Why build in Quality?

[calamarichris_imp]

So what's this thread about, is it about centre stands, oil, fat people, leather?, FAT BIKES, LEMONS,
or just a bad experience.

The genesis of this thread was in response to some discussion regarding the merits of using cast-iron cylinder inserts instead of nikasil plating, which then became a discussion about the overall quality of modern motorcycles.

And to be honest, it was a play on the theme of "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." For those who haven't read this book, it is, in brief, a philosophic discussion of the concept of quality.

It is also much more, or much less, depending on who's doing the reading.

With respect to what this or any thread is about, a cursory glance at this forum reveals that the vast preponderance of chatter has little or nothing to do with actually riding or working on motorcycles.

Funny you put it that way. Pirsig's book is IMO more a "vast preponderance of chatter" etc. than it is a philosophic discussion on the concept of quality. Sure, he mentions quality every now and then when his stream of consciousness happens to flow near it, but it's hardly a straight & focused stream.
I read it twice and decided it's more a scattered, Joycean meandering than a work of philosophy, being told through the narrative of a guy's mind wandering while he's on a motorcycle trip. And I was a little relieved when a Phil prof made a quick little derogatory jab at ZAMM in a lecture; relieved because I was afraid I was missing something.
That was probably my favorite aspect of it--the "helmet time"--you spend all day with only the sound of the wind and motor for company and sometimes neat things come out. Every now and then when on a trip, I like to try to retrace those connections:
I was thinking about X, because Y made me think of it, because Z reminded me of Y, and this whole thing started because the dead armadillo on the side of the road I saw 30 miles back made me think of Z...