Podcast 495: The Right to Repair and Subscription Upgrades - Are They Fair?

This week on our motorcycle podcast we are talking about the right to repair. With all the technology on new bikes, owners are not able to work on them. And with the software and tools being so expensive, anyone but a factory dealer may not be able to work on them either. Mike Sayre from the AMA join us to talk about this. Should people be able to work on their bike when the tech is so complicated that they may mess something up or disable safety features? This isn't new in many other industries like cell phones and tractors, but it's fairly new for motorcycles, and the AMA is making sure that bikes aren't being overlooked when legislation comes into play.
Tying into this topic, we discuss paying for upgrades that your bike may already be equipped with. Zero has been doing this with their Cypher program, and now KTM has announced a similar system with the 2023 890 Adventure. So if your bike has heated grips or enhanced suspension settings from the factory, should you have to pay extra to unlock it? Or should it just be included in the base price? Is this a bonus for the frugal shopper? Or is it only an advantage to the manufacturer?
Let us know what you think.
Lastly, Bagel gives us a history hole on the Honda Monkey Bike, and we read listener emails.
With Liza, Miss Emma, Patrick, Naked Jim and Bagel.
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