03-12-2018, 08:28 PM
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 . . .
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 . . .