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What brands do YOU trust?

D

DIY

New member
Joined
Jul 26, 2007
Location
Sacramento
Moto(s)
Tuono, ST1100, 400 Bandit (still broken)
On another thread there was another member who was explaining how his last Ducati broke his heart. It reminded me of a time I was talking with Helmut from Helimot. I was explaining that I had good mechanical luck with all of my Japanese motorcycles except for the Suzuki. My one and only, and no doubt last, Suzuki was so plagued with demons that 4 different, working, talented, smart, professional mechanics and a mechanical engineer could not get the bike to run right. Helmut, on the other hand, has had nothing but love and praise for the Suzuki brand. His Suzukis were stone reliable... Awkward, but interesting. I don't know if this will give us any real data but which motorcycle brands have been reliable and not reliable for you? For me:

Reliable-Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Aprilia. I do throw more, and pricier, parts at the Aprilia than anything Japanese. And I did have to go through the process of removing the known gremlins of the Aprilias as well.

Not reliable- Suzuki.
 
My current Ducati is the most reliable bike I've ever owned.
 
I haven't had enough experience with any brand yet to know what's unreliable. My F4i didn't give me any problems in the 7 months/15k I had it for, though, and my FJ hasn't given me any problems in the 4 months/7k miles I've had it for, so so far I'd say I trust Honda and Yamaha.

From some of the horror stories though I wouldn't trust a Ducati or MV Agusta.
 
Cookie Monster said:
I haven't had enough experience with any brand yet to know what's unreliable. My F4i didn't give me any problems in the 7 months/15k I had it for, though, and my FJ hasn't given me any problems in the 4 months/7k miles I've had it for, so so far I'd say I trust Honda and Yamaha.

From some of the horror stories though I wouldn't trust a Ducati or MV Agusta.
Click to expand...

But my Duc went 5 1/2 years of my abuse, nearly trouble free, the sprag clutch for the starter went away (it never failed to start, just started cranking slower). I had heard all the horror stories, don't buy one, yadayadayada. I rode mine nearly every day, and kept it longer than any other bike I have owned (about 43 of them).

My point is, you can't always go by what some people say. When I questioned some of the people recommending that I not buy a Ducati , most had never owned one, and were spreading seond and third hand rumors. Not direct experience.

I've had good luck with nearly everything. Even an old Bultaco (1976 360 Astro).
 
I've owned 4 KTMs - 08 super duke, 12 350 exc, 13 690 enduro, 15 1190 adv R, and each have been completely reliable and dependable. The few issues I've had were handled easily by the dealer (Moore & Sons is awesome), but overall the bikes have performed up to their reputation. Others' MMV however - there's a lot of KTM horror stories on every moto forum. I've been very blessed to have great performing motos from them.
Full disclosure - the superduke was sold at 6k miles, the 690 enduro was sold at 1700mi, the 350 and 1190 are still going strong.

BMW said:
My current Ducati is the most reliable bike I've ever owned.
Click to expand...

My multistrada has been pretty dependable - it got me across the country and back - but it hasn't been without issues. Luckily, the dealer network is fantastic and has handled all the issues with no fuss and to my complete satisfaction. AMS Ducati dallas did a TSB fix on my bike when I stopped in for a tire change during my x-country trip, and replaced my left fork, all under warranty, same day. Great dealership. Motor Cafe in Sunnyvale has gone above and beyond troubleshooting DES errors and other TSB fixes all under warranty, even though I didn't buy from them. Only service shop I have had a not-great experience with has been Marin Speed Shop, but I've heard great things from other folks about them, maybe I just had a bad one-off.
 
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Suzuki, Yamaha, and Honda. Had an old Husky 490 I couldn't kill despite doing eberything wrong. The model and motor matters a lot.
 
I've only had Suzukis and Yamahas...both have been great but, for me, I have to give the slight edge to Suzuki.
 
Most of us don't put on enough miles to know what we're talking about. My only road trip breakdowns have been on Hondas. My Harleys have been trouble free for a combined 50,000+ miles.
I've also owned or been around Suzukis, Yamahas that have been trouble free, albeit with not really very many miles.

Most problems I perceive on the Harley forums are from people who do their own maintenance. These guys are good at changing oil, etc. but not so much at doing the required inspections, tightening spokes, and paying real attention to the fairly long list of seemingly innocuous maintenance items.

Maintenance and inspections count, so I really turn a blind eye to anecdotal evidence.
 
Let's see...

My Hondas have always been perfectly reliable. Not a single problem ever.
The Suzuki is lesser build quality, but still great.
Ducati is pretty bad. It has spent 10% of its life in the shop for oil leaks, electrical issues, etc.
BMW is also not that great, but not the worst.

Japbike is really the way to go.
 
Of the 29+ or so bikes I've owned, 10 have been Hondas and they've been the most reliable by far. Last place from my anecdotal opinion is my Ducati and Buell, even though both were fun as hell.

In order:
Honda
Kawasaki
KTM
BMW
Yamaha
 
Yamaha is #1 in build quality IMO

Honda is maybe #2, but they use cheaper fit & finish IMHO.

Kawasaki has improved significantly from 10-15 yrs ago. I might actually rank them up with Honda.

Never owned BMW or Triumph, but I have owned Aprilia and Ducati, and I'd give a thumbs down to them. They have great paint and design-work, but their reliability is spotty, especially with anything hydraulic or electronic.
 
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1. Where's the poll m8?

2.

03 Honda RC51 went 50K without issue (I'd buy another if they weren't boooooooring...present company excluded)
96 Ducati Monster went 80K but needed a new sprag gear and CDI (I'd buy another 2V in a heart beat)
06 Ducati Multistrada went 80K but had engine and fuel tank issues (Wont' buy another)
11 BMW R1200GS... I'm at 96K and it's still running well. No issues.

3. YMMV
 
Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Honda all 100% reliable.
DUcati, BMW will never ever buy either brand again.
BMW was the worst, what a rip off for maintenance.

DUC was poorly engineered and not easy to get parts.
RC
 
Out of my seven bikes, I have had in the following order:

Suzuki S40
Kawasaki Vulcan
Suzuki Vstrom 650
BMW F8ST (TPMS sensor)
Yamaha FJR
Triumph Tiger 800
Honda VFR (stator and R/r issues)

I would take my BMW and Honda over any other I have had so far because of the pure joy and comfortably they gave and do give me, even if they are the only two that have given me issues.
 
If it's made in Europe, I don't want it, unless it's German dark chocolate. :p
 
I've owned all four Japanese brands plus Ducati and KTM. The only brand I ever had problems with was Kawasaki. I'm guessing that they've improved a bit since the early 70's when I owned the three of them that I couldn't really trust. :p
 
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