Motorcycle reliability

[TasRocketRider]

About right, my best bike was a Yam TT500 flogged it for five years, did zip to it, never broke it, sold for more than I paid. My T140 was a very different story!

 

[CanberraR3]

Most reliable bike I've ever owned is my Rocket. It was my first Triumph though, so maybe I missed the chance to be let down.

Second would have to be my Honda 750/4. It had bits held on with tape and fencing wire and I pretty much neglected it for about 4 years of hard riding. Never missed a beat. Actually can't remember ever getting it serviced.

Had a TS250 and a GT750 water bucket - both seemed indestructible and never let me down either.

VN 1600 was the most disappointing but only really because I didn't like it as much as I though I would.

I think I've been blessed; never had a bike give me any real trouble at all.

 

[R3Tex]

Most reliable? Hmmm...I would think that in order to evaluate a stock bike's reliability one would have to leave it in stock trim, in which case none of mine qualify

 

[Jag]

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.

I agree had a 79 Suzuki GS750E flogged the crap out of it for years with just oil changes and carb balance on a regular schedule. Just sold it last year still ran great! Use to think that bike was pretty fast until R3 came along!! Then it felt like I was riding a moped!! Still was a good bike.

 

[1olbull]

My bike is almost 11 years old, what is a detent spring??

AMIGO!
You have muy poco mileage!!!

 

[mexican]

AMIGO!
You have muy poco mileage!!!

 

[mexican]

Most reliable? Hmmm...I would think that in order to evaluate a stock bike's reliability one would have to leave it in stock trim, in which case none of mine qualify

And all of mine qualifie

 

[DodahMan]

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

I have to agree and give thumbs up to Yamaha. My roadstar has gone 50,000 miles since new and never been in the dealership for anything other than the transmission recall. I tried to avoid it but Yamaha kept calling and bugging me to get it done! Even sent me certified letters! I doubt Triumph would ever do something like that.

I love the looks of my R3T but that driveline issue has me worried

 

[3Katz]

It sure does! You've been on a one man thread revival rampage!

 

[EasTexRIII]

It sure does! You've been on a one man thread revival rampage!