Motorcycle reliability by brand

[Rogerborg]

Place your bets, roll up, rolllll aaaaahp, place your bets.

Percentage which have experienced a failure by 4 years old:

https://i.imgur.com/XbfHVIC.png

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2015/04/who-makes-the-most-reliable-motorcycle/index.htm

I assume Victory owners misinterpreted it as "Failures by 4 rides".

My Nazi Tractor turns 4 this week. <ominous music>

No, wait, it's made it to 5 without a fault! Winrar!
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Vracktal]

I'd be interested to know what they define as a failure, but I can't be bothered to subscribe and read the full report.
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2007 BMW R1200R: On road
2009 BMW G650X Challenge: On road
1975 Norton Commando 850: Off road, awaiting recommissioning

[arry]

12300 bikes. Huge sample.

Still, no KTM on there so must be hugely reliable!

[DrSnoosnoo]

Come on 'Borg. What's a failure? We need definitions!
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I'm Sam; Northern, Ginger, Lover
Did have: '95 ZZR600 '83 CG125 '97 ZZR1100 '15 Hypermotard 821 SP Do Have: '10 ZX10R

[Rogerborg]

u​r mum is a failure.

And ima failure, since I didn't notice that this is from 2015. Thanks, VisorDown, now we both look like chumps.

It's a cromulent question, since your abject failure could be my characteristic trait. Also, years doesn't equal miles and "we adjusted for mileage driven over a 12-month period" has an ominous ring of film flam to it. 4 years of Victory at the local biker cafe is not the same as Triumphing at the daily commute.

Anyway, the Tractor just passed its year 5 MOT today with no advisories again and no problems so far, so it's all complete lies.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[stevo as b4]

This report is of very little value or influence when it comes to bike buyers, brands, image and satisfaction.

As the report said there is little correlation between supposed reliability and owner satisfaction, and bike buyers don't when your say over 125cc look for practicality or best value. People choose bikes based on:

1, because they like what they like, albeit a brand or type of bike and are often very specific about what they want and out of say 4equivalent bikes, only one might be something they'd even consider.

2, because they want the latest or mostest best bike in its class with the best performance and spec and electronics over all its rivals.

Say in the 1000cc superbike world for example this changes every couple of years. Also with nakeds. Say the KTM 1290 is this year's best super bonkers naked, next year it could be a Kawasaki Z1000 or something else.

The survey needs to improve by only considering new bikes, to keep variables controlled, and needs a far bigger sample size too. Lastly an American only survey is not particularly useful as they like alot of shit bikes or have vastly different tastes and riding environments than European buyers do.

[Rogerborg]

I agree that most buyers are going to ignore it and hope for the best. BMW just go from strength to strength despite a raft of recalls and a laundry list of both admitted and denied faults.

Despite carefully choosing a bike that isn't replete with known issues and personally having been lucky so far, if I ever manage to flog meiner Motorrad, I'll be turning Japanese. I really think so.

It's not an ideal survey, but do we have anything better to go on?
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[ScaredyCat]

Suzukis don't fail they just vanish in a puff of rust cloud.
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Honda CBF125 ➝ NC700X
Honda CBF125 ↳ Speed Triple

[Polarbear]

'What is a failure' is what matters here.

My Trophy had a tyre pressure sensor fail after 9 months. Triumph replaced it under warranty. I don't really regard that as a failure but if it is as far as the survey goes that's Triumph fucked as they had a lot of failures early on. It didn't matter for riding as it made no difference except for a warning light.

Stevo is exactly right. Very very few people buy bikes with their heads, they are toys. I would guess that even if you are a commuter, unless you are buying a 125 for fuel consumption you look for a bike you can enjoy as well as commute or have a second bike.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[M.C]

Had to Google what Star motorcycles was... I feel dirty now

[Robby]

I had a bit of a look through it and couldn't see what counted as a failure, but I did find two important bits of information.
1. It's an American survey.
2. It includes accessories failing.

So the Japanese brands do very well - but it won't include many 125s, because they aren't popular in the USA. With accessories being counted, it means your big touring BMW or Harley has a lot more things to go wrong than an R6. I assume the factory fitted GPS failing carries the same weighting as the engine throwing a rod.

[Andy_Pagin]

So should a leather bar-end tassel on your Harley lose a strip then that would count as a failure?
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They're coming to take me away, ho-ho, hee-hee, ha-haaa, hey-hey,
the men in white coats are coming to take me away.
Yamaha Vity -> YBR125 -> FZS600 Fazer -> FZ1-S Fazer

[chris-red]

I bought my Speed Four at 6 months old.

In the first 4 years it had one 'failure' it was the front brake switch which they replaced without question one day. Would seem unfair to count it as a failure.
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Well, you know what they say. If you want to save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
Skudd:- Perhaps she just thinks you are a window licker and is being nice just in case she becomes another Jill Dando.
WANTED:- Fujinon (Fuji) M42 (Screw on) lenses, let me know if you have anything.

[stevo as b4]

I agree tbh, I mean no proper scale manufacturer makes all the bits themselves. If the bike has say a motad exhaust or Brembo calipers or a tsubaki chain, if the baffle falls out after a year or the caliper cracks, your chain snaps etc is any of this Honda or Yamaha's fault etc?

Consumables like chains, brake friction surfaces and filters, plugs maybe even fork seals should be excluded from counting as a failure. You can argue the case for other things though. Say if your Denso rectifier fails after two years that might be a failure? As the part will probably have a design life like most mechanical and electronic components.

[Rogerborg]

[WD Forte]

No Hondasaki Yamasuki or Yiying Tommys in that list I see
Buy Chinee! plenty cheapness!
You like lots!
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bikers smell of wee

[Rogerborg]

Perhaps they only counted bikes that survived 4 years? </original quip>
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[andys675]

my street triple has failed twice

first time the battery died, the garage openly admitted they didn't have the time to condition the battery properly on the pdi, and it was 16 months old

fitted another battery, which I then leant to someone after 13 months and they gave me a new battery to replace it, a "landport" not impressed and in a hurry I didn't prep it and it died 7 months later, good news the supplier replaced it and gave me another yuasa
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Some people feel the rain, others just get wet.

[Mawsley]

Report produced by subscription site where headline details are released to the online media and the rest is only (maybe) available after payment?

I call utter bullshit.

[M.C]

Royal Enfield has some interesting claims in this area:

https://i37.servimg.com/u/f37/15/13/82/47/re10.jpg

[talkToTheHat]

Are suzuki doing well here because they are short on dealer/factory fit toys/accessories and have done very little to update the range?
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Bandit. does. everything.

[Polarbear]

[notabikeranym...]

Huehueheu Yamaha is the best :-----)

[Rogerborg]

[talkToTheHat]

Keep on iterating the design until you get it right? 1st generation might have been powerful but after n iterations you can have less power in the name of it not breaking. Is the engine in the MKII bandit that different to the early 90s GSX-600, other than the older engine has black paint and makes a mighty 86bhp?
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Bandit. does. everything.