Motorcycle reliability

[atlsrt44]

If i was to pick the most reliable bike i'd have to go with Suzuki. I often thought if Suzuki ever merged with a brand like Harley or Triumph their problems would be few if not eliminated.

Dont go with a suzuki m90 or 109.. full of problems

 

[Ham42]

Mmm guess I been lucky I have 5 Triumphs a HD and a Kawasaki. Only replaced coil on Bonnie. Just oil and tires.Better watch out they will all die now.

 

[PaddyO]

First bike was a 2007 Suzuki Boulevard C50 bought new. Had problems with it just dying. Spent $$ trying to get it fixed at different dealers. No luck with any of them and none of them stood behind their work. Bought a 2009 Kawasaki Nomad in 2010 with 4,300 miles on it. Put 100,000 miles on it in 7.5 years. There was a recall right after I bought it to fix the ECU which caused it to die like the C50. After that, there were no problems.

 

[sonny]

I do not think they have yet to make a Motorcycle that is problem free. If it ain't one thing it is another. Been lucky with the Rocket X so far. 50,000 miles and no problems. Hopefully my luck continues. Holding up rather well.

 

[Old N' Grumpy]

I bought my 2005 Hardley brand new. Mechanically never had a problem other then snapped the drive belt when a rock got in between the pulley. That being said the chrome is chit and is rusting and pitting. I am thinking about powdercoating instead of re-chroming this time.

 

[Claviger]

Who makes the most reliable motorcycle?

ConsumerReports.org
Jeff BartlettApril 7, 2015

Who makes the most reliable motorcycle?

What began as a battle of the motorcycle brands to show who makes the most reliable motorcycle, has resulted in a nationalist showdown. Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda, and Kawasaki are all among the more reliable brands, based on our survey of more than 11,000 Consumer Reports subscribers, followed closely by Suzuki, Honda, and Kawasaki. The predicted failure rates for four-year-old motorcycles ranged from 11 to 15 percent in this group.

The domestic brands Victory and Harley-Davidson fell in between the extremes, with 17 and 26 percent, respectively.

The remaining brands—Triumph, Ducati, BMW, and Can-Am—were among the more trouble-prone. In fact, BMW and Canada-based Can-Am are both estimated to have failure rates of around 40 percent by the fourth year of ownership.

Reliablity by brand
Brand Percent failed
Yamaha/Star 11%
Suzuki 12
Honda 12
Kawasaki 15
Victory 17
Harley-Davidson 26
Triumph 29
Ducati 33
BMW 40
Can-Am 42
With a larger sample size than in our previous motorcycle survey, now counting 12,300 motorcycles, we were able to add more brands and resolution this year.

Reliability is but one measure. We found that owner satisfaction creates a much different picture...

Visit our motorcycle buying guide to see our full motorcycle reliability and owner satisfaction ratings.

—Jeff Bartlett

Ducati not last...

 

[Bigjaype]

Aprilia not on the list as no one bothers to read that far down. I loved what my Aprilia was, but so many little things that kept needing attention.
I have to concur. My Yammies were always trouble free and then there was the Transalp...bulletproof and invincible.