Most reliable bikes

[DolphinD]

The reliability ratings are based on failure rates for 4-year-old bikes:

• Yamaha/Star (11 percent failure rate)
• Suzuki and Honda (12 percent)
• Kawasaki (15 percent)
• Victory (17 percent)
• Harley-Davidson (26 percent)
• Triumph (29 percent)
• Ducati (33 percent)
• BMW (40 percent)

Interesting!! now how true is this?

[THE MOOSE]

No idea. Neither will have most others. Don't know the definition of failure, don't know the conditions in which the bikes were used, are all of them based on identical mileage, was it done commuting, cruising, off road etc., etc.

One of my bikes reached 184k km yesterday, 5 years old, about 4.5 years riding. Issues: certainly. Reliable? I think so.

Let's discuss oil or tyres.

[AMZ]

It is accurate from USA figures.

[Banditman]

It is accurate from USA figures.

Very interesting.

Another good source for bike review / reliability etc is the annual RiDE magazine (UK) owner's review. It also covers ATGATT and service agents. Makes for interesting reading.

[DolphinD]

i cant believe that bmw is right at the bottom, with the amount of bikes that they sell. i wonder if these figures are compared to the quantity of bikes actually sold.

if it is, it means that almost half the bikes built by them fail adding to the already high price of a bmw. Now thats an expensive choice.

[AMZ]

i cant believe that bmw is right at the bottom, with the amount of bikes that they sell. i wonder if these figures are compared to the quantity of bikes actually sold.

if it is, it means that almost half the bikes built by them fail adding to the already high price of a bmw. Now thats an expensive choice.

Well, when they say 40% failed, it must surely be 40% of those sold. We don't know what constitutes a failure though. Stats is a strange thing. It could purely mean that BMW owners are more full of sheets than others, or even that they are less inclined to do repairs themselves. It doesn't say whether these failures were warranty fixes, or not so we can't say whether it adds anything to the price of the bike. Your perception of the already high price of a BMW is probably wrong as well.

Anyway, personally, I don't take those stats too seriously.

[DolphinD]

Thats just from all the write up thats available: qoute'

"There is a four times greater chance that a BMW will need repair than a Yamaha," said Consumer Reports' deputy editor Jeff Bartlett. "That's pretty significant, when you consider the cost of servicing a BMW is substantially higher. BMW makes great bikes, but the BMW owner has to have a few dollars set aside for repairs."

"European bikes are engineered for character and sex appeal, and Japanese bikes are engineered for reliability," Day said. "The Japanese bikes are bulletproof, but there's a perception of exclusivity that comes with the Ducatis and KTMs. The idea of owning a European bike still feels more special."


BMW is the class leader in adventure motorcycle sales. They are also the most expensive motorcycle in the class and it's really hard to exit the dealer with one that is less than $20,000. At that price you get heated grips, electronically adjustable suspension, ride modes, and pannier racks. You also get to own the most recalled motorcycle in the category. From chronic drive shaft issues to leaking seals, the BMW may have been around the world, but it also has made numerous visits to the repair shop along the way.

BMW's reputation (in the UK at least) is for expensive purchase cost, expensive servicing but fantastic customer and after-sales support and brilliant reliability (aside from the past few recalls and some recent electircal issues) if you've done everything by the book (and so expensively).

[WBro]

I still don't get the stats.

Pricey to purchase but not to run and service. Maybe our service pricing is different in RSA

[AMZ]

Thats just from all the write up thats available: qoute'

"There is a four times greater chance that a BMW will need repair than a Yamaha," said Consumer Reports' deputy editor Jeff Bartlett. "That's pretty significant, when you consider the cost of servicing a BMW is substantially higher. BMW makes great bikes, but the BMW owner has to have a few dollars set aside for repairs."

"European bikes are engineered for character and sex appeal, and Japanese bikes are engineered for reliability," Day said. "The Japanese bikes are bulletproof, but there's a perception of exclusivity that comes with the Ducatis and KTMs. The idea of owning a European bike still feels more special."


BMW is the class leader in adventure motorcycle sales. They are also the most expensive motorcycle in the class and it's really hard to exit the dealer with one that is less than $20,000. At that price you get heated grips, electronically adjustable suspension, ride modes, and pannier racks. You also get to own the most recalled motorcycle in the category. From chronic drive shaft issues to leaking seals, the BMW may have been around the world, but it also has made numerous visits to the repair shop along the way.

BMW's reputation (in the UK at least) is for expensive purchase cost, expensive servicing but fantastic customer and after-sales support and brilliant reliability (aside from the past few recalls and some recent electircal issues) if you've done everything by the book (and so expensively).

Figures from the USA or UK makes no sense to me. The most expensive service my current GS ever had was R3000. The big one at 40 000km when all fluids are also changed. The others were between R1400 and R1800. My colleagues Yamaha STen's 20 000km service was R6k. 10 000km service was R4k. I just got a quote for a right side hand guard and a front brake lever. R1600 VAT in. In 2008, almost 9 years ago, a hand guard and clutch lever for a DL1000 Suzuki already set me back R1600.

Pricey to purchase? I am not sure that they are much more expensive if you compare apples with apples. The current crop of 1 liter superbikes are all around R240k, including the BMW, for instance.