Right to repair feels like it's a battle of who <i>owns</i> a product after it is bought.<p>Everyone wanting to operate their business in the way SaaS or subscription service is really annoying.<p>Photoshop gets jealous of saas numbers so they put out the creative cloud.
Printer companies authenticate their ink cartridges.
Coffee makers only accept their own branded cartridges.<p>Right to repair, right to modify, it all comes down to ownership.
> "Taking your product to be serviced by a repair shop that is not affiliated with or an authorized dealer of [Company] will not void this warranty. Also, using third-party parts will not void this warranty."<p>I do not own or plan to ever own a Harley Davidson or Westinghouse product. I understand and 100% agree with the right to repair parts. The second part, however, I have a few concerns. So, if I buy a cheap replica part from eBay and put it into my Harley Davidson, it causes other problems with the engine and then I make a warranty claim, they have to honor it?
When are we going to discuss tractors (speaking to the FTC)? The fact I can't even change some settings such as the gear shifting speed without a technician is insane.
former harley owner here. Ive had 4 and honestly this sounds like the punchline to a bad joke.<p>Every harley ive owned, every single one, has required at least a cursory knowledge of how to fix issues as they arise. youll need to learn to replace pegs, grips, and bars as the chrome and fitment of all these components on the sportster is just trash. youll need to learn how the oiler works on the dyna because well, it doesnt and youre going to be installing some aftermarket parts to get it to where it needs to be. youll learn the springs in the clutch plates are trash, plastic drive shoes that require frequent service, and youll need to be pretty good at replacing not one, but <i>three</i> separate types of oil (not just the sump tank.)<p>to "limit" my right to repair also implies Motor Company is in any capacity interested in honoring the warranty, which they are not. it implies a shop that doesnt have a 3 week lead time after COVID, it implies a competent shop that wont send you back with more problems than you came in with, and above all else it implies a shop that isnt going to nickle and dime you for repairs under warranty to a $30k bike that you had to pay to tow into the garage from some armpit like blythe or tuskaloosa.<p>I cant stress this enough: the aftermarket is and has been <i>the only</i> thing that kept my harley harem running from 2001 to 2015 before i switched to Yamaha. there are dozens of small mom and pop machine shops like low brow customs and loser machine shop that have parts for your harley that are not only available, but miles better than anything motor company can think to put out.
I bought a car from a guy who was a H-D dealer but privately, rode everything but H-D and said the bikes were shit.<p>Their V-twin design is not only a shit engine - but it generates so much vibration that it literally shakes itself and everything on the bike to death, causing stuff to fatigue/wear/rattle loose, wiring to fray, you name it.<p>H-D dealerships are cash cows between that and insane accessory and clothing sales. They're basically Boomer cosplay stores.
Long gone are the days when "custom motorcycle", a term generally associated with HD and similar styles, would imply "I can repair this by myself, heck, even modify it with spare parts taken from a demolished truck".
Getting to the point as a company where you're fighting right-to-repair seems like you're a company on your last gasps. It means you can't sell enough product at a profitable margin to keep yourself going through sales alone. In fact, there isn't even enough product out there so that your dealership/repairmen can have enough business to not worry about independent repair shops.<p>HD is a prime example of one of these brands. HD has been running brand loyalty fumes for decades.