"Consumer Reports:" Yamaha most reliable motorcycle !

[gazelle]

Consumer Reports May 2013, results on Consumer Reports National Research Center survey of 4,680 bikes bought new from 2009 to 2012.

Percentage of bikes with problems:

YAMAHA 11%

Kawasaki 13%

Honda 14%

And at the bottom of the barrel:

Harley Davidson 24% (yes...almost a fourth !!!

And the brand many think of when reliability is discussed:

BMW THIRTY PERCENT !!!

Full disclosure: The article does state that differences of 4% or less are not meaningful.

But the opening page does feature a 2011 FJR1300A !!! Having had an '03 and 2 04's (still own an '04 w/127K) for a total of abouit 350K miles I heartily agree with their findings...

P.S. Only these 5 brands were rated. There were not enough Suzuki, and others to be included.

 

[BreezeHill]

This is great to see, sheds the light a little more on how good yamahas are made

 

[TomInPA]

Where is Suzuki in the list....just askin'

 

[kamal]

Interesting, but I have a hard time with surveys like this.

4,680 is not a lot of bikes, and were there even numbers of each make? How do they arrive at these numbers?

Guess I'll have to read it.

Al.

 

[BreezeHill]

i found what i think is the article.. But can't view the whole report since i'm not a subscriber

 

[SacramentoMike]

Thing I like about Consumer Reports is they accept no advertising, so there's never any question about their objectivity based on who's sinking money into buying space on their pages.

Very interesting findings. Going to have to find a copy of that.

Just saw your post, Kamal. A sample of over 4,600 is WAY more than you need to get statistically significant results.

 

[SoCalFJR1300]

Always knew people made too much of BMW's but I'm surprised Hardleys are more reliable! (according to that article)

Not a huge fan of German cars either.

 

[ShawnKing]

Thing I like about Consumer Reports is they accept no advertising, so there's never any question about their objectivity based on who's sinking money into buying space on their pages.

No but there has been plenty of questions about their methodology and their expertise.

They have consistently been flat out wrong in regards to many tech products so I personally wouldn't trust their knowledge or info about motorcycle products either.

 

[blassoff]

Here's a link to the article. I'm a subscriber to CR, I think it's okay to share this, if not please advise, i'll remove immediately.

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2013/05/most-reliable-motorcycles/index.htm

Nice to know that I own one of the most reliable bikes our there, but what a lame-o article. No info that most of us don't already don't know.

 

[kamal]

Just saw your post, Kamal. A sample of over 4,600 is WAY more than you need to get statistically significant results.

Oh OK.

But what if it was 2000 Harleys, 1000 BMWs and 1600 of the rest? Wouldn't that skew the result?

Can't access the article to see if they give a breakdown.

Anyway, no biggie, I like the reported outcome.

Al.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Linky to previous thread.

Still hard to believe the numbers on H-D and BMW...

--G

 

[C&C]

CR is throwing 'darts' again; sample size is grossly inadequate to create meaningful numbers (IMO). Without listing what constitutes a fault/problem it is just meaningless statistics.

 

[bwv]

While I am happy the brand I chose it the one they chose(and will abuse my freinds that own the others...especially if thier stuff breaks), I think 11 percent is a shameful figure and nothing to get excited about.

The last time I redid a lab for one of my schools, I put in 26 computers, 3 failed... about 11.5%.. I was disgusted.

That being said, It would be important, when they do studies like this, to examine the problems reported, the client type and skill level, and the resolutions.

Meaning... If 80% of FJR owners are somewhat techincal and or mechanical and 20% are.. lets use the term "Other" so i dont insult the Doctors, Lawyers, CEOs and Professional types (oops)... Versus BMW or Harley owners who maybe be more of a 20% T & M vs 80% D,L,C,P (likely as they are more likely to have the funds available for the finer things) the results would be skewed

Example.. My glovebox lid was sticky.. I fixed it. I reported it to no one... Now... If I was a busy Lawyer. and just spent $25K on a bike, I would have niether the time nor interest in fixing it myself.

 

[Lockback]

While I'm not a huge fan of Consumer Reports methodology, I do think it shows trends.

Maybe most H-D owners have the mechanical skills of a 7th grade Home Economics student and it skews the figures.

And maybe BMW owners are all skiing and playing golf and don't have time to properly fill the clutch reservoir.

But I've owned 3 Beemers and had a final drive crap out on me and never looked back.

I switched back to Japanese bikes because I don't have the time, patience or money to put up with issues which should have been dealt with years ago and could strand me in the middle of nowhere.

In this day and age, there's no excuse for poor design or manufacturing and I won't deal with it, particularly at a premium price.

I've owned my last BMW.

And I love my FJR.

 

[Patriot]

as I understand it, CR merely sends out surveys that folks decide whether to answer, with questions to identify what kind of vehicle (or product) was purchased within the last x amount of time, and what, if any, problems happened as judged by the owner.

stats are directly from that...they rely on survey stats and the answers to their questions...no more, no less

 

[gazelle]

Some thoughts/comments regarding everyone's responses. The first thing that struck me was just SEEING the article in the magazive I've subscribed to for almost 40 yrs. Obviously I'm not exactly young and my memory ain't what it used to be but I don't recall any previous articles addressing the subject. I regard it as an acknowledgement by a very respected (by most people) publication of the importance of the motorcylce market as well as the fact that we pay a lot of money for these things and as consumers need all the info we can get prior to purchase. You may poo-poo CR all you want but NO ONE else has the resources, expertise, and objectivity of CR. As stated in the original post Suzuki was omitted because there were not enough owners to be statistically significant. NO survey is going to be perfect; hell, how many presidents have been elected even though more peple voted for the other guy ? Regarding BMW owners....merely anecdotal evidence but in my experience they are some of the MOST hands on riders around. Consider that the GS (I believe) is their best selling model and my guess is that LOTS of those guys can fix a lot of problems all by themselves. I recall a not too distant Iron Butt and the BMW failure rate was absolutely atrocious ! I remember reading an aricle and could not believe the numbers. And these were bikes that you would have assumed to have been in the best possible mechanical condition.

 

[BreezeHill]

I agree gazelle, what poll is 100% correct. in small print usually at the bottom of the page is the margin of error. lol you see it alot in election polls

 

[Riona]

Similar to what BWV posted, I think there is an expectation bias - if you just dropped $25K on a bike, you expect it to be perfect, so every glitch is an issue and remembered. If you have bought a mass market bike at a good discount, then a glitch is fixed and forgotten.

 

[Abercrombie FJR]

Similar to what BWV posted, I think there is an expectation bias - if you just dropped $25K on a bike, you expect it to be perfect, so every glitch is an issue and remembered. If you have bought a mass market bike at a good discount, then a glitch is fixed and forgotten.

Sorry Riona, I have to disagree. I feel a $15,000 FJR means a heck of lot more to a poor fireman like me, than a BMW would to someone making a couple hundred thousand a year. I expect perfection for my money and every glitch is a big issue with me.