02-19-2014, 03:55 AM
It's been queried a few times around these parts as to why any manufacturer would build quality into a motorcycle, seeing as how most owners (me included) never keep them beyond 50,000 miles.
The answer to that is quite simple. The used bike market. Any marque whose bikes fall apart or become unreliable at 50K miles is going to suffer a bad reputation for reliability and durability.
The used bike market is very strong, and in fact, used bike sales have been stronger in recent years ("it's the economy, stoopid" is the usual reason) than have new bike sales.
This thread got me thinking about it:
http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=2132
7 grand for the same bike most of us paid over 10 grand for? That is not stoopid. There are a lot of sharp operators who profit from folks like me and Ferret, who off nearly new bikes in perfect condition (yes, I have done this quite a few times).
The answer to that is quite simple. The used bike market. Any marque whose bikes fall apart or become unreliable at 50K miles is going to suffer a bad reputation for reliability and durability.
The used bike market is very strong, and in fact, used bike sales have been stronger in recent years ("it's the economy, stoopid" is the usual reason) than have new bike sales.
This thread got me thinking about it:
http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=2132
7 grand for the same bike most of us paid over 10 grand for? That is not stoopid. There are a lot of sharp operators who profit from folks like me and Ferret, who off nearly new bikes in perfect condition (yes, I have done this quite a few times).