Clarifications below, all questions snipped ...
russperry posted: ... did you omit the Harley contingent on purpose?
No, just pulled the top five, which was enough to get to BMW. We pile on Beemers far quicker than we pile on Harleys, as the IBR reporters have, and I was attempting to get something factual as a basis for hammering them. For the record, the H-D Finish Percent is 69.8%, only slightly below BMW. And
ANYONE who rides
ANY motorbike more than 500 miles from home gets my respect.
SBennett posted: ... According to the IBR Rules, the Rider's score is reduced by 50 percent.
Different type of scoring, and I posted that rule, along with its very significant footnote, a page or two ago. This post refers to the Finish Percent for manufacturers. The question is this: If a rider starts on a BMW, but finishes on a Yamaha FJR, does Yamaha get credit as a "finisher" in the manufacturer calculations? (See the link in my original post.) Don't think it really matters; the point was that BMW is #5 in Finish Percent, and yet remains the overwhelming bike of choice for the past few IBRs. Oh yeah, and Yamaha is #1 in Finish Percent -- FJRs and Super Tens ... any other Yammies been in an IBR?
steve_g posted: DNFs are not necessarily machine failures ...
All true. There are many reasons why riders don't finish, including tire failure, illness, fatigue, and missing a checkpoint window. To do a more accurate analysis requires data that isn't available, and maybe not tracked by the IBA at all. (Do they track the reason for a DNF?) Anecdotal evidence from the past three IBRs shows an unfortunate pattern of BMW mechanical failures -- to me, anyway.
Just reporting what I could find,
and I still stand behind Yamaha's reputation for reliability under the most demanding circumstances.
As I've posted elsewhere, when you wake up five states away from home and you absolutely have to get back tonight, an FJR will get you there.