The worst motorcycle money can buy

[XtreemLee]

More problems might be reported with them because people with Harleys seem to rack up more mileage than other bikes.

Its really not that far between the bowling alley and the titty bar ::014::

 

[Z750jay]

Yesterday I actually saw a HD being ridden in the rain.

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[FDhog]

Yesterday I actually saw a HD being ridden in the rain.

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I've ridden mine in the rain plenty of times. Takes lots of beer to clean it afterwards.
On the other hand after riding the S10 in the rain, I just park it and leave it.

 

[viewdvb]

Reliability seems, against all expectations, to have little effect on brand loyalty. Perhaps that's why some manufacturers never seem to improve. I am baffled by owners I meet when the conversations turn to their current bike. I met a 1200GS owner in my local tyre shop who told me he had owned two previous GS's which had both trashed their rear drives at around 50K and out of warranty but he bought a third!!!!! Ducatisti are no better. They will tell you all the things that are not right with their Ducati then move on to wax lyrical about the delights of Ducatis. The tales of woe from Harley owners are legendary but they remain firmly wedded to the brand. Brand loyalty is about marketing a dream and reality hardly matters. If there was a Nobel prize for marketing, Harley Davidson would win it every time. There has to be a human gene that blocks us learning from experience. Like the bartender I met in Texas. He only had half a face and one eye; the result of a 30mph crash. "Helmets? No man, they're way heavy. They'll break your neck" Either way, it was a shame he wasn't wearing one. He could have looked a lot prettier or, if he was right, he would have removed himself from the gene pool AND won a Darwin Award into the bargain.

 

[markjenn]

Reliability seems, against all expectations, to have little effect on brand loyalty. Perhaps that's why some manufacturers never seem to improve. I am baffled by owners I meet when the conversations turn to their current bike. I met a 1200GS owner in my local tyre shop who told me he had owned two previous GS's which had both trashed their rear drives at around 50K and out of warranty but he bought a third!!!!! Ducatisti are no better. They will tell you all the things that are not right with their Ducati then move on to wax lyrical about the delights of Ducatis. The tales of woe from Harley owners are legendary but they remain firmly wedded to the brand. Brand loyalty is about marketing a dream and reality hardly matters. If there was a Nobel prize for marketing, Harley Davidson would win it every time. There has to be a human gene that blocks us learning from experience.

There must also be a human gene that wants to label others with different priorities and who choose to drive/ride something different than us as stupid, daft, and brainwashed.

- Mark

 

[joneil]

As far as the BMW's go, I think they over engineer them. It must be a German thing. All the German cars are the same way. The CR report even stated, the bikes with all the tech stuff had lower ratings. I guess that's what pulled down the HD scores... Maybe.

I must say though, I'm sometimes disappointed in the attacks on the people who buy the BMW's and HD's. Don't like the bikes? What to talk about it? Fine. Don't like a particular person? What to talk about him/her? Fine. But I think we're better than over generalizing about groups of people because of the bike they own.

I love my Harley. I hope I can keep it forever. There are jerks on every brand of bike, but we all love to ride.


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[cb0802]

I have to doubt the validaty of any report that doesn't consider milage as a primary factor. I would think that it isn't coincidental that a bike ridden thousands of miles per year (touring) would have more mechanical issues than one ridden thousands of miles over a lifetime (cruiser/sports). Is it possible that BMWs and Harley's experience more issues because they are ridden more often, and further than other bikes?
I searched local Craigslist and pulled the first 5 bikes of each brand. The only ones I threw out were a 2 highly modified Harleys (one had a replaced the frame and the other was a "show bike"). I don't claim this to be a scientific study, but I didn't do anything but report the numbers I found.
Yamaha: 2004 VStar- 4,200 miles; 2009 R6- 1,668 miles; 2001 R1- 14,000 miles; 2005 VStar classic- 2,400 miles; 2009 VStar 950- 5,900 miles. Average Miles per year= 640
BMW: 2012 S1000- 4313 miles; 1999 1200LT- 90000 miles; 2005 k1200S- 18,977; 2009 K1300GT- 37,500; 2000 K1200LT- 47,000 miles. Average miles per year= 4225
Harley Cruisers: 2005 Springer ST: 9460 miles; 2010 Fat Boy- 4,700 miles; 2006 Sportster: 2,579; 2006 1200 Sportster : 12,000; 1998 Hugger: 3,065 miles. Average miles per year= 706
harley Touring: 2007 Road King: 4,500 miles; 2008 Road Glide- 65,288 miles; 2008 Road King Classic- 16,020; 2008 Road King- 17,100; 2007 Electra Glide- 41,000 miles. Average miles per year= 4,580

 

[Z750jay]

Did have a loooong good look at the new BNW Adventure but wifey prefered the S10 plus the S10 feels right. The BMW almost felt right but then I noticed it would not fit through the gate to my house.

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[Rainer]

The worst motorcycle is not to have any motorcycle. I would prefer a HD or a BMW than driving with a tin can on 4 wheels.

 

[BAILEY]

Re: Worst bikes...

Nothing wrong with an HD.
Just don't get one of the new liquid cooled models. Haven't worked the bugs out yet. 1st model year.
If you read every motorcycle forum, you'd never buy a bike.

That is so true!

 

[greg the pole]

Its really not that far between the bowling alley and the titty bar ::014::

::025:riceless

 

[snakebitten]

I don't see how any of those bikes could have a problem. They haven't been ridden! They're all still new.

Can you imagine shopping for used cars and they are several years old and still no miles? You'd be pinching yourself.

 

[Z750jay]

Worse bike for me, my 350 twin Jawa. The electrics just rotted away in 6 months but as I only paid £60 I could not complain!

 

[barkingllizard]

Re: Worst bikes...

thought this line was the most revealing:
and the best brand, Yamaha, is about six times more reliable than the worst, BMW.....

[even if its just going to the starbucks]

 

[whisperquiet]

Re: Worst bikes...

I was just sure.......SURE!!! I tell you (before I read the link) that it just had to be the black/flat black 2012-13 S10s. The blue or white S10s are the most reliable Yamahas........................... ;D

 

[GrahamD]

There must also be a human gene that wants to label others with different priorities and who choose to drive/ride something different than us as stupid, daft, and brainwashed.

- Mark

That's just a stupid statement Mark. You've obviously been brainwashed.. ::025::

 

[rem]

In case any of you boys are wondering, I merged this topic with "Worst Bikes ….". Seemed like pretty much the same stuff. Just sayin'. R ::001::

 

[snakebitten]

I never questioned you REM.
You are zenlike in your ways.

 

[rem]

I never questioned you REM.
You are zenlike in your ways.

Hmmmmm OK so I looked up "Zen-like" and found that it generally refers to a "contemplative state". Well, my wife says I've been in a constipated state for a very …… oh, sorry. My bad. No worries. Thanks. R Let's be careful out there. ::001::

 

[talonboy]

Suzuki and Triumph didn't make the survey because of insufficient data.

Many don't like CR, but I think they do a good job collecting and compiling reliability data and I welcome them to starting to collect this data on motorcycles so we can have some good/hard data to talk about for a change. I believe these results are probably a good representation of overall averages and mirror my own experience, at least with respect to Japanese brands and BMW.

What I don't care for is the sensationalist title of this article or the assumption it makes that the only thing that separates the best and worst is reliability. It's an important factor, but whether it is all-important is something for the individual to decide. If all that mattered is reliability, we'd all be driving Camrys and how much fun would that be?

- Mark

I agree. Good data to have, to make better judgements with our money. I have read the CR stuff about cars off/on over the years. Seems like pretty good data, from somewhat unbiased folks. My personal experiences have usually echoed what CR reported.