So much for the 'Klim Gear Protection Guarantee'

[elementist]

One thing to add to that. Check the insurance fine print. Mine covered my gear but discounted 10% value for each year up to 50% of the value of the gear. Some of my gear was covered at 90% some at 50%.

You could always get your attorney to write klim a letter challenging their interpretation of the report, but I imagine that'll cost as much as it could save you.

 

[easy]

Might be hard to win the case since he ran off the road. I would represent myself, and talk to the prosecutor, and see what he offers. If you don't like the offer, set the case for trial and see if the peace officer shows up. Don't forget to specifically ask for a jury trial, and specifically ask to go to the jury for punishment, if necessary. I bet the officer doesn't show, unless he's really convinced you were clearly in the wrong.

Hiring an attorney could get expensive.

Best of luck.

Please let us know how it turns out.

E.

 

[brownie0486]

I have retained a law firm to deal with the Loss of Control citation. As far as cutting me slack on a speeding ticket, I don't think there is any way there was sufficient evidence there to give me a ticket for 5 over the limit.

BTW, the police report did not have any mention or reference to a citation. That was not a factor in Klim denying the warranty.

Two big take aways for me on this: keep wearing the airbag, and get at least $2,000 in gear insurance on your motorcycle policy.

On a tight downhill I misjudged the corner, looked at the edge of the road and dropped a wheel. I estimate I was going about 30 since there was a handrail a foot away from the edge of the road and I never touched it.

In trying to get it back on the road I highsided

and ended upon the other side of the road.

Those statements are admissions you lost control of the motor. is your atty going to argue you didn't lose control with the above statements in the public domain?

 

[guenner]

So you crashed your motorcycle at a low speed riding your motorcycle. How is this an illegal activity according to their:

accident through illegal activity or that were caused by riders under the influence of any mind-altering or illegal substance.

???

 

[bkkjack]

Klim's "GUARANTEED TO KEEP YOU DRY" words are just as empty as their crash repair warranty.

Binned my Klim Velocity and Carlsbad pants, because both of them leaked like sieves through the vent zippers and Klim said they weren't defective.

I still have the Baja S4 mesh jacket and pants, a pair of their Gore Tex gloves - which work as intended - and a pair of their battery heated gloves.

The apparel company that has the best customer service in my experience is Firstgear. When my original Kilimanjaro jacket leaked through its vent zippers, they sent me a new (upgraded model) one free of charge. The only questions asked were what size and what color. When a zipper broke on the new one, they sent me another brand new one.

 

[Omega Man]

So you crashed your motorcycle at a low speed riding your motorcycle. How is this an illegal activity according to their:

???

I sent them the police report and alll kinds of information, and I get a note back that they have denied my claim because on the back of the police report it said I was doing 40 in a 35 zone

Klim's "GUARANTEED TO KEEP YOU DRY" words are just as empty as their crash repair warranty.

Binned my Klim Velocity and Carlsbad pants, because both of them leaked like sieves through the vent zippers and Klim said they weren't defective.

I still have the Baja S4 mesh jacket and pants, a pair of their Gore Tex gloves - which work as intended - and a pair of their battery heated gloves.

The apparel company that has the best customer service in my experience is Firstgear. When my original Kilimanjaro jacket leaked through its vent zippers, they sent me a new (upgraded model) one free of charge. The only questions asked were what size and what color. When a zipper broke on the new one, they sent me another brand new one.

See above re the crash warranty.

The Klim usage warranty is also quite specific-

https://www.klim.com/warranty#:~:te...IM GORE-TEX,This warranty is not transferable.

OM

 

[BC1100S]

I'd be more convinced by all the Klim apologists.....

You mean the folks who know how to read and understand a warranty?

 

[tx_mike]

Might consider Motoport…custom made.

https://www.motoport.com/

https://www.motoport.com/motoport-guarantee/

https://www.motoport.com/category/articles/

I have the “Stretch Kevlar” and am very satisfied. Their rain liner is very good & will also help keep you warm on colder temps. Didn’t get their thermal liner, because I have a heated jacket liner. Rain liner was all I needed for the pants.

Not cheap, but neither is KLIM.

 

[bkkjack]

See above re the crash warranty.

The Klim usage warranty is also quite specific-

https://www.klim.com/warranty#:~:te...IM GORE-TEX,This warranty is not transferable.

OM

I really appreciate you chiming in with all this information that I already knew in an attempt to defend Klim.

I had only had their products for about 8 months. Hardly time for any "wear and tear," and I sent them photos of the wet spots on my thighs and shoulders. They swore up and down that they tested them and they passed whatever tests they used even though I sent them photographic proof that their garments leaked, so into the bin they went. It's not that expensive for a company to provide the level of customer service that will inspire customer loyalty. The apparent fact that Klim uses their lawyers to go to great extent to deny customers' claims is the reason I'll never buy another piece of Klim gear again.

 

[k1200lt00]

Klim gear off my list. I don't have time for BS. My First gear does everything for me.

 

[tsconver]

I'd be more convinced by all the Klim apologists if they could point to a few cases where Klim had actually honored their guarantee.

What they have demonstrated is the impossible high bar to have a successful claim on road or off road.

Klim makes quality products, and that is the sole reason to purchase them -- their worthless guarantee should not be a consideration.

Bruce Hodges
Kansas City

Replaced a set of gloves for me no questions asked after I sent pictures and then once approved sent more pictures showing the fingers had been cut off. Had new gloves in a week.

 

[tsconver]

To the OP, if you are in a legal discussion I would not be airing anything here it can all be used against you in a court.

 

[BC1100S]

To the OP, if you are in a legal discussion I would not be airing anything here it can all be used against you in a court.

Too late.

 

[RPGR90s]

I was on a BMW group ride in Western North Carolina. On a tight downhill I misjudged the corner, looked at the edge of the road and dropped a wheel. I estimate I was going about 30 since there was a handrail a foot away from the edge of the road and I never touched it. In trying to get it back on the road I highsided and ended upon the other side of the road.

Apart from personal injuries I damaged my Klim jacket. But of course Klim have a 'Gear protection guarantee'. I sent them the police report and alll kinds of information, and I get a note back that they have denied my claim because on the back of the police report it said I was doing 40 in a 35 zone. This estimate from a trooper who arrived 20 minutes after the accident, when I am in the ambulance and the bike has been moved. No appeal, nothing. I have been a Klim fanboy, but I have bought my last piece of Klim gear.

Geez, talk about a flimsy reply. Looks like they had a team of Philadelphia lawyers draw that up to cover their a**es.

Years ago I hit a deer in northern Idaho. I was wearing Joe Rocket jacket and pants. I didn't even know they offered any kind of reimbursement but a buddy said to call them.

I did. And they asked for only some photos showing the shredded gear and they sent me brand new replacements, no questions.


I always thought Klim gear was way over-priced anyway.

 

[tsconver]

Got to love all this Klim bashing over a policy clearly stated in their warranty. He broke the law. The police listed it on the report. Klim denied. Hell if insurance wants to get picky they can deny his claim as well.

 

[98lee]

This has been an interesting thread and may prove to be valuable to those considering which gear to buy and what to spend extra for.

This thread has evolved into a thread about Klim, a company that makes snowmobile and motorcycle gear based in Rigby, Idaho, denying a claim for their “KLIM Gear Protection Guarantee” and the value of such a guarantee vs the price of Klim gear and the grounds they use to deny said claims.

The highlighting of the phrase on the Klim website “shipped to asia for final finishing” in post#11 was an attempt to make potential and current owners of Klim gear aware that even though Klim is an American company, it is manufactured in asia, just like most other motorcycle gear, made of Codura and GORE-TEX, just like most other quality motorcycle gear. Codura, a DuPont trademarked innovation, is now owned by Invicta, a subsidy of Koch Industries, with over 50 locations throughout the world. GORE-TEX is owned by W. L. Gore and associates of Newark, Delaware and is produced in the United States, Germany, the UK, Japan, and China, among other places. Admittedly, GORE-TEX is one of the more expensive synthetic fabrics and is only available through the W. L. Gore Corporation, which charge relatively hefty prices. It is truly a world economy.

I was trying to point out that Klim doesn’t have some magic lock on quality. The are made and sourced very similar to every other quality gear manufacturer. They do claim to have that special magic thread sourced from Texas, but it fails just like the thread in more pedestrian gear manufacturers.

The point being, it is manufactured in the same places (where the workers make substantially less), out of the same material (that can be sourced from many places in the world), JUST LIKE MOST OTHER MOTORCYCLE GEAR COMPANIES, yet they charge up to $1800 for a single jacket. 2 to 4 times what other high quality jackets cost.

People who spend that much extra on gear are after the highest quality/value money can buy. But how much of that is PERCEIVED quality/value vs actual. Many people believe that because it is an American company, and it costs so much, that it must be made in the US with US sourced materials. Not so.

Many people look at their “KLIM Gear Protection Guarantee” and assume that that adds value. Well, it would, IF they honor it. Unfortunately, as we are learning in this thread, Klim has and seems to use a multitude of means to NOT honor that guarantee:

You MUST send in a police report. IF you are lucky enough to have your accident near a city or town where they actually will respond to a non-injury accident. IF they don’t have higher priority police business. IF the police respond, you had better hope that the accident is a case of another vehicle hitting YOU and they are found at fault. IF there is not another vehicle at fault, you could be considered at fault for “failure to maintain control” regardless of your speed or other circumstances.

If you have an off while off road in your Klim adventure gear, you stand little chance of collecting on the Guarantee. First, getting a police officer to respond to an offroad situation is very unlikely. But even more important, virtually every offroad accident is by definition “failure to maintain control”.

Basically, the actual value of the “KLIM Gear Protection Guarantee” is of little value given how few actual situations there are that they may actually honor their promise. AND the guarantee expires after 5 years. If you get hit by another car in a city and get a report stating the other driver was at fault, you are probably going to collect for the damages to your bike AND the damages to your gear from the other drivers insurance. So even in that limited situation, KLIM still doesn’t pay.

It is poor form for a company to charge a premium price by advertising something with the intention of getting people to pay the extra amount for their product, if you don’t really intend on honoring it in the few cases where there is a claim.

Even their “Guaranteed to keep you dry” must be viewed with suspicion, as evidenced by one of the contributors to this thread.


It’s not to say that their gear isn’t good (like a lot of gear is), but don’t guarantee something that you have no intention of making good on. Like I said earlier, drop the guarantee, charge a bit less and sell on the merits of the product, not a con.




Bottom line:

Don’t give too much weight to the Klim guarantees when making your purchasing decisions. Other than that (and the price.) they seem to make very nice gear.

 

[jonnybow]

Me thinks a lot of you folks think you should be handed free things after you ruin them, it's rampant in our society lately.
Trip on the curb and fall ripping a hole in your jeans and see if Levi's will send you a free pair.
Crash your car into a pole and ask Nissan to send you a free car.

I will tell you that if you own a piece of Klim gear and the zipper fails or the seam tears or any other failure of the manufacturing qualities of the product, they will absolutely repair or replace that item.
Why is this a 7 page issue?

 

[Rick del Monte]

Final conclusion to this episode. Today I went to the Hand Doctor, and after an MRI it seems I have a torn thumb ligament: surgery and three months off the bike.

Met the Progressive claims agent at the dealer. He totaled the bike and gave me a very fair settlement for the value of the bike. I was very happy with the way Progressive handled the claim.

The citation for loss of control is being handled by a traffic claims specialist. As someone pointed out, I did lose control. Because no other vehicles were involved, and I have no other moving violations, I am hoping for some leniency. If not I will pay the fine and live with it.

As far as Klim, next time I am going to increase the gear coverage on my insurance policy and not rely on a questionable manufacturer's judgement. Enjoyed the discussion, thank you.

 

[akbeemer]

Final conclusion to this episode. Today I went to the Hand Doctor, and after an MRI it seems I have a torn thumb ligament: surgery and three months off the bike.

Met the Progressive claims agent at the dealer. He totaled the bike and gave me a very fair settlement for the value of the bike. I was very happy with the way Progressive handled the claim.

The citation for loss of control is being handled by a traffic claims specialist. As someone pointed out, I did lose control. Because no other vehicles were involved, and I have no other moving violations, I am hoping for some leniency. If not I will pay the fine and live with it.

As far as Klim, next time I am going to increase the gear coverage on my insurance policy and not rely on a questionable manufacturer's judgement. Enjoyed the discussion, thank you.

I’m glad at least some aspects of your get off worked out satisfactorily. Perhaps your lawyer should plea to the judge that the results of your accident are sufficient punishment for any infraction on your part. Surgery and loss of expensive gear are pretty severe consequences.

 

[98lee]

Me thinks a lot of you folks think you should be handed free things after you ruin them.

No. Me thinks that a company should not ADVERTISE that they WILL replace an item, then go to unrealistic efforts to not.

Don’t make that kind of guarantee. Or say that you MIGHT replace the gear in certain cases AT THEIR DISCRETION.