Reliability and owner satisfaction
- Thread starter Mik
- Start date
- Status
I had always heard very good reliability from owners of BMW so that part does surprise me. My Kawasaki has been pretty good other than tires
Originally Posted By: spk2000
I had always heard very good reliability from owners of BMW so that part does surprise me.
Mine needed a new tank and a new water pump during the first year of ownership.
I had always heard very good reliability from owners of BMW so that part does surprise me.
Mine needed a new tank and a new water pump during the first year of ownership.
My Ninja ZX9R is 1997, and trouble free for 45k miles, beside tires, as said. I'm pretty much content with it.
BMW's are a lottery - get a good one, it'll go to the moon and back 10 times, get a bad one and you'll want to set fire to it. Me, I'll stick with the Japanese bikes.
Last edited:
Seems like the Germans have fallen off pace across the board for quite some time. I wonder what changed.
Originally Posted By: Yagenta13
Seems like the Germans have fallen off pace across the board for quite some time. I wonder what changed.
Two things probably...the Germans have a habit of over complicating their engineering. Then they decided it might be a good idea to outsource their production of critical components to certain countries that do not exactly have a great reputation for consistent quality.
Seems like the Germans have fallen off pace across the board for quite some time. I wonder what changed.
Two things probably...the Germans have a habit of over complicating their engineering. Then they decided it might be a good idea to outsource their production of critical components to certain countries that do not exactly have a great reputation for consistent quality.
Last edited:
Ironically....I had huge problems with my Yamaha from 2007 to 2011 when I owned it. It developed stumbles and misfires that they never could find as it was intermittent.
Now my Triumph.....not one bit of a problem so far. While they have some issues with lacquer worming and igniter and coil issues, I think the people having the most problems tend to be the people riding the sport bikes versus the cruiser and classic lines.
Now my Triumph.....not one bit of a problem so far. While they have some issues with lacquer worming and igniter and coil issues, I think the people having the most problems tend to be the people riding the sport bikes versus the cruiser and classic lines.
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Ironically....I had huge problems with my Yamaha from 2007 to 2011 when I owned it. It developed stumbles and misfires that they never could find as it was intermittent.
Now my Triumph.....not one bit of a problem so far. While they have some issues with lacquer worming and igniter and coil issues, I think the people having the most problems tend to be the people riding the sport bikes versus the cruiser and classic lines.
Just Curious, what model Yamaha gave you problems?
I've had 4 Yamaha street bikes, 2 dirt bikes, and 4 Quads, no problems out of any of them. My son had a 2004 YZ250 that had a porous head casting, it was taken care of by Yamaha.
Ironically....I had huge problems with my Yamaha from 2007 to 2011 when I owned it. It developed stumbles and misfires that they never could find as it was intermittent.
Now my Triumph.....not one bit of a problem so far. While they have some issues with lacquer worming and igniter and coil issues, I think the people having the most problems tend to be the people riding the sport bikes versus the cruiser and classic lines.
Just Curious, what model Yamaha gave you problems?
I've had 4 Yamaha street bikes, 2 dirt bikes, and 4 Quads, no problems out of any of them. My son had a 2004 YZ250 that had a porous head casting, it was taken care of by Yamaha.
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2007
- Messages
- 5,294
I like my bike, but I'm not particularly surprised by their ranking based on my own experience w/ Ducati.
Originally Posted By: Yagenta13
Seems like the Germans have fallen off pace across the board for quite some time. I wonder what changed.
Just5 saw a "Hella" BMW automobile voltage regulator/brush set made in China. My airhead BMW bike is a farm implement though, nothing breaks.
Seems like the Germans have fallen off pace across the board for quite some time. I wonder what changed.
Just5 saw a "Hella" BMW automobile voltage regulator/brush set made in China. My airhead BMW bike is a farm implement though, nothing breaks.
The story for the story is its not the full story. You would need to buy Consumer Reports to know the full story. There are lots of ways to twist a story to fit the news.
In the full story, Yamaha is near the bottom of the list when it came to asking the owners if they would buy another Yamaha.
Victory was at the top followed Harley, Honda, BMW, CAN AM, Ducati, Yamaha, Triumph, Kawasaki, and Suzuki. Just Victory and Harley were tops in comfort. (i dont consider Can AM a motorcycle)
The story also states that none of the "repairs" were major repairs, more like electrical issues, etc. Remember the more complicated a machine is will require a few more trips to get it repaired. I suspect since Harley, BMW and Victory make more complicated bikes with more electronics, the owners of these machines understand that and would still buy again.
Anyway, yes, Yami was tops in reliability but down to 7 out of 10 when asked would they buy another Yami. Yami sells A LOT of basic entry level bikes as well as dirt bikes and everything in-between. Victory, Harley and BMW make/sell mostly larger cruisers with many comfort features and electronic devices. Just like a higher end luxury automobile, chances are greater that something will need to be repaired but that is all part of the ownership of a luxury item.
We are not talking engines and transmissions blowing up.
In the full story, Yamaha is near the bottom of the list when it came to asking the owners if they would buy another Yamaha.
Victory was at the top followed Harley, Honda, BMW, CAN AM, Ducati, Yamaha, Triumph, Kawasaki, and Suzuki. Just Victory and Harley were tops in comfort. (i dont consider Can AM a motorcycle)
The story also states that none of the "repairs" were major repairs, more like electrical issues, etc. Remember the more complicated a machine is will require a few more trips to get it repaired. I suspect since Harley, BMW and Victory make more complicated bikes with more electronics, the owners of these machines understand that and would still buy again.
Anyway, yes, Yami was tops in reliability but down to 7 out of 10 when asked would they buy another Yami. Yami sells A LOT of basic entry level bikes as well as dirt bikes and everything in-between. Victory, Harley and BMW make/sell mostly larger cruisers with many comfort features and electronic devices. Just like a higher end luxury automobile, chances are greater that something will need to be repaired but that is all part of the ownership of a luxury item.
We are not talking engines and transmissions blowing up.
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: JetStar
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Ironically....I had huge problems with my Yamaha from 2007 to 2011 when I owned it. It developed stumbles and misfires that they never could find as it was intermittent.
Now my Triumph.....not one bit of a problem so far. While they have some issues with lacquer worming and igniter and coil issues, I think the people having the most problems tend to be the people riding the sport bikes versus the cruiser and classic lines.
Just Curious, what model Yamaha gave you problems?
I've had 4 Yamaha street bikes, 2 dirt bikes, and 4 Quads, no problems out of any of them. My son had a 2004 YZ250 that had a porous head casting, it was taken care of by Yamaha.
It was a 2007 XV250. It would act up about 5 to 10 times a month. Never could nail down what the issue was. The bike was a phenominal commuter bike aside from that. Only other complaint was the complete junk tires and chain it came with. Tires were worn out at 1,500 miles and the chain was an open chain. Threw on some pirelli MT66 tires and new sunstar sprockets(changed gearing) and an Xring chain.
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Ironically....I had huge problems with my Yamaha from 2007 to 2011 when I owned it. It developed stumbles and misfires that they never could find as it was intermittent.
Now my Triumph.....not one bit of a problem so far. While they have some issues with lacquer worming and igniter and coil issues, I think the people having the most problems tend to be the people riding the sport bikes versus the cruiser and classic lines.
Just Curious, what model Yamaha gave you problems?
I've had 4 Yamaha street bikes, 2 dirt bikes, and 4 Quads, no problems out of any of them. My son had a 2004 YZ250 that had a porous head casting, it was taken care of by Yamaha.
It was a 2007 XV250. It would act up about 5 to 10 times a month. Never could nail down what the issue was. The bike was a phenominal commuter bike aside from that. Only other complaint was the complete junk tires and chain it came with. Tires were worn out at 1,500 miles and the chain was an open chain. Threw on some pirelli MT66 tires and new sunstar sprockets(changed gearing) and an Xring chain.
- Status
