Yes, Yamaha *IS* the most reliable brand out there..

[SouthernCruizer]

pertinent part of article: Long a recognized authority on automotive quality and value for your money in cars,Consumer Reports began branching out to reviewing motorcycles last year, publishing its first-ever report on the most reliable motorcycles from five of the biggest brands -- Harley,BMW (NASDAQOTH: BAMXY ) , Honda (NYSE: HMC ) , Kawasaki, and Yamaha. (Polaris' (NYSE: PII ) Victory and Indian brands had apparently not made enough of a dent in the market to attract CR's attention by the time of the survey.) What CR discovered from its research is that quality varies "significantly" among brands -- and the best brand, Yamaha, is about six times more reliable than the worst, BMW.

Only about one Yamaha bike in 10 has experienced a major problem or required a serious repair over the past four years, according to the 4,424 motorcycle owners surveyed by CR. In contrast, about one BMW motorcycle in three has suffered from such a complaint -- and one Harley in four. Here's how the numbers break down:

LINK TO FULL STORY >> https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/02/17/is-harley-davidson-the-worst-motorcycle-money-can.aspx

 

[Top_Speed1]

Agree w Jap bike reliability, but it's funny that the HD's & BMW's have a way better repeat buyer percentage. hmmm?

Here's the Consumer Reports story as in AsphaltandRubber (vs. the Fools site mentioned by the OP)

In its May issue, Consumer Reports dives into the topic of motorcycle reliability, and confirms what many of us already knew: bikes from BMW and Harley-Davidson were reported to be less reliable than those from the Japanese OEMs.Interestingly enough however, BMW and Harley-Davidson owners were also far more likely to make a repeat-purchase with their chosen brand than were owners of Japanese motorcycles, sans those of Hondas, which scored just slightly lower than BMW and Harley-Davidson on customer retention.....

 

[Fred W]

It means that people are far more concerned with appearances and fitting with a particular image than with the performance and reliability of the product they are actually buying. This isn't news, and it certainly doesn't only apply to motorcyclists.

And, what... Suzuki doesn't sell enough bikes to be rated? They sell as many bikes as Yamaha and more than Honda or Kawasaki. Reference

Then they report that 1 in 10 Yamaha motorcycles experience a major problem?

Huh? What exactly is a "major" problem? I think 1 in 10 is pretty high. More like 1 in 100 have a "major" problem.

 

[Top_Speed1]

I personally drive what I like best, no image factor with me. Hence why my JetBlack Caddy CTS-V is in storage and I'm driving my Chevy Volt back and forth to work.

You like what you like, some will wear "Air Jordan's" b/c of the image, some may just like the look and feel too?

 

[Geezer]

This is funny. If you read that article TopSpeed linked and then the comments below it, it sounds just like any other discussion about which bike is best. Everyone seems to love the one they have and few want to believe that some other one is better.

 

[Fred W]

Human nature I guess.

We all want to believe that we are intelligent and informed (even if we aren't) and only make the best possible choices. When someone else points out a possible flaw in our logic (like the bike that we chose is less reliable) of course we have to defend our choice.

The funnier part is that the stats in that "study" were so seriously flawed (under-sampled) that no reasonable accurate conclusions could possibly be made from them. So the CR writers just used them to support whatever it was they wanted to say to begin with.

The real situation, in my estimation, is that any brand of modern motorcycle is highly reliable on the whole (even with CR's "major" failure stats to the contrary). The fact that one may be X times more (or less) reliable is not really important when taken in perspective. So it is no big wonder that this contrived reliability study doesn't correlate with owner loyalty statistics. Reliability just isn't a major X variable to that Y.

 

[08FJR4ME]

It means that people are far more concerned with appearances and fitting with a particular image than with the performance and reliability of the product they are actually buying. This isn't news, and it certainly doesn't only apply to motorcyclists.
And, what... Suzuki doesn't sell enough bikes to be rated? They sell as many bikes as Yamaha and more than Honda or Kawasaki. Reference

Then they report that 1 in 10 Yamaha motorcycles experience a major problem?

Huh? What exactly is a "major" problem? I think 1 in 10 is pretty high. More like 1 in 100 have a "major" problem.

Need I remind us all,

Melting ignition switches

Spiders

 

[Redfish Hunter]

It has been my experience with the Consumer Reports surveys that comparing two different brands is often an apples to oranges comparison. For example:

My wife had a Pontiac Grand Prix GT. It had rattling noises from day one. The finish quickly wore off the radio buttons. It burned oil between changes from the day it left the lot brand new. The AC had trouble keeping up in the middle of our Southern Summers. It had numerous little issues that we lived with and if we had been surveyed we would have had wonderful things to say about it. We loved it and thought it was a great car.

We traded the Pontiac in on a BMW 328i. If ANYTHING!!! goes wrong with the BMW I am furious. The smallest detail out of place or not working exactly right infuriates me. Just the other day we had to bring it in for warranty work because of a "Service Soon" message. The Bavarian POS actually had an alarm point set incorrectly in the computer. It alarmed because the rear brake pad thickness was down to 8mm. The actual alarm point for rear brake pad thickness is supposed to be 6mm. I was so mad... I told my wife we were never buying another BMW, not EVER.

Why? Is it because of the difference in price? Or am I just becoming too much of a sissy now that I am a BMW owner? What I do know is that owners of different brands have different levels of expectations. The very few issues we have had with the little BMW have been with technology our Pontiac did not even have.

Oh, and Mrs. Redfish waited until later that night to explain to me that HER next car would in fact be another BMW. And, given her powers of persuasion, I said "Yes ma'am".

 

[FJRay]

Smart man Mr. Redfish. At least you got the last word and persuaded.

 

[NormKern]

My Harley and BMW friends all seem to have non-objective reasons for their preference. It might be fitting into a group, it might be light weight for the type of bike, etc. In any case, they will step right up and buy another one no matter what thr reliability problems.

One of my BMW friends says he will not keep a BMW past the warranty period because they have so many problems, but he loves the bike.

Another possible factor in the survey is that the higher the price you pay, the more reliability you feel entitled to. Therefore you complain about every little thing that goes wrong.

Think that sounds like a paradox? Me too, but brand loyalty is a strange thing...

 

[Allen_C]

Agree w Jap bike reliability, but it's funny that the HD's & BMW's have a way better repeat buyer percentage. hmmm?
Here's the Consumer Reports story as in AsphaltandRubber (vs. the Fools site mentioned by the OP)

Please delete the racist term in your post. Once done, I will delete this as well to eliminate any reference.

 

[Dutch]

If it was about what toaster to buy - I might consult Consumer Reports.

 

[Fontanaman]

This year CR did not point out BMW owners when asked if they would buy again were rated more likely than Harley riders to buy the same bike again, despite the lowest rating. Go figure. One would have figured Harley rider were more fanatical but it ain't so.

I know two guys with 2013 BMW 1200RT boxers. 2013 was the last year for the oil/air cooled boxer before BMW updated the 1200RT engine to the oil/air/water cooled engine. Both guys said they bought the 2013 to get tried and tested technology.

Oh really?

That two guys said he same thing just slays me. Will final drive failures never cease? And all for the love a a few pounds of weight due of an axle and double sided swing arm.

Both bikes burn oil and this is normal they say - last time I checked it was 2014 not 1954. Both bikes suffer from the lack of a smooth shifting transmission offered in the water cooled engine. The new engine shifts smoothly thanks to the new wet clutch that is found in most modern motorcycles. The old clutch was a dry unit with a big flywheel so the mass and inertia impacted smooth shifting.

The logic and loyalty of BMW owners is without equal and defies logic. (sorry beemerdons) And yes if money was no object I would own a BMW but alas I am a working stiff and a cheap bastard too.

We who own bikes base on reliability rather than badge should be proud. Yeah I spent a more than a few bucks farkling my FJR but now I got a reliable mile munching monster of a machine.

 

[Top_Speed1]

Agree w Jap bike reliability, but it's funny that the HD's & BMW's have a way better repeat buyer percentage. hmmm?
Here's the Consumer Reports story as in AsphaltandRubber (vs. the Fools site mentioned by the OP)

Please delete the racist term in your post. Once done, I will delete this as well to eliminate any reference.

Are you kidding?

It's in about every bike publication known to man (well except the girlie ones maybe). It's the first 3 letters in their Country name!. Next you will be telling us not to use the word Canuck (or pronunciations associated with).

Newb's.... ugh!

 

[beemerdons]

Agree w Jap bike reliability, but it's funny that the HD's & BMW's have a way better repeat buyer percentage. hmmm?

Here's the Consumer Reports story as in AsphaltandRubber (vs. the Fools site mentioned by the OP)

Please delete the racist term in your post. Once done, I will delete this as well to eliminate any reference.

Are you kidding?

It's in about every bike publication known to man (well except the girlie ones maybe). It's the first 3 letters in their Country name!. Next you will be telling us not to use the work Canuck (or pronunciations associated with).

Newb's.... ugh!

+1, Gunny; Papa Chuy Viejo will stop using Canuck, Frostbacks, Bogstompers, Hosers, Back Bacon Munchers, Take Off Artists, Beauty Beasts, Hosettes, Canuckistanis, Nord du Ligne Weirdos, Poutine Gobblers, Los Canadienses mas Malo and TimBits Raiders when they pry my cold dead hands from the keyboard, like Eskimos Inuits with 100 words for snow: I've 100 words for Canadians, eh!

 

[Top_Speed1]

Don, you forgot about us BMW Propeller Heads!

Glad to be an Amerk and have the freedom of speech

 

[lnewlf]

Ummm-I think the term is Inuit...

Now my panties are in a knot !

OOOps, wuz that sexizt...

never mind, don't get me started, this could go sideways fast...

 

[SouthernCruizer]

Agree w Jap bike reliability, but it's funny that the HD's & BMW's have a way better repeat buyer percentage. hmmm?
Here's the Consumer Reports story as in AsphaltandRubber (vs. the Fools site mentioned by the OP)

Please delete the racist term in your post. Once done, I will delete this as well to eliminate any reference.

lighten up, Francis.

 

[beemerdons]

Ummm-I think the term is Inuit...
Now my panties are in a knot !

OOOps, wuz that sexizt...

never mind, don't get me started, this could go sideways fast...

Many thanks lnewlf, I went back and corrected that! I don't want our odot kicking my Irish ass, or biting my nut sacks either! jes' sayin' and nuff said! Ray: