OFF THE WIRE
The last thing a rider wants to do on a motorcycle is lose control,
but that's what some Harley-Davidson riders say happened to them.
To riders such as Vince Herre, the bikes are a status symbol. "I like it just because it's Harley-Davidson," Herre said.
Other riders, such as Cliff Anderson, said there's a certain amount of homegrown pride.
"It's an iconic piece of America," he says.
Riders such as Blake Tomlinson said they think riding a Harley-Davidson is a way of life.
"To drive one is the ultimate sense of freedom," Tomlinson said.
To Jerry Costa, it was only a matter of time before he owned one.
"I had Triumphs, a Suzuki, Hondas and Yamahas. I had all of them before I ever had a Harley," said Costa.
The Peoria biker has been riding for 40 years.
"This is my fifth Harley," Costa said.
But
no amount of road experience could have prepared Costa for what
happened in October along a scenic highway just south of Prescott.
"I
wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. I wasn't doing anything I
hadn't done a thousand times before. I had been on that road a couple
hundred times," Costa said.
Costa said his speed was about 25-30
mph when, "The whole bike started shaking. I had no idea why the bike
was vibrating like that, and it wasn't a little vibrating. I never felt
anything like that in my life."
"I got this thought in my head I'm going over the ravine, and I don't want to go down," Costa said.
Costa
did go down and was flown to a Phoenix hospital, where he coded and
then slipped into a coma. Five days later, he awoke with a quadruple
compound leg fracture, eight broken ribs and a punctured lung.
His massive Harley-Davidson Road King was totaled.
Costa blames faulty equipment for the accident, but Harley blames him.
"They say it's operator error," Costa said.
Costa is not alone.
A
CBS 5 Investigation found similar incidents across the U.S. The
possible equipment malfunction Costa describes has become known as the
Harley-Davidson Wobble, or "Death Wobble."
A camera mounted on a
Georgia state trooper's police-issued Harley shows Officer Richard
Barber traveling 90 mph along an interstate. His 2007 Harley Electra
Glide begins to shimmy and wobble. Eventually, Barber is able to stop
the bike safely.
But a Raleigh, N.C., police officer was not so
lucky. In 2002, 30-year-old Charles Paul was thrown from his Harley
Electra Glide after it began to wobble. He died, and his family later
settled a wrongful death suit with Harley-Davidson in 2008.
Harley's
have been widely used by law enforcement. But the California Highway
Patrol decided not to put their troopers on Harley's after testing the
bike by comparing it to BMW bikes. A 2006 test track video shows the
Harley side-by-side with the BMW. In the video, you can see the Harley
wobbles when heading into and out of turns. The CHP report also says the
bike wobbled on the straightaways.
Court cases against the
company have centered on these bikes: the Road King, Ultra Classic, the
Electra Glide and FLH series. The suits focus on their patented design
for keeping the engine mounted to the frame of the bike. Critics argue
the system is susceptible to a side-to-side motion, causing a wobble.
Harley-Davidson
does acknowledge that its bikes are susceptible to a weave or wobble --
depending on the bike's speed. But they said that this does not cause
accidents, and that weave or wobble happens to other bike manufacturers,
regardless if it is a Harley or not. Harley also said the wobble
problem is worsened when riders add on certain parts and suggests people
follow the owner's manual.
Jerry Costa said wobble is what
happened to his bike, and it haunts him during his long days in physical
therapy, where he learns how to do the simple task of moving his ankle
again.
Costa can't sue Harley-Davidson because he's already settled with insurance, but he said he doesn't want a payout.
"That's not what I'm after. I want people to know about this. I don't want more people falling off these bikes," Costa said.
