Motorcyclists Pay a Premium for Protection the Design Removed

GRETZENBACH, SOLOTHURN. Tuesday, shortly after 20:00: a 43-year-old operator of a two-wheeled motorized vehicle, known locally as a "Töfffahrer," was projected several meters through the air on the Oltnerstrasse. The flight was not in the catalog. The landing was. The rider did not survive the encounter with the asphalt, which — unlike the machine — performed to specification. Authorities filed the incident as a "Selbstunfall," Form 11.02, the category in which the customer is simultaneously the client, the pilot, and the primary cause of the service termination, and initials all three.

The machine is a triumph of subtractive engineering. To reach the price point, and the local preference for wind, the factory deletes the roof, the doors, and the crumple zones: 38 kilograms of caution, removed at one counter and resold at another as "gear." The industry calls this unbundling — take a functional object, remove the vital component, sell the component back at a markup. The wind is standard. The wall is an accessory.

"We sell the wind, not the wall," says Jürg Kessler, Deputy Director of Subtractive Engineering at a major manufacturer. "If the customer values the wall, it is at the accessories counter. If he meets the wall anyway, we sell it back to him by the centimeter, post-impact. It is a very robust margin."

"Safety is an elective, not a right," says Beatrice Hunziker, Head of Impact Valuation. "The motorcycle is priced for the metal we removed. The gear is priced for the plastic we sold him to miss it. We call this a value chain. The mortality is in the model."

The final invoice for the Oltnerstrasse event is itemized. One: the machine, CHF 14,900, optimized for speed, shielding unbundled. Two: the Protection Package, CHF 1,890, filed under "Accessories — Elective," the line item where the right to remain intact goes to hide. Three: the Selbstunfall report, CHF 0, issued by the state, on which the deceased assumes responsibility twice. Four: the funeral, payable by the estate, CHF 4,800; the warranty claim was declined — impact with planet not covered.

The ledger, as usual, balances. The manufacturer booked the margin on the deletion; the road collected the receivable, in full, Tuesday, shortly after 20:00. The wind was included. The wall was extra.