Motorcycle brand loyalty....why?

[rsrider]

To limit your options to one brand is rediculous. You've got a whole lifetime and you're going to ride the same machine over and over. WOW, what fun. I've never owned the same brand motorcycle one right after another, and I doubt if I ever will. From Yamaha to Harley to Suzuki to Triumph and maybe next will be a Moto Guzzi if I can swing the money. And that's just in the last 10 years. When I was a kid, MC's were so damn cheap you could crash the hell out of them throw them away and get a new one for under $500 anytime you wanted. Bultaco, Husqvarna, BSA, Norton, all the jap stuff, Triumphs, Hodaka. They all died glourious deaths at my hands. I've also killed many a mini bike and gocart.

I realize that MC's are expensive. More's the reason to go from one brand to the other as you're not going to be able to afford that many MC's in your lifetime (unless you're making serious bank) so you might as well try out as many as you can. Brand loyalty is for suckers who place their faith in advertisement agencies. HA! Ride what makes your heart go pitter patter.

 

[Dragon]

I liked my Gixxer6 so much- I bought the company I mean a Gix1k- I'm impressed by the engineering-

I would have bought a Honda (excellent machine) but the freakin' Honda Engineers forgot about seat comfort... (was that a seat?)

Being a member of team dark side- we have this old saying "Friend's don't let friends ride Yammies!" Damian and Brad

----- I think what it really comes down to is
#1: each company plays leap frog technology on one another--- it's just up to you to take that gamble of : buy this years super-dooper model thats not proven vs. one that has had the bugs worked out...
#2 once again- it comes down to the driver and not the bike....
---------


RIP Johnny Cash

 

[opd]

one more thing: bikes are so customizable in terms of... most of the bike, that outside of the engine+transmission unit, you can switch out a whole lot of parts. have a gix but think the r1's headlights are sexier? been done.
have an sv650 but like the... r1's (?) front end... been done.
katana plastics on a... honda hawk?
F4i brakes on an old yamaha? friend picked up a bike w/ that setup couple weeks ago.

heavily modded can mean much on a bike

 

[Liquid-R1]

Actually, K-money, I think your case is kinda like going through relationships with women where you were the one who always ended the relationship. Then, all of a sudden, a girl breaks up with you. You end up finding later in life that you never manage to forget this woman.

Maybe that's why you're still hung up on Yamahas.

Thanks for the analysis Dr. Aris...

 

[RS250 Chester]

I like all bikes, but I tend to go against the grain. I don't like having the same bike as everyone else. In my lifetime, I've owned a BMW, Honda, Kawasaki, Cagiva, Suzuki, Aprilia, Vespa and Lambretta.

One thing I did notice though, as I got older, wiser and had some money in my pocket...my tastes in bikes got more pricey and exotic.

 

[MackeyStingray]

i don't care about brand, just something to compensate for my no talent ass.

 

[RZ350]

When we were kids, my brothers and I had a little Yamaha Mini-Enduro in Competition Yellow that we rode in the dirt field at the end of our street. We also lived about three blocks from a Yamaha dealership and would hang out there looking at posters of King Kenny and lusting after all the bikes lined up outside. There will always be a very warm spot in my heart for any Competition Yellow Yamaha 2-stroke. It just reminds me of easier times.

 

[Corb]

If I like the bike , I couldn't care less what brand it is or where it was made.

 

[EastBayDave]

I like all bikes, but I tend to go against the grain. I don't like having the same bike as everyone else. In my lifetime, I've owned a BMW, Honda, Kawasaki, Cagiva, Suzuki, Aprilia, Vespa and Lambretta.
One thing I did notice though, as I got older, wiser and had some money in my pocket...my tastes in bikes got more pricey and exotic.

Like Chester I like all bikes; but pretty much die-hard KAW fan due to my "non-conformity" attitude. I've owned YAM's & SUZ's too; & HON were my first rides back in the 60's (friends mini-bikes/Trail HON's), but since my 72' H1B 500 triple I've pretty much stuck to KAW.

My main reasoning is simply the KAW Service Manuals historically have been better quality. More pics, more "how-to" diagrams, nicer quality paper, etc. My YAM & SUZ manuals back in the 70's were anemic by comparison.

There's nothing worse than having an engine apart & not being able to find a key bit of info when putting it back together (talking personal experience here.) On the other hand, replacing crank seals, rings, pistons on the triple was expedited by the great KAW Service Manual- a practice held over to this day w/Kawie.

I recently did some work on a friends VFR, & I notice the HON manuals are much better now than they were 20 years ago, so copying KAW must be the best form of flattery eh'? Plus I like rooting for the underdog & the non-conformist thing, so it's pretty much Team Green for me.

 

[JeffKoch]

I suppose it's the "devil you know" for me with Ducs - I'm familiar with just about every part on a 916-line bike, I know what can go wrong and what to check, I know how to set it up reasonably well, etc., plus I have boxes of spare parts. But as soon as I sell my BMW (great deal, check here), I plan to buy a Kaw 636 for track days and maybe 750 production racing next year. I'm sure it'll have it's own special quirks that I'll have to learn.

 

[Trident]

I like all bikes, but I tend to go against the grain.

There ya go! If you'd prefer not to ride a Japanese bike (like me) and you'd rather take a bus than ride a Harley, your options are pretty limited. Used to be that pretty much left you with Ducati & BMW, although now there are other good options, like Aprilia. Tried Ducatis but at 6'5" with a 36" inseam, that just was NOT happenin'. So I rode BMWs, as much by process of elimination as anything else. When the Triumphs came out, they fit all my criteria (plus, I always root for the underdog) so I bought one. I've now done over 50K miles on 3 different Triumphs and, while I would LOVE to have a Mille R, a KTM Duke or maybe even the new Yamaha FJR1300, I am, for better or worse, a "Triumph Guy", even referred to as such by friends. In future bike purchases, I will check the Triumphs first and if they don't have something that fits my needs, then I'll look at other brands. Oh, and my family heritage is British, British and more British so in a way, I feel like I'm helping the home team!

 

[RS250 Chester]

Anything on 2 wheels is good.....I have fun on bicycles, cruisers, sportbikes, touring, and scooters......I have tons of fun on my brother-in-laws suped-up go-ped

It's all about 2-wheel fun.