{"id":7087,"date":"2024-08-13T06:01:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-13T10:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bmwownersnews.com\/?p=6052"},"modified":"2025-03-30T21:03:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T01:03:00","slug":"what-we-dont-know-cant-hurt-us-right-2","status":"publish","type":"moa_podcasts","link":"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/moa_podcasts\/what-we-dont-know-cant-hurt-us-right-2\/","title":{"rendered":"What we don&#8217;t know can&#8217;t hurt us\u2014right?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>What we don&#8217;t know can\u2019t hurt us, or so the saying goes. Of course, it\u2019s not hard to come up with examples to the contrary; just because we\u2019re unaware of something doesn\u2019t really prevent it from causing harm. I\u2019m not going to resolve this debate here, but rather discuss my ambivalence about some recently acquired knowledge I might have been better off without.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-4300 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"http:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Mark-Barnes-w-RS-tight-350x328.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"328\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-4300 lazyload\" src=\"http:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Mark-Barnes-w-RS-tight-350x328.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"328\" \/><\/noscript>I just learned a brand-new motorcycle I recently purchased might develop a severe mechanical problem experienced by many owners who\u2019ve posted about this on YouTube, Facebook and other online forums. What\u2019s worse, the manufacturer hasn\u2019t acknowledged anything is wrong; there\u2019s been no explanation or recall, and lots of owners have apparently been refused warranty coverage for this issue. Now I\u2019m worried my bike may develop this malady and it won\u2019t show up until my warranty period has expired, or\u2014even if it appears during the covered period\u2014I may be denied with an unrealistic\/unreasonable assertion it was somehow my fault or just a matter of \u201cnormal wear\u201d falling outside the warranty\u2019s scope. I would be stuck paying for thousands of dollars in repairs, not to mention the loss of my machine while it\u2019s in the shop waiting for parts, which are reportedly often backordered for months. There\u2019s also the frightening possibility of sudden catastrophic engine failure causing loss of control in a corner or intersection, or stranding me far from home. And with no clarity about the actual cause, simply replacing damaged parts may do nothing to prevent a recurrence.<\/p>\n<p>This has been a disturbing discovery. Obviously, I wouldn\u2019t want to face such possibilities on any motorcycle, but this bike has been extraordinarily fun\u2014I\u2019ve already enjoyed it more than any other in my 40-some motorcycle history; I can imagine keeping it for the final decade or so I may still have as an aging rider, which is a first for me. Given the problem may never show up in my particular bike, or at least not until I\u2019ve put 10-15k miles on it, I could have remained blissfully ignorant for quite some time\u2014maybe forever\u2014if I hadn\u2019t stumbled upon these terrible posts. Now I can\u2019t ride with the same pleasure because this dark cloud of doubt, worry and dread hangs over me anytime I\u2019m on the bike (and much of the time I\u2019m off it).<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"lazyload\" style=\"border: none;\" title=\"Embed Player\" data-src=\"https:\/\/play.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/32051292\/height\/192\/theme\/modern\/size\/large\/thumbnail\/yes\/custom-color\/f2cb9f\/time-start\/00:00:00\/hide-playlist\/yes\/download\/yes\/font-color\/000000\" width=\"100%\" height=\"192\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s possible that, armed with this knowledge, I can take steps to address the issue, like digging into the motor to check the relevant elements prior to the expiration of my warranty. Maybe I\u2019ll find everything\u2019s fine\u2014for now\u2014or maybe I\u2019ll be granted warranty coverage for the necessary repairs if the damage is apparent by then. But what about the meantime? Is this bike ruined for me as a source of joy? Can it ever be restored in this respect, even if the warranty delivers relief from the first round of related expenses? The manufacturer has recently listed new part numbers for some of the components involved, suggesting they figured out (part of?) what was wrong and corrected it, even if they\u2019re not acknowledging this publicly. Will updated parts give me peace of mind without further explanation and accountability?<\/p>\n<p>I can\u2019t know what impact these possibilities will eventually have on my apprehension and relationship with this bike. I could kick myself for not doing more extensive research before my purchase, but I actually did spend many hours poring over a multitude of reviews by the enthusiast press and independent owners, all of which gave this motorcycle superlative ratings, albeit based on fewer miles than this problem requires to show up. Perhaps those reviewers didn\u2019t keep their samples long enough to encounter any defects, or they haven\u2019t yet posted about such issues\u2014or their motorcycles have been spared for reasons as mysterious as the reasons others have endured grave misfortune. I have no access to such information. Nor is it possible to get a sense of scale. On one hand, I can read sad\/angry stories posted by a few hundred owners, which feels like a huge number because the news is so troubling. On the other hand, many tens of thousands of these bikes have been sold. I can\u2019t tell what percentage of the total has had\/will have problems, and thereby make some calculation of my chances. Even if I did have those statistics, they wouldn\u2019t predict with any certainty what I can expect with my <em>one<\/em> member of the mathematical set.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, there\u2019s always some possibility any motorcycle will develop a problem. I\u2019m certain every model ever produced has some contingent with manufacturing flaws, and some design errors needing remediation. These may be a function of poor quality control, engineering oversight, cost cutting or other consequences of human incompetence, carelessness or corruption. It\u2019s also not surprising that corporations and dealerships would evade responsibility and the associated costs, rendering warranties (like health insurance) a dubious source of confidence. Regardless of how righteous my case may be, I realize litigating it may be impractical (e.g., I can\u2019t afford to lawyer up against a multinational manufacturing giant) or futile (truth and justice do not always prevail in the courtroom). I\u2019m not so idealistic to expect to live in some risk-free zone where I\u2019m perfectly protected from mechanical problems in my motorcycles.<\/p>\n<p>However, I do want to be able to maintain a <em>bit<\/em> of an illusion. I want to believe my odds of having a calamitous breakdown on an expensive, well-maintained, non-abused motorcycle are low enough they\u2019re moot, virtually non-existent. I can\u2019t muster such belief about this bike anymore. This is akin to other experiences wherein a type of \u201chealthy denial\u201d has been ruptured. My chances of contracting disease X may be slim-to-none, but if someone in my close circle of acquaintances gets it, I\u2019ll have to give my own vulnerability more credence. Children who must contend with the death of a loved one or some other disaster lose a measure of \u201cinnocence\u201d (perhaps more accurately, developmentally appropriate ignorance), and cannot not know such horrors are truly possible going forward. This awareness can radically alter their perspective on the world and their place in it, as it overwhelms their limited capacity to process and adapt constructively to such pains.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bmwmoaf.org\/fundraising\/safemiles-endowment\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4560 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"http:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/MOA-Foundation-Logo-1200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"135\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4560 lazyload\" src=\"http:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/MOA-Foundation-Logo-1200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"135\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/MOA-Foundation-Logo-1200.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/MOA-Foundation-Logo-1200-300x34.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/MOA-Foundation-Logo-1200-1024x115.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/MOA-Foundation-Logo-1200-768x86.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>The Ride Inside with Mark Barnes<\/em> is brought to you by the <a href=\"https:\/\/bmwmoaf.org\/fundraising\/safemiles-endowment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MOA Foundation<\/a>. You can <a href=\"http:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/page\/membertypes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">join the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America<\/a> quickly and easily to better take advantage of the Paul B Grant and Clark Luster programs mentioned in this episode.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>I certainly don\u2019t mean to equate my worries about a motorcycle\u2019s reliability with those much weightier tragedies; I\u2019m merely noting a similarity in the way awareness of unwelcome realities can degrade our experience. It\u2019s not necessarily better to know more, even when the additional information is undisputedly true. I \u201cknow\u201d I\u2019m going to die, but I don\u2019t go through life with this fact vividly in my consciousness. In fact, I typically act like this isn\u2019t even a remote possibility. If I was continuously preoccupied with it, I probably wouldn\u2019t be able to enjoy anything while waiting anxiously or despairingly for the Grim Reaper\u2019s arrival. Indeed, people who have reason to be acutely aware of their mortality must find ways to appreciate their remaining time as precious, or life becomes a tedious or terrifying slog to the grave (ones beliefs about the afterlife can make big differences in this, to be sure). Again, my point is we can acknowledge things intellectually without having their reality sink in; once an issue is no longer merely a theoretical abstraction, we\u2019re forced to adjust. In one sense, nothing has changed\u2014the reality we must contend with is the same as it\u2019s always been. In another sense, facing it may change a great deal in our subjective experience.<\/p>\n<p>Without the internet, my rapture would have continued uninterrupted by other owners\u2019 tales of woe and the implications those carry for my own prospects. I wish I could \u201cun-know\u201d these things and return to my previous blissful ignorance, but I can\u2019t. Now what? As you\u2019d guess, I\u2019ve been searching for evidence plenty of other bikes haven\u2019t developed the same serious problems, hoping to bolster my hope I\u2019ll be among their numbers. I\u2019ve inquired at dealers about the prevalence of this issue in the motorcycles they\u2019ve serviced, and I\u2019ve received stalwart reassurance about the reliability of my motor, but I suspect they wouldn\u2019t necessarily be forthcoming about a problem which could impugn a brand they sell. I\u2019ve also tried to take a step back from the immersive world of lament and vitriolic complaints online. It can be easy to get swept up in what seems like a secret layer of alarming truths beneath the reassuring fa\u00e7ade of conventional expectations, with trust in the latter viewed as dangerous naivet\u00e9 and complacency. Yes, there are reasons to be skeptical of a manufacturer\u2019s party line when it saves them money and counters bad publicity, but there are also reasons to wonder about online outrage which may be amplified by the peculiar tendency of this medium to distill and inflame terror and grievance.<\/p>\n<p>The posts I\u2019ve been reading are definitely a tangled mix of careful efforts to discern what\u2019s really going on with this problem (e.g., is it a result of inadequate lubrication, and if so, is it because of weak oil pressure, poor filtering or blocked passageways, or is it a matter of bad metallurgy\/insufficient surface hardening, or is a mechanical component\u2019s design to blame?), and lots of speculation about the conspiratorial maneuverings or widespread ineptitude at the manufacturer or local dealer level. Some people are dedicated to examining the facts and presenting evidence (e.g., extensive documentation of their motor\u2019s condition with photos and measurements, records of actual correspondence with the manufacturer or dealer), while others make all sorts of vehement assertions (positive or negative) without any support beyond the intensity of their emotion. Obviously, this is a prominent and problematic feature of internet communities outside of motorcycling! People take stands based on cherished beliefs, whether idealistic or cynical, and dismiss alternative viewpoints as the result of stupidity or some hidden agenda. It\u2019s exhilarating to possess the special insider knowledge and look down on everyone else.<\/p>\n<p>I suspect all imaginable scenarios are true. Some motors really did fail for this reason, and some for that reason; it doesn\u2019t have to be either\/or. There are no doubt cases wherein the owner really was at fault, just like the manufacturer said when denying their warranty claim, and there are undoubtedly other cases wherein the manufacturer or dealer dodged responsibility because they could. One reason the internet amplifies negativity is there\u2019s little incentive for someone who\u2019s happy to chime in. Misery loves company. I don\u2019t mean to imply it shouldn\u2019t; we human beings legitimately need others who can relate to us when we\u2019re distressed. But this also means I\u2019m unlikely to be motivated to spend the time and effort to participate in an online forum when things are going well (either my bike is trouble-free or I\u2019m happy with my warranty\u2019s demonstrated coverage). I may also be turned off by bitter posters ridiculing me as Pollyannish for thinking my motorcycle may not be doomed, despite its lack of symptoms.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_6053\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6053\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-6053 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/bmwownersnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Nikki-Mace-damaged-stator-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6053\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-6053 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/bmwownersnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Nikki-Mace-damaged-stator-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" \/><\/noscript> <i>Damaged stator from a BMW motorcycle. Photo by Nikki Mace.<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Confusion is only avoidable when we lop off portions of complex reality to achieve a contrived simplicity. The fact that virtually everything has more than one (or two or three) sides is an inconvenient truth; it\u2019s tempting to boil things down to a single factor. We must tolerate suspense and ambiguity if we\u2019re to get closer to accuracy, recognizing we may never know the whole truth with precision and certainty. This doesn\u2019t mean all possibilities are equally credible or probable, leaving us no way to orient. We take our best guesses based on what evidence we can gather, but we should hold those guesses loosely, acknowledging our perpetual fallibility. While I\u2019ve lost something with my new awareness, I must be diligent in not throwing out the baby with the bathwater. The pendulum doesn\u2019t have to swing all the way to the opposite extreme; something isn\u2019t more likely to be true just because it\u2019s worse news (remember that when you\u2019re self-diagnosing an illness on WebMD). We often try to preclude disappointment by anticipating the worst-case scenario, but that can cause lots of unnecessary dread. Mark Twain said, \u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I can live with a tempered, less purely positive set of expectations without forfeiting my appreciation of the genuinely wonderful aspects of my new motorcycle. No need to replace idyllic fantasies with morbid ones; both are imaginary at this point\u2014the latter more than the former, based on my first-hand knowledge so far. Perhaps most importantly, this bike is so good I can reconcile myself with extra monitoring, proactive service and maybe even four-figure engine repair, all of which would still total less than what I typically lose in a bike trade. It\u2019s not right for a manufacturer or dealer to leave me in this position, but I\u2019m in it now and must choose from the available options. I choose to stick it out, eyes open to the risk.<\/p>\n<p>I didn\u2019t know my bike <em>could<\/em> develop this mechanical problem. I need to keep in mind I still don\u2019t know it <em>will<\/em>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><i>Mark Barnes is a clinical psychologist and motojournalist. To read more of his writings, check out his book <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Why-Ride-Psychologist-Motorcyclists-Relationship\/dp\/1620082284\/ref=sr_1_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Why We Ride: A Psychologist Explains the Motorcyclist\u2019s Mind and the Love Affair Between Rider, Bike and Road<\/a>,<i> currently available in paperback through Amazon and other retailers.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What we don&#8217;t know can\u2019t hurt us, or so the saying goes. Of course, it\u2019s not hard to come up with examples to the contrary; just because we\u2019re unaware of something doesn\u2019t really prevent it from causing harm. I\u2019m not going to resolve this debate here, but rather discuss my ambivalence about some recently acquired [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":6053,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"podcast":[81],"class_list":["post-7087","moa_podcasts","type-moa_podcasts","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","podcast-the-ride-inside"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moa_podcasts\/7087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moa_podcasts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/moa_podcasts"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moa_podcasts\/7087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"podcast","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast?post=7087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}