The CB1100 Community Forum

Interesting to see who is at the bottom

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news.../index.htm

BTW, highest issue was electrical

I knew the Japanese bikes would all be at the top.
have owned all these brands and not a single bad thing to say about them other than i would never ride a kawasaki triple 750 again , my what a scary beast

I had a purple 1975 H2 triple and did not like the surging when closing the throttle.

(03-12-2018, 10:46 AM)Houtman_imp Wrote: [ -> ]I had a purple 1975 H2 triple and did not like the surging when closing the throttle.

I did an unexpected sudden wheelie in a turn followed by a death wobble and demanded my CB750 back from a friend.
and people talk abut a gixxer 1000 being tweeky have never ridden one of these .
all this makes the CB1100's predictable flat power curve even more appealing but it can still put you down in sand or slippery corners with the instant torque and quick fuel injection.

(03-12-2018, 10:28 AM)SportsterDoc_imp Wrote: [ -> ]Interesting to see who is at the bottom

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news.../index.htm

BTW, highest issue was electrical

I don't know reliable the above report is. I have a BMW for my commute with over 30k miles on it in about 2.5 years. All maintenance done as recommended by the manufacturer. Not a single problem.

(03-12-2018, 01:35 PM)F800GT_imp Wrote: [ -> ]

(03-12-2018, 10:28 AM)SportsterDoc_imp Wrote: [ -> ]Interesting to see who is at the bottom

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news.../index.htm

BTW, highest issue was electrical

I don't know reliable the above report is. I have a BMW for my commute with over 30k miles on it in about 2.5 years. All maintenance done as recommended by the manufacturer. Not a single problem.

From page 2: 11,000 subscribers, 12,300 M/C, 3,000 repairs...by the 4th year of ownership:

"The remaining brands—Triumph, Ducati, BMW, and Can-Am—were among the more trouble-prone. In fact, BMW and Canada-based Can-Am are both estimated to have failure rates of around 40 percent by the fourth year of ownership."

Perhaps repair would be more appropriate than "failure"?

Also, maybe Consumer Reports subscribers (I am not one) are less likely to do their own repairs??

Doesn't surprise me a bit that the Japanese makes are at the top. I have both BMWs (and have since the mid-80s) and Harleys (only since 2007) and I have noted almost no issues with the H-Ds. The BMW K-bikes (I have early ones) are stone-axe reliable so long as the routine maintenance is done properly. Late airheads and oilheads, not so much. I've never owned or ridden hexheads or waterheads and have no interest in them, so can't say about their reliability.

A friend of mine who commutes 120 miles per day, year round (runs either a Ural hack or BMW with a sidecar in snow/ice) bought a Can-Am Spyder. That piece of junk went back to the dealer with severe issues (poor running, stalling) so many times I lost count. He got rid of it after concluding that it could never be fixed properly. And he's quite competent mechanically.

That's it for my anecdotal evidence . . .

(03-12-2018, 01:35 PM)F800GT_imp Wrote: [ -> ]

(03-12-2018, 10:28 AM)SportsterDoc_imp Wrote: [ -> ]Interesting to see who is at the bottom

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news.../index.htm

BTW, highest issue was electrical

I don't know reliable the above report is. I have a BMW for my commute with over 30k miles on it in about 2.5 years. All maintenance done as recommended by the manufacturer. Not a single problem.

I don't know reliable the above report is. I have a BMW for my commute with over 30k miles on it in about 2.5 years. All maintenance done as recommended by the manufacturer. Not a single problem.

Then you would be in the 60% group of BMW owners that didn't experience a failure.

When BMW was having their dreaded final drive failures it was estimated that 5% of the units failed. That still left 95% of them that had no such issues.

Same goes with Honda.. If 11 % report an issue, 89% report no issues.

Matter of fate depends upon which group you end up in with any motorcycle.

Very predictable results I think.

My air head BMW ('73 R/75) was the most reliable machine of any type I ever owned. As my basic transportation for over 5 years, it never broke down once. I did have a cracked brake light switch that was replaced under warranty but no other problems. Was also the easiest bike to do maintenance on ever.

All my Japanese bikes have been acceptably reliable as have two Triumphs, a Tiger 1050 and a Bonneville.

I had a first year BMW K100 naked. It broke every 1000 miles. The instruments
would stop working all the time, the throttle would stick and it went through
3 sets of fork seals in a month. One day it just stopped running as I left home.
It went on and on. They did cover it all though.