Where the theorymeets the ground.
William Weppner — twenty years building motorcycles for Harley‑Davidson, Honda, and Super73. Now retained by counsel to explain what the manufacturer knew, and when.
- Focus
- Product liability & mechanical failure
- Retained by
- Plaintiff & defense
- Based
- California · Nevada · Utah
- Status
- Accepting matters
Twenty years inside
the companies now
being deposed.
Most experts in powersports matters are one of two things. Engineers who can compute a delta‑V but have never sat in an OEM product meeting, or industry people who can talk product but cannot survive a Daubert challenge.
I spent twenty years on the other side of the caption — product management at Harley‑Davidson and Honda, OEM sales at Sena, product development at Super73, Tier‑one supply, and a motocross brand I founded and sold. I know what the manufacturer knew, when they knew it, and what a competent product organization does about it, because I was the one doing it.
I also still ride at the level these cases describe — expert‑class motocross, street, touring, adventure, and electric. That means rider input, control feel, and foreseeable use get described from the seat rather than from the literature.
Principal
What I do.
Three lines of work, all drawing on the same twenty years. Rate schedule and full curriculum vitae are sent on request.
Expert Witness & Litigation Support
Testifying and consulting expert, retained on both sides of the caption. No contingency and no compensation tied to outcome or opinion.
- Case assessment and technical strategy
- Vehicle inspection, teardown, and exemplar work
- Written expert reports
- Deposition and trial testimony
- Documented conflict check before any substantive discussion
Product Development & Compliance
For OEMs, importers, and funded startups building the machine before anyone sues over it.
- CPSC micromobility readiness
- Design FMEA facilitation
- Homologation and regulatory roadmapping
- Supplier and BOM risk
- Warnings, labeling, and launch readiness
Dealer & Distributor Risk Management
Liability reduction across a dealer group, standardized rooftop to rooftop, with the tools your people can run themselves: checklists, audit templates, training and a tracking routine that survives staff turnover.
- Pre-delivery inspection and setup audits
- Technician documentation and training
- Recall and service bulletin tracking
- Point-of-sale disclosure practice
- Litigation-readiness workshops
The record.
Stealth EV Startup
LID Technologies
Sena Technologies
Super73
Harley-Davidson
American Honda
Presented the 2018 CRF lineup technical briefing to motorcycle press.
American Honda
Honda R&D Americas
Motorsport Aftermarket Group
Faction MX
HISUN / Coleman Sector 550 UTV
Wrongful‑death litigation arising from a fatal rollover. Retained as a product‑development and powersports‑industry expert; written expert report prepared. Restraint integrity, rollover stability, interlock and throttle logic, labeling, and product‑stewardship practice.
Harley-Davidson V-Rod — Canada
Front wheel and axle‑retention evaluation following a reported axle‑separation event. Service and assembly procedures, maintenance records, inspection practice, observed mechanical condition, and consistency with proposed failure sequences.
The research series.
Primary-document research on the motorcycle industry.
The powersports industry is complicated and fragmented, and it defies transparent operational and financial analysis. Too many moving parts, and the analysts covering it rarely bring the perspective of a rider, a product planner, and an operator who has worked inside several of its companies. This series is that perspective, written for anyone who has to form a view on these companies quickly: analysts, dealers, suppliers, and the people inside them.
Every figure linked to its filing. Corrections published, not made quietly. Three issues so far, and the series continues: No. 04 follows the third-quarter calls.
No. 01 · LiveWire: 5 Years In and 1% of Plan
No. 02 · Harley-Davidson: Back to the Bricks, Down to Breakeven
No. 03 · Harley-Davidson: Outside In
Send the case type,
the jurisdiction,
and the deadline.
That is enough for me to tell you in one reply whether this is a matter I can take.