Reliability

[SportsterDoc]

Interesting to see who is at the bottom

Who Makes the Most Reliable Motorcycle? - Consumer Reports

BTW, highest issue was electrical

 

[use2b_imp]

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

 

[Houtman_imp]

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

 

[use2b_imp]

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.

 

[F800GT_imp]

Interesting to see who is at the bottom

Who Makes the Most Reliable Motorcycle? - Consumer Reports

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.

 

[SportsterDoc]

Interesting to see who is at the bottom

Who Makes the Most Reliable Motorcycle? - Consumer Reports

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??

 

[cookiemech]

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 . . .

 

[the Ferret]

Interesting to see who is at the bottom

Who Makes the Most Reliable Motorcycle? - Consumer Reports

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.

 

[redbirds_imp]

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.

 

[CA200_imp]

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.

 

[F800GT_imp]

I know that BMW motorcycles are far from being bullet-proof. They have good year bad year, good model bad model. The first years of the K1200S were not great from what I heard from owners.

I wonder whether Consumer Reports study took into account the annual mileage that respective owners ride.

Many Harley riders I know have barely have 12,000+ miles on the odo for 13+ years of ownership of the bikes. So less than 1000 miles per year. Another one I know bought a 11 year-old Fat Boy with less than 500 miles on the odo.

I don't know the mileage that most Japanese motorcycles riders do annually, so I can't tell. If I base on Japanese bikes riders who are my friends, then they ride less than 7,000 miles per year. Among them, those with sport bikes ride much less than that, 5000 miles per year at best.

However, I observe that BMW riders tend to use their bikes much more than the average riders. I ride about 22,000-24,000 miles per year, splitted between my BMW F800GT and my CB1100. And my mileage is nothing compared to the mileage that other BMW riders do.

So my point is, if the bike is less used, it will sure have less problems.

I would like to read a study where bikes are used in the same conditions, same mileage per year, then we will have a better idea.

 

[LongRanger_imp]

I'm on my 9th? 10th? BMW and have had zero issues with mine, but I keep them maintained. Actually, the same goes for every other bike I've owned. That said, there are a few I wouldn't want to own again.

 

[Desert viper_imp]

I'm on my 9th? 10th? BMW and have had zero issues with mine, but I keep them maintained. Actually, the same goes for every other bike I've owned. That said, there are a few I wouldn't want to own again.

Well I’m on my first, a 2016 R1200R....I love this bike! But I also can’t imagine not owning my 2014 Deluxe or my 2006 Ducati S2R1000 Monster.....the only bike I regret selling, my 1979 CBX...

 

[LongRanger_imp]

Viper, our stables are similar - R1200LC, DLX, '06 Monster. My M620 is one of the bikes on my list that I'd pass on buying again.

 

[alprider]

the letters from h-o-n-d-a word means in german (as joke)

arrived today without significant defects

H eute
O hne
N ennenswerte
D efekte
A ngekommen

 

[the Ferret]

I know that BMW motorcycles are far from being bullet-proof. They have good year bad year, good model bad model. The first years of the K1200S were not great from what I heard from owners.

I wonder whether Consumer Reports study took into account the annual mileage that respective owners ride.

Many Harley riders I know have barely have 12,000+ miles on the odo for 13+ years of ownership of the bikes. So less than 1000 miles per year. Another one I know bought a 11 year-old Fat Boy with less than 500 miles on the odo.

I don't know the mileage that most Japanese motorcycles riders do annually, so I can't tell. If I base on Japanese bikes riders who are my friends, then they ride less than 7,000 miles per year. Among them, those with sport bikes ride much less than that, 5000 miles per year at best.

However, I observe that BMW riders tend to use their bikes much more than the average riders. I ride about 22,000-24,000 miles per year, splitted between my BMW F800GT and my CB1100. And my mileage is nothing compared to the mileage that other BMW riders do.

So my point is, if the bike is less used, it will sure have less problems.

I would like to read a study where bikes are used in the same conditions, same mileage per year, then we will have a better idea.

I've heard this argument before and truth is no matter the brand there are some guys who ride a lot and some guys who ride very little. I've seen Harley's with big miles and Beemer's with virtually no miles. When I was considering a BMW R1200R it was no problem finding low mileage 2010-2014 garage queens, under 10,000 miles fully decked out. Same goes for Honda CB 1100's. Seen them advertised here with less than 1,000 miles. Seen pics of CB 1100 odometers with 60,000 miles. Same model, same year. I think the average mileage for motorcyclists in the U.S. is about 2,500 miles per year. Like you, my bikes are ridden. Both bikes are Japanese. My ST is approaching 107,000 miles and my CB just crested 37,000 miles. But not everyone has the time or particularly, the inclination, to ride as much as we do...and there are guys who ride a lot more than we do. My 25,000 miles a year usually finishes about 10th on the ST (Japanese bike) forum and the leader is usually around 50-60,000 miles a year. Right now I am sitting in 10th with 3300 miles while the leader is sitting at 8250 miles, and it's only mid March. Here's a screen shot from last years mileage tracker. I finished 8th with nearly 30K while the leader had nearly 63K.

(Click to enlarge and click on box in upper rh corner to make full size)

We often paint with a broad brush, but truth is when it comes to motorcyclists and motorcycle brands, and mileage, there is no one brush that covers us all. Regardless of brand, some guys are riders, some guys are just owners, and then there are guys that are in between those two groups.

 

[Flytech99_imp]

While I agree that certain "failures" and/or repairs do come with higher mileage and use, I believe some BMW models are also prone to issues because of their relatively high level of complexity.

My only personal experience with a BMW was a 2008 F800ST. When I bought it, it was 3 years old with only 300 miles. Within the first week of ownership, I had to replace the injectors due to damage from sitting with ethanol fuel. I'm not sure if this is indicative of a problem with BMW's design/tuning on that Rotax parallel-twin, a defective part or poor maintenance from the original owner.... It is; however, the only bike I've owned that had to have what I would consider a major repair at low mileage.

 

[alprider]

BMW

B-ring
M-e
W-orkshop




:hello:

 

[use2b_imp]

might be ancient history but with so many gearheads on this forum / and i might add very knowledgeable ones , the 1st year Goldwing [ 1975 ) did not have a grease fitting where the drive unit thingy attached to the shaft and i managed to strip that thing out racing it all the time. [ 1st year was fastest 1000 before the changes BTW ]
the coupling was cheap and i drilled / tapped and put in a grease fitting myself . probably not any help to this subject other than an old mans ramblings about the reliability of a true 100,000 + mile bike .....

 

[Desert viper_imp]

I'm on my 9th? 10th? BMW and have had zero issues with mine, but I keep them maintained. Actually, the same goes for every other bike I've owned. That said, there are a few I wouldn't want to own again.

Well I’m on my first, a 2016 R1200R....I love this bike! But I also can’t imagine not owning my 2014 Deluxe or my 2006 Ducati S2R1000 Monster.....the only bike I regret selling, my 1979 CBX...