SAN FRANCISCO (WWJ) - BMW North America has probably
had to deal with plenty of unusual lawsuits, but one filed last week
may be a first — a California man says the seat on his motorcycle has
given him an erection he just can’t shake.
Henry Wolf of California is suing BMW America and aftermarket
seatmaker Corbin-Pacific claiming his issue began after a four-hour ride
on his 1993 BMW motorcycle, with a ridge like seat. Wolf is seeking
compensation for lost wages, medical expenses, emotional distress and
what he calls “general damage.”
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| This motorcycle gives me a boner just looking at it. ~Keb |
He said he’s had the erection non-stop for 20 months. And it comes
with another side effect: The lawsuit says Wolf is “now is unable to
engage in sexual activity, which is causing him substantial emotional
and mental anguish.”
WWJ Newsradio 950 spoke with Dr. Michael Lutz, at the Michigan
Institute of Urology, who said there is no medical data to support the
man’s claim. However, “It’s been long-known that compression of the
neurovascular supply to the penis — if it’s compressed for a period of
time, whether it be on a bicycle seat or some other device — it can
actually cause prolonged numbness of the genitalia,” Lutz said.
“Not only in men, but women can also get numbness in that region if
they’re compressing those nervous structures to that region of the
body,” he said.
BMW Motorcycles of Southeast Michigan in Canton, Mich., checked out
the story and noted the man wasn’t riding a standard BMW motorcycle
seat. He was on an after-market seat, which start at about $200. People
generally buy them to make the ride more comfortable.
“Sometimes people say it’s more comfortable, sometimes people can get
a tall seat or a low seat or they’re shorter or taller, they can come
heated,” said Theresa at BMW Motorcycles of Southeast Michigan.
