Ben Bettis
11-08-2003, 11:54 AM
Below is the email that was sent to Derek regarding his stem-
Derek,
I just finished taking Derek Guetter's YFZ450 apart he did freestyle with
it in the 12 Hours of America Race and crashed hitting a tree, he also
crashed during freestyle. I noticed on his stem the splines had twisted in a
very similar fashion as yours had. His did not break there but his stem was
bent . I will disagree with you about the fact the stem is faulty, I will
agree with you that you purchased an aftermarket stem to withhold harder
then usual riding.
I replaced Dereks and I feel it would be fair to replace yours also.
I would also like you to know that I would have been happier to help you if
your father would not have called me and accussed me of making ****,
swearing and threaten me. It makes it really hard to deal with people like
that upset or not.
During our conversation I stated we redesigned the stems. We used to drill
and tap the bottom of the stem and put a bolt into it. We are now building
them with a stud like the stock one so you can use stock hardware, it is
solid inside there now. The design was changed to that design because it is
easier to use stock hardware and the guys can cotter pin them also. The
design did not change because of a flaw, I have been building the stems the
same way since 1997.
I do have the new stems done in the shop and if you would like to get past
this and back to racing I will send you a stem free of charge.
Daryl Rath
----- Original Message -----
From: "Fisher, Derek (GEP, Contractor)" <Derek.Fisher@gepex.ge.com>
To: <rath@hutchtel.net>
Sent: Monday, November 03, 2003 1:34 PM
Dear Mr. Rath,
I sent you a broken steering stem back, and you were unable to replace, what
I consider to be a either a defect in the metal or a defect in the
craftsmanship. While I am not as concerned with the money I am out as
much as the fact that you didn't stand behind your product, I did post what
had happened on several of the forums of which I am a member. As you know
the racer community is close and we depend on each other to know what works
and what doesn't. I am an honest person and I was upfront with you about
the stem. You seemed to think that I was being dishonest and that I had hit
something very hard. The fact of the matter is, I didn't and that is why I
was disappointed to see that you didn't stand behind your products. If I
had smoked a tree or something, then I would have expected a bent tie rod
and maybe a twist in the stem. I have put some links to a few of the forums
to which I posted, in case you are interested. I have no hard feelings
against your company or your products. As I mentioned in my post, I believe
I just got a defective stem. No matter how tight quality control is, some
things just can't be detected.
http://www.bluetraxx.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=281246#281246
http://www.exriders.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=79069
Regards,
Derek Fisher
Derek,
I just finished taking Derek Guetter's YFZ450 apart he did freestyle with
it in the 12 Hours of America Race and crashed hitting a tree, he also
crashed during freestyle. I noticed on his stem the splines had twisted in a
very similar fashion as yours had. His did not break there but his stem was
bent . I will disagree with you about the fact the stem is faulty, I will
agree with you that you purchased an aftermarket stem to withhold harder
then usual riding.
I replaced Dereks and I feel it would be fair to replace yours also.
I would also like you to know that I would have been happier to help you if
your father would not have called me and accussed me of making ****,
swearing and threaten me. It makes it really hard to deal with people like
that upset or not.
During our conversation I stated we redesigned the stems. We used to drill
and tap the bottom of the stem and put a bolt into it. We are now building
them with a stud like the stock one so you can use stock hardware, it is
solid inside there now. The design was changed to that design because it is
easier to use stock hardware and the guys can cotter pin them also. The
design did not change because of a flaw, I have been building the stems the
same way since 1997.
I do have the new stems done in the shop and if you would like to get past
this and back to racing I will send you a stem free of charge.
Daryl Rath
----- Original Message -----
From: "Fisher, Derek (GEP, Contractor)" <Derek.Fisher@gepex.ge.com>
To: <rath@hutchtel.net>
Sent: Monday, November 03, 2003 1:34 PM
Dear Mr. Rath,
I sent you a broken steering stem back, and you were unable to replace, what
I consider to be a either a defect in the metal or a defect in the
craftsmanship. While I am not as concerned with the money I am out as
much as the fact that you didn't stand behind your product, I did post what
had happened on several of the forums of which I am a member. As you know
the racer community is close and we depend on each other to know what works
and what doesn't. I am an honest person and I was upfront with you about
the stem. You seemed to think that I was being dishonest and that I had hit
something very hard. The fact of the matter is, I didn't and that is why I
was disappointed to see that you didn't stand behind your products. If I
had smoked a tree or something, then I would have expected a bent tie rod
and maybe a twist in the stem. I have put some links to a few of the forums
to which I posted, in case you are interested. I have no hard feelings
against your company or your products. As I mentioned in my post, I believe
I just got a defective stem. No matter how tight quality control is, some
things just can't be detected.
http://www.bluetraxx.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=281246#281246
http://www.exriders.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=79069
Regards,
Derek Fisher