consumer reports most reliable motorcycles

[novaraptor]

We could have told 'em this....
http://cdn.rideapart.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/consumer-reports.jpg
or the full article at:
http://rideapart.com/2014/02/most-reliable-motorcycles/

Actually it only on the newer bikes, but I was surprised at BMW's ranking...

[FJ_Hooligan]

I've seen that on other forums.  Always a big discussion on why Suzuki is missing.

I think the consensus is that Suzukis are wrecked well before they have an opportunity break down.....

[motogp52]

I'm not surprised that Yamaha, Kawasaki and Honda are ranked the highest as they have never let me down. My BMW boxer twin I had up until a few years ago (R1100RT) did break down on a ride in Yellowstone National park about five years ago.  I had to have it trailered all the way down to Salt Lake City Utah to the BMW dealer to have the ignition relay switch replaced.  An $800.00 fix, not to mention my vacation coming to a halt. The BMW K1200RS I've had for the last eight years runs flawlessly and in my opinion is one of the most reliable motorcycles on the road.  

[~JM~]

Way... Way... Back in the year of 1985, I had a pretty cool job for a while.

I worked at a warehouse that stored various bike dealers crated bikes. When a dealer needed more bikes, he would call us & we would retrieve the crate from his stack of bikes, bust open the crate, assemble the bikes & then deliver them to the dealer.

A few of the things that I observed/learned about the various makes of the big 4 Japanese bikes is this.

Honda was number 1 in quality right down to the crate that it was delivered in. Once you removed the cardboard, you were faced with a steel skeleton of a box with a bike inside. The bike's body parts/painted parts like the tank, fenders, side panels, etc, were covered with a thin plastic film. Any of the bare metal surfaces had been sprayed with a fish oil to protect it. Once the box had been unbolted, you could begin assembling the bike. The Honda products practically built themselves. Everything fit perfectly & the nuts & bolts were the best of the bunch.

Whenever you started the day with a bunch of Hondas on your build sheet, you knew it was going to be a smooth day.

Then there was the Yamaha's & the Kawasaki's. They were somewhat in a tie for second place with Yamaha having a slight edge on the Kawi's. These crates would be made of wood & bamboo. Often they would have a crushed corner or some other damage. They did not have as high a level of protection that the Honda crates provided. Both the Yamahas & the Kawi''s would assemble just fine, but not as nicely as the Hondas.

And then there were the Suzuki's.... They had the worst crates & were often damaged. They were the most difficult bikes to assemble. The hardware (nuts & bolts) was the softest & often the threaded holes in the frame would not accept a bolt until a Tap was run through it. This was back when the 2-stroke, 4-wheelers were just coming out & they were a real pain in the ass to assemble. Many times the Suzuki parts wouldn't quite line up & would need to be forced into position to accept a bolt. Often the bolt heads would snap off before reaching the recommended torque while tightening.

Whenever you started the day with a bunch of Suzi's on your build list, you knew your day was probably going to suck. No one liked building those 4-wheelers.

Now remember this was in 1985 & I'm sure that things have had to change by now. It was an interesting job & there were a few rare bikes being stored in that warehouse for some dealers private collection or speculation purposes. One was a Honda CBX still in the crate. Just waiting for its day to be uncrated & assembled.

~JM~

[Zwartie]

I've always thought of Honda as making the most reliable bikes. Not that I had done any scientific study but the fit and finish always looked the best. That being said, I had more problems with my 1984 V45 Sabre (cams, thermostat switch controlling radiator fan, speedo) than any of my other bikes which were all Yamaha. BMW makes a nice bike but I've always thought they were overrated and overpriced (the Apple of the motorcycle world) and the stereotypical BMW owner would never admit that they paid too much for a bike that's almost as reliable as a Japanese machine. It probably explains why the CR report shows that the Harley and BMW riders are the most "satisfied" as they've not just bought a motorcycle but bought into the lifestyle that goes with being associated with that specific brand. I believe (again, no numbers to back this up) that Japanese bike owners are not nearly as brand loyal. They are usually interested in a particular type of motorcycle as opposed to a specific brand.

Zwartie

[Capn Ron]

Good point about brand loyalty and surveys.  Back when I managed a sporting goods store, a Harley rider came in looking for the biggest seat bag I carried.  The big ones never sold, so I was happy about that.  He said he needed it to carry more tools and spare parts for his Harley because parts were always falling off of it.  When I suggested he should consider some other brand of motorcycle, he just said, "Naw...that's all just part of the experience."  Wow.   

In regards to mechanics assembling bikes, I definitely related to that story!  We sold a few lines of bicycles there and the snapshot of the day was:

Schwinn - Generally pretty good quality except for their two lowest priced bikes...hard to get assembled and be proud of your work.
Raleigh - About the same story as Schwinn.
Ross - Mostly junk...just a slight notch above department store stuff.
Peugeot - Mid quality stuff, but French...Which means a lot of annoying non-standard parts
Cannondale - Top end bikes
Trek - Same as Cannondale...top of the range!

Whenever a Cannondale or a Trek needed to be unboxed and assembled, I'd give them to my top mechanics...mostly as a reward for their great work as I knew they would really enjoy those and out of respect for the customer who shelled out big money for the best.  The shoddy mechanics would get all the Ross and low-end Schwinn builds. "Maybe when your work quality goes up, I'll put you on the $1000+ bikes!"   

Cap'n Ron. . .

[JMR]

Way... Way... Back in the year of 1985, I had a pretty cool job for a while.

I worked at a warehouse that stored various bike dealers crated bikes. When a dealer needed more bikes, he would call us & we would retrieve the crate from his stack of bikes, bust open the crate, assemble the bikes & then deliver them to the dealer.

A few of the things that I observed/learned about the various makes of the big 4 Japanese bikes is this.

Honda was number 1 in quality right down to the crate that it was delivered in. Once you removed the cardboard, you were faced with a steel skeleton of a box with a bike inside. The bike's body parts/painted parts like the tank, fenders, side panels, etc, were covered with a thin plastic film. Any of the bare metal surfaces had been sprayed with a fish oil to protect it. Once the box had been unbolted, you could begin assembling the bike. The Honda products practically built themselves. Everything fit perfectly & the nuts & bolts were the best of the bunch.

Whenever you started the day with a bunch of Hondas on your build sheet, you knew it was going to be a smooth day.

Then there was the Yamaha's & the Kawasaki's. They were somewhat in a tie for second place with Yamaha having a slight edge on the Kawi's. These crates would be made of wood & bamboo. Often they would have a crushed corner or some other damage. They did not have as high a level of protection that the Honda crates provided. Both the Yamahas & the Kawi''s would assemble just fine, but not as nicely as the Hondas.

And then there were the Suzuki's.... They had the worst crates & were often damaged. They were the most difficult bikes to assemble. The hardware (nuts & bolts) was the softest & often the threaded holes in the frame would not accept a bolt until a Tap was run through it. This was back when the 2-stroke, 4-wheelers were just coming out & they were a real pain in the ass to assemble. Many times the Suzuki parts wouldn't quite line up & would need to be forced into position to accept a bolt. Often the bolt heads would snap off before reaching the recommended torque while tightening.

Whenever you started the day with a bunch of Suzi's on your build list, you knew your day was probably going to suck. No one liked building those 4-wheelers.

Now remember this was in 1985 & I'm sure that things have had to change by now. It was an interesting job & there were a few rare bikes being stored in that warehouse for some dealers private collection or speculation purposes. One was a Honda CBX still in the crate. Just waiting for its day to be uncrated & assembled.

~JM~

A good read....thanks. That is pretty much how it goes with those brands (at least what I found after owning a repair shop). I also own a Suzuki (they are part bin bikes...the battery for the GSXR600 is the same for the 750, 1100 and Hayabusa for an example). The Honda is the best in regard to fitment and parts availability....no doubt.  The Yamaha's are odd in many cases but Yamaha has often gone boldly where no other Japanese bike manufacture would dare go. At least stuff fits OK. Just don't compare a Honda manual to the FJ manual....(measurements...you want measurements!) Yeah....how thick are those main and crank bearings?
  I'd say Kawasaki's are like Suzuki's in many respects....try to fit the body panels on any faired Kawasaki after taking it off...that goes back to the original Ninja 900 to the ZX-14.

[andyoutandabout]

That early world order certainly rings true with what I think I know about quality.
I've owned a bike from each of the big 4 Jap makers; these marks really shaped my view:
1) Honda vfr 750 - great quality materials, but super complicated to work on, notchy gearbox, nice handling.
2) Yam Fj1200 - great quality materials, easy to work on, nice handling with a bit of modding.
3) Kawasaki Gpz550 - B grade materials, ok to work on, rapid rust tanks.
4) Suzuki Rg250 - C grade materials, quick rust everything, chocolate bolts, bonkers engine, slick gearbox.

So when you sum things up, the fact that the Fj1200 is relatively easy to work with on those rare times you have to work on it, then I'd place the Yam above the Honda. Proving once again that fjs are the best ever and it would take a lot of bike to ace them.
Andy

[Aeroaddict]

Interesting article and would agree with it for the most part but have not owned or ridden some of the bikes (Suzuki as an example). But I do have a BMW story. Back in 1987 my brother in-law had a BMW RT1200 (1980 circa I believe). I thought it was a cool bike as I did not have a ride at the time. He got a job out of the country and asked if I wanted to take care of his bike while he was gone. Of course I jumped on the offer. Long story short; what a POS! Very heavy, forks would dive (he said he had the anti-dive installed), but the worst of it all is that the bike would strand me on the side of the road frequently. After all the pain in the a$$ stuff the battery finally dies, again stranding me on the road. I got the bike jumped and took off like hell for home. When trying to remove the battery, I couldn't get it out without removing the subframe. That was the last straw, parked the POS in the side yard until his return.

It was the best experience I ever had, now I knew I would never spend big $$ for a BMW!

[airheadPete]

As the resident BMW guy. (?!) He must have had an R100RT in 1980. Mine work well, (aside from one final drive failure. (Knock on wood.))
What he should have done is buy an '81+ bike. They replaced the upper subframe regular bolts with countersunk internal-hex bolts. So you could remove the battery without unbolting the upper Mother-fu#%¥*g subframe bolts! (Ya, naturlich, unser batterien werden nie mals ausgevezelt werden! Alles klar!)
Yes, I'm a Kraut. But they do make great bikes, there's just no Kookaloo in their genes!

[movenon]

As the resident BMW guy. (?!) He must have had an R100RT in 1980. Mine work well, (aside from one final drive failure. (Knock on wood.))
What he should have done is buy an '81+ bike. They replaced the upper subframe regular bolts with countersunk internal-hex bolts. So you could remove the battery without unbolting the upper Mother-fu#%¥*g subframe bolts! (Ya, naturlich, unser batterien werden nie mals ausgevezelt werden! Alles klar!)
Yes, I'm a Kraut. But they do make great bikes, there's just no Kookaloo in their genes!

I rode a RT 100 for for 11 years. Easiest bike I have ever had to deal with.  No major maint ever.  Super simple and reliable.  Hard steel.  Well balanced (low center of gravity).  Put well over 100,000 miles on it.  Was my daily transportation when the weather permitted. 300 to 1000 mile trips on the week ends. Just rode the piss out it.

Cons, shy on power, clunky/sloppy shifting, ergonomics a little weird until you got use to it.  Had a dry clutch (never had a problem I just didn't care for it).   Not as fun to ride as the FJ. 
George

[rlucas]

I've owned\ridden quite a few bikes from quite a few manufacturers. Some have been great; some not so much. But y'know what?

I loved every one of 'em. Even that HD Rapido POS that I started with. Every one was a learning experience.

It kinda comes with the terrotory of being an enthusiast. Plus, it makes for good newsgroup\campfire stories. 


rossi

[ribbert]

I've owned\ridden quite a few bikes from quite a few manufacturers. Some have been great; some not so much. But y'know what?

I loved every one of 'em. Even that HD Rapido POS that I started with. Every one was a learning experience.

It kinda comes with the terrotory of being an enthusiast. Plus, it makes for good newsgroup\campfire stories. 


rossi

That's a very good point. I've had about 30 bikes and there was some redeeming feature and something I liked about every one of them. Well almost, the only bike about which I could not find a single good thing to say was an XS650, what a dog of a bike and I had some shockers.

Noel

[TexasDave]

I have owned and still own several different brands of UJMs. The only redeeming feature of the XS650 is the engine. It is built like a tank. Being a 360 deg crank with no counter balancers it vibrates like a tractor. After doing many of the same things to the XS that we do to the FJ it isn't a bad bike. I still own one. To get better handling I went to better fork springs, emulators, head bearings, swing arm bushings and shocks. To get a little more performance went with mikuni 36mm carbs, pods and advanced the timing slightly. Runs like a watch. Added heavy duty clutch plates and springs. The xs650 motorcycle was yamahas number one seller for a couple of years and saved them from going out of business. They developed it to get part of the Triumph business and in many peoples minds it was a better bike. One of the selling points was it didn't leak oil like Truimphs. It has quite a loyal following especially in Australia. I bought mine cheap and just like the FJ put more money in it than I bought it for. Just like the FJ they had a long production run. Sold from 1970 to 1983 in the usa. Putting that much money into an old XS might seem foolish to some  but the fun was doing the mods.   Dave

[rktmanfj]

I have owned and still own several different brands of UJMs. The only redeeming feature of the XS650 is the engine. It is built like a tank. Being a 360 deg crank with no counter balancers it vibrates like a tractor. After doing many of the same things to the XS that we do to the FJ it isn't a bad bike. I still own one. To get better handling I went to better fork springs, emulators, head bearings, swing arm bushings and shocks. To get a little more performance went with mikuni 36mm carbs, pods and advanced the timing slightly. Runs like a watch. Added heavy duty clutch plates and springs. The xs650 motorcycle was yamahas number one seller for a couple of years and saved them from going out of business. They developed it to get part of the Triumph business and in many peoples minds it was a better bike. One of the selling points was it didn't leak oil like Truimphs. It has quite a loyal following especially in Australia. I bought mine cheap and just like the FJ put more money in it than I bought it for. Just like the FJ they had a long production run. Sold from 1970 to 1983 in the usa. Putting that much money into an old XS might seem foolish to some  but the fun was doing the mods.   Dave

There's a fix for that.   

270 Degree Rephased XS65 - Hugh's HandBuilt