MOTORCYCLE RELIABILITY .

[Lucasind]

Found this to be some interesting reading, The Jap bikes are still what people call "most reliable".
The dis-approval rating seems to jump up quite a bit there with Harley ,Triumph , Ducati , BMW ,
Can-Am, bringing up the bottom 5 of the list. A bit surprised to see BMW so far down the list !
I currently don't own a Yamaha, but the ones I've had over the decades never gave me any problems other than I had a 73' twin that was a leaker, but otherwise ran perfect and never left me on the side of the road ! That's what counts to me ! ....any thoughts ?................tony

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news ... /index.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Tonyvdb]

This really does not surprise me. When electronics were made in Japan rather than Malaysia or China like they are now they also lasted much longer and were built better. The Japanese have a very strong work ethic and I believe that they are much more dedicated to quality rather than quantity.

[SgtSlag]

I've seen this report in years past. Same results then, as well. The Japanese bikes are very well made, even dating back to the 1970's, based on my limited personal experiences. The V-twin design dates back to the beginning, and IMO, is not the best design. If you read up on the production history of the Big Four out of Japan, they have had some interesting design innovations over the past 40 years. Just my $0.02. Cheers!

[voyager55]

After WW2 it was the Americans Dr Edward Demings- who showed the Japs how to build products with quality. Zero Defect policy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Many in Japan credit Deming as the inspiration for what has become known as the Japanese post-war economic miracle of 1950 to 1960, when Japan rose from the ashes of war to become the second most powerful economy in the world in less than a decade founded on the ideas Deming taught.


Over the years, our quality dropped while theirs continued to improve.

As far as modern day goes, IMO China etc has good build quality, but the mother companies have designed the products to cut corners & use the cheapest parts to build their products.
Everything is designed to save a dollar & throw it away when it breaks.

[Mr Jensee]

I'd love to still have my 1969 Yamaha Street Scrambler. Rode that thing rain or shine hot or cold for 3 solid years. Best machine I could have ever wished for as a teen.