I think this question is asked more now than ever is due to a number of issues. The internet provides access to all sort of info for comparitive studies on maintenance, repair costs, warranty issues,, (who could forget the recent "repair" thread on this site) and simply people do not want to spend large $$$ on a product that is not reliable = leaves them stranded or not using the bike, has high cost to repair and not user servicable if that's your thing.. Triumph is one of the oldest and most respected motorcycle companies, yes but I was more than surprised to learn about that company's design/mechanical problems it has in the R3 and their warranty issues the company has outside of Joly Old England. I checked here in Ont. and the process is similar to that experienced by the gentleman in the "repair" thread. I currently drive a jap bike,,, boulevard and love it,, 90 000 kms "0" issues. Like many of you it is my sole transportation from ground freeze to spring thaw.. From -42* windchill to +105* this thing starts, runs and only gets washed (outside of the 2 or 3 x's I do it) when it rains outside. The bike for me is not a weekend toy, it's family transportation and I need the most dependable product. From all I've read that does not seem to be the R3 at this point... but I'm still hopeful the newer ones become more reliable with the problems fixed so by the time I'm ready to buy one next year or the spring after that I can feel more confident to dump $20000.00 into a bike... until then I'll keep reading....