Every time I do a search on youtube using the keyword "sidecar" I get this video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=eO23-WNbMOM
Anybody know any additional details on this? Is he the flake he (at least to me) appears to be?
I looked at the video and the failed part.
Being a certified welder who has taught College level welding classes, in my opinion the failure of the butt weld shown was due to excessive impact on a weldment that had inadequate penetration. Less than 50% penetration it appears, from looking at the end of the tube. 100% penetration is ideal.
I don't know the speed of impact or how deep the pothole involved was but that welder would not have passed my GMAW class with that particular weldment.
As far as the presentation it's self, you should cut him a little slack.
The guy is a Canuck you know, Eh? lol
Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars
This is really old news. The guy is Rejean Gagnon . Rejean was not the original buyer of the sidecar and Motorvation made a good faith effort to get things straightened out EVEN THOUGH there was no warranty to Rejean. I followed this pretty closely when it was happening and Rejean leaves out a lot of important details in his account. I agree that there probably was a bad weld. Motorvation agreed as well. They tried to make things right and Rejean was a lot less than understanding and cooperative. In the end, he seemed to be more interested in making a fuss than in getting his rig going again. He was offered a number of options to make his rig whole again and he found fault with all of them. Motorvation offered to fix it for free if he would bring it to them. Since Rejean lives in Canada this isn't easy but then Motorvation didn't really have to do anything, the warranty to the original owner was long over and they had no responsibility to Rejean. Despite that Mary Sontag [owner of Motorvation] did her best to make him happy. Nothing she offered was good enough for Rejean.
I guess everyone needs a "cause"; knocking Motorvation [a good company with good folks running it] seems to be Rejean's cause.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=muQ8NS1l-Aw
I much prefer this one... to the one you referenced.
Merry Christmas!
Tony
The problem appears to be a bad, crystallized weld coupled with a poor design. The joint is nothing more than a curved butt joint. It should have been designed either with gussets or with a slip-in fitting that surrounds both tubes.
If this gentleman has a claim, he needs to consult with an attorney. Apparently some folks are now doing their litigation using You-Tube. That probably won't pay off.
Despite that Mary Sontag [owner of Motorvation] did her best to make him happy. Nothing she offered was good enough for Rejean.
I guess everyone needs a "cause"; knocking Motorvation [a good company with good folks running it] seems to be Rejean's cause.
When I originally started looking for a car I talked at length with Motorvation. While I ended up with a different car, I came away with the feeling they were good people. Sounds like my initial impression of both Motorvation and the guy in the video was correct.
