I finally offed mine. Because the stupid amount big bear assholes we offering to fix their problem was insane. Have you ever looked at one the built at their shop? Looks like shit! Welds are slop wiring shows everywhere, or they paint the wiring maybe thats there idea of hiding it. O and have fun trying to get them to replace a defective part like a gas cap. Do your self a favor don’t waste your money on a big bear POS!

By: luckymike

luckymike — Sun, 03 May 2009 23:59:04 +0000

I own a 2006 BBC Screamin Demon and the list of issues I have had with this bike is endless. 50 miles after leaving the dealer the bike vaporlocked, I called the dealer and was told to leave the cap loose. The cap doesn't remain with the bike long when it's loose, lost it and paid 80 bucks for a new one which I had a machine shop vent. At 150 miles the ignition switch went out, fixed under warranty. At 200 miles the seat bracket broke just behind the hinge point tearing up the seat and providing some unwanted excitement on the freeway. Pivot bolt was locked down so tight the bracket wouldn't swing. Not a warranty item. At 300 miles the battery bounced up and shorted everything out when it hit the seat springs. Dealer said battery was installed backwards from factory and electronics weren't covered. $150 bucks. 750 miles the paint started coming off the gas tank around the filler neck. Fixed under warranty. 1250 miles the paint cracked on the oil tank, repainted under warranty but the wrong color. 2200 miles the bolts holding the left turn signal and fender broke off and the turn signal ended up in the spokes. the bolt holes are wlded shut on the inside allowing app 5 threads of penetration into the fender. Dealer is now out of biz so i did the repair myself. Today, 2340 total miles on the bike and the mounts broke off the oil tank. Rubber mounts intact.... all bolts tight. This bike has set most of it's life with some part or another broken. Beautiful bike, mechanicly it is great. But seriously, the workmanship is sad.

By: Mike McCrakin

Mike McCrakin — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:26:02 +0000

I have a BBC 2006 Venon Pro Street, which the neck stops gave out and struck the tank, damaging it. I called BBC and they had me take it to my dealer, which was worthless,
They needed up replacing the entire neck assembly , welding a plate to neck,
and sending bike back to BBC for repainting . When I recived it back, I sold it,
I do not trust the assembly of the bike, with possibilities of frame failure whilre riding it.
I went out and bought a new Harley Bones, at least they are tested. Thanks Mike

By: Mike Ashton

Mike Ashton — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:33:08 +0000

Not to change the subject,but I am a owner of BBC [2007 sled} Anything I shoud be concern about?
I noticed my rear fender is not centered with 300 tire.Did my swing arm shift? I had trouble with my pop up gas cap.It seized,and took me 3 hours to loosen it,then another half hour to twist it off.Please if you are a BBC hater,don’t blog me to death why you hate them,and why I shouldn’t own a BBC.I really like this bike,but want to know more from other owners…

By: antiBBC

antiBBC — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 21:37:39 +0000

bigmph, from what I read in the Club Chopper Forum, the Prostreets were also included after the original issue. You may want to check it out.

By: bigmph

bigmph — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:57:11 +0000

I have an 07 big bear sled prostreet does it also have weld issues?

By: bigmph

bigmph — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:55:54 +0000

I have an 07 big bear sled prostreet has anyone had any weld issues could they also have a problem?

By: Bobfather

Bobfather — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:08:05 +0000

I think Attention is the only one that addresses the real issue here. BBC has a fucked up design on their frames, always have as far as I know. Replacing the frame would be a start but they should replace it with a frame that is actually designed by someone who knows what the hell they’re doing. I actually foresaw this issue when I saw they labeled their springer as For Show Use Only, not intended for highway use. WTF is that about? Their weld penetration may be crappy too but their design is completely wrong.

By: KrazyOtto

KrazyOtto — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 23:38:25 +0000

OK….Here are some “FACTS” about BBC.
I am an owner of one of the piece of crap bikes in the recall.
I bought mine second hand and I should of followed my instincts ,but I didnt and its been a nightmare ever since.
BBC is claiming that the welds are being ground down and thats the reason for the failers.
I’m the second owner so I cant say for a fact mine wasnt ,but I doubt very seriously they are telling the truth only because I have been dealing with these guys for months now and they are shady to say the least.
I am a certified structual welder and when I was at my school getting certified I saw a job listing for BBC and they werent requiring certification.
I guess if I was going to lose my ass in lawsuits I’d make that claim too, but if that were the case why are they recalling 3 models of one year….one reason might be they outsourced alot of of their frames that year and who knows who did that work.
I know this because one of the guys there told me that was why my bike had that problem.
I wanedt to see the name and certification number of the welder who fixed the recall and they wouldnt give it to me…… “RED FLAG”.
I have little faith in BBC workmanship period ,becuase this isnt the only problem this my bike has had.
I had a tank mounting bung crack and spring a leak which BBC fixed ,but I had to repaint it.
I had my recall work done ,but they screwed up the bike when they put it together by mounting the tank on the wiring harness so when I u-turned my bike to put it in my garage my turn signals had the wires yank back and out.
They also mis-directed my fuel line over the top of my enrichener knob crimping the fuel line blocking off my enrichener knob and cause the line to leak.
I have an external fuel filter and they lost the internal gasket so they used teflon tape to seal the thread instead > < .
I sent it back and things got worse they chipped my tank and my frame and left the finish work up to their painter.
I still havent got the bike back and I have lost about 4 months of riding for something that should have taken 2 weeks .
I talked to some of the locals at a bike shop on Big Bear and they say that BBC hire and fire continually which shows me they are unstable and unreliable, besides the fact I have had nothing but a nightmare dealing with them.
I truly feel sorry for any of you that are out of California ,because I live down the mountain from them and if I had to endure this much crap you are in for a fight.
They arent paying to shipping cost , its up to you to get it to them and if the dealers arent touching them you are truly screwed.
If there is anyone out there who is a Lawyer and would like to help file a class action or just is a owner interested in filing a class action against these guys let me know.
Call me Steve 714-270-3540
BUY HARLEY they back their bikes!

By: DiGGerDon

DiGGerDon — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 07:48:36 +0000

Anyone wanting to dump there “suicide ” BDC bike, contact me…

By: joe

joe — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 01:42:04 +0000

there are more recalls on the way..now 2006 models that were built in 05 are being recalled…ck the nhsta website for more info,,,,,, keeps getting worse !!!

By: slick

slick — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 15:49:15 +0000

replace the frames. Follow the example of Big Dog.

By: illclubyourass

illclubyourass — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:52:14 +0000

BBC was ducking and dodging the facts of the failure from the very beginning. Larry, the guy who’s neck snapped off was called a liar, a hack, threatened by lawyers, blamed for a small hole drilled in the frame to run wires about 4 inches away from the failure, told he ran the bike with a loose motor mount. He just continued to stand his ground. He took the bike to a lab for testing. Invited BBC to the lab to witness the catastrophic failure………….no takers. BBC wanted the bike in their hands for testing….yeah right. Imagine that. Never once did this Larry guy bash them, he just continued to state the facts. He also posted letters from their attorney threatening, and discrediting his good name. Larry never waivered under scrutiny. GOOD FOR YOU LARRY. Now BBC riders can be safer because of you.

By: chip

chip — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 05:29:01 +0000

I was wondering if anyone knows any attorneys that are handling
this class action lawsuit against big bear???? I talked to mike
at big bear, he said bring my bike down and they would fix it
but i would have to pay extra for the welds to be smoothed out,
thats just wrong!!!!

By: The Straw

The Straw — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 22:34:12 +0000

Maybe if Big Bear hired certified welders insted of the guy that will do it for the least amout of money they wouldent have a problem……………..

By: joe

joe — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 13:46:59 +0000

Well even the weld penetration is an isolated problem. The people who have had theres fixed already say that the certified welder who did the repair confirmed that the weld on there bikes was perfect. “lightening larry’ did wheelies all the time with his 124. crashed his bike and never inspected it afterwards, asked bbc for 375,000.00 for damages and when they would not pay him, he brought all this up. of course leaving out most of the details. read his posts back to feb of 07 on clubchopper.com.
he built his bike, drilling holes in the frame right by the top motor mount. bbc is taking care of me. they are paying my dealer actual cost to get my bike fixed and back the way it was prior to this. no out of pocket to me. my bike will be better and stronger than it was last year, and my frame gets new powder coat. 3 weeks down time is all. i have no complaints.

By: venom

venom — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 21:44:50 +0000

Some frames don’t even have a support tube that runs from the backbone to the downtube. At least they have one i don’t believe that is part of the problem. Bad penetration in the weld that’s the problem.

By: Attention

Attention — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:34:40 +0000

You can be the best welder in the world, but if the frame is designed wrong, in the long run there will be unusual amounts of stress place somewhere and something will eventually give. The real issue is that Big Bear is not aware of the geometry issue(see above) of the support tube that runs from the backbone to the downtube. Has anyone been able to contact them?

By: Yank

Yank — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 19:54:03 +0000

My question, Is too BBC again. How come the Welder are not ASW Certifed welders. There is no mention of this any where, When I talk to Kevin and Roman one day last year at the BBC Ride to MT. to see how I can get a Job at BBC and all you have to do is come in take a simple weld test. Thats it…Boy when I hear this ..I didn’t what to have anything to do with them…

Yank

By: joe

joe — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:35:17 +0000

yep. serious non-repairable frame problems. harley had repairable problems, and they were repaired. honda, repaired. others repaired too. no one know how this will turn out. but everyones an expert.

By: T.C.

T.C. — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:08:06 +0000

And when Big Dog had a problem (with frames made by Rolling Thunder) they replaced the bad frames…not repaired them.

By: venom

venom — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 19:21:03 +0000

Greg have you fixed any frames yet? If so how did they turn out?

By: joe

joe — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 13:34:35 +0000

that depends, big dog had broken frames too. every motorcycle manufacterure has had problems at one time or another. lets see how its handled.

By: T.C.

T.C. — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 06:18:38 +0000

Greg…it does sound as though you are a really stand up guy, and I commend you on your efforts to take care of these customers.

And, you are right about AIH and the trans problems (among other things), and we now see what the outcome of that was…they are out of business.

Big Bear would do well to avoid the public relation quagmire they are creating, and find a way out of this QUICKLY or they will end up just like AIH.

Lastly, every single day that I wake up , I am so happy that I own a BIG DOG, and do not have to worry about any of these things.

peace!

By: Nicker

Nicker — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 04:00:10 +0000

John;

ya got me on the X-ray stuff, i’m way out-a my element and winging it.

RE:
“… should have….. qualify the procedure and then certify the welders…”

OK, That would be SOP.
So, what happened….. They didn’t….???

In the weapons business the documentation for a “product” includes welder certification copies and process conformance docs.

Sounds like frame customers need to ask for the source for documentation…. (?).

-nicker-

By: CHASSIS MAN

CHASSIS MAN — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 02:23:32 +0000

I’ve seen necks made out of 12L-14 steel which is free-machining but never to be welded. Has any body checked with BBC to see if any of thier necks are from outside sources. Many machinest don’t know this and are inclined to use the 12L-14 (or other free-machining alloys) to increase productivity. Just food for thought.

By: Mr. Reality

Mr. Reality — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:16:27 +0000

“All bikes” would be every bike of that design and/or every bike touched by the individual that was doing the really bad welding. This is going to get much more interesting I think.

By: John

John — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:34:59 +0000

Nicker, back to the raiography (X-Ray)…a stress fracture would show but lack of penetration into a solid weldment (“parent metal”) will not show on X-Ray. I don’t know what the wall thickness is of the steering neck but imagine it is approx .250″ or greater. If the weld penetration achieved only penetrates .0625″, and these are arbitrary figures, then you have very little penetration but an x-ray will not indicate any defect. “Inclusion” would be porosity or tungsten inclusion in the weld metal and that would be visible. Also a stress fracture, if the angle of the “source” is correct “could” show up. Actually the solution is to do the repair on all frames that may have been defective. The preventive measure should have been to qualify the procedure and then certify the welders. Of course the real deal is having a qualified inspection process after welding and visual examination as the welding is being done. Quality control!!

By: Mr. Reality

Mr. Reality — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 05:08:09 +0000

It is an “unassembled” motorcycle not a kit is how they can do it. A “Kit Bike” falls under the guidelines of one per lifetime but a DOT Licensed manufacturer can send out a simple unassembled bike in the raw form and skate under the radar.
Big Bear Choppers did independent testing on a totally different bike then the one that broke and it failed, prompting them to move forward with the recall.
I think that it is unfair to blame the guy whose neck broke off his Big Bear Chopper for the accident since he had nothing to do with the 2nd bike that failed.