best quality brand?

[750Y]

Hey all, just wanted to get your opinions on this one based upon your experiences/knowledge. I do plenty of mileage year round and i'm thinking about what kind of sportsbike to get next. I've had 1 brand of bike which cost me 30-40% extra due to poor quality on multiple counts in the space of a year & another of the same brand which just went BANG! in record time. I've had another brand which never exhibited any quality related issues at all but proved to have a less sophisticated design resulting in a more timeconsuming/expensive maintenance schedule. I've had another brand which seemed to be good quality but never had it long enough to test longevity. so who builds the best bikes that hold together long term under all conditions? and before anyone suggests it, all my bikes are well maintained mechanically and I've never had a failure due to poor maintenance. also I don't want to hear about some 1960s-70s bike that's still going strong, I want to hear about the up to date ultralight superfast style bikes. what's the word?

[wkid_one]

PMPL....

Anything is good - personal preference is the key


Ducati 996,998,999, 748,749, etc etc
Aprilia RSV, RSVR
Yamaha R1,Fazer
Honda CBR954, 929, 900, CBR600RR
Kwaka Ninja 6, 7 and 9, 636 6RR
Suzuki GSXR600, 750, 1000, SV, Tl,S, TLR
and the list goes on


Everyone will tell you which bike is better - but all of them a weapons in the rights hand...it all comes down to


Budget
Personal Taste
Riding Style
Size
Brand Preference


It is kinda like asking how long a piece of string is - you can read 10 different reviews and get 10 different answers - but again the reviews are usually completed by racers and ex-racers riding the bike well beyond the limits of the average rider.  Most people in this forum would struggle to find large differences in the bikes above (other than the obvious 600v1000cc) - apart from the elite experts in here.

Best advice - ride everything - one mans meat is another mans poison.  Jap v Exotic, 600 v 1000, Multi v Twin, Black v Red v Grey v Blue - so many choices and therefore you will get so many opinions. 

I have none - I like ALL bikes - and would own them all if I could. 

[bikerboy]

You should check out the brit bike mag RIDE. They do an annual poll of readers and their bikes, asking hundreds of questions on type, riding style, use, problems, mileage, etc.

The bikes are then rated in each catagory, sport, touring, etc., based on the feed back of owners for price, reliability, comfort, maintenece, cost of ownership, etc. They often make recomendations based on this information as well as report the findings for your own use. :niceone:

[Lou Girardin]

This will probably cost me my Italian citizenship, but would you own an Italian bike for high mileage/year round use?

[750Y]

personal preference is the key

personal preference IS NOT the key.
I didn't ask which bike was the best, & in my experience they're NOT all good. I asked which bike is the best quality.

[Sharkey]

Well 750Y, it's time to get a little philosophical.

According to engineering definitions, quality is a trade off between price and functionality. Thus a crap bike that breaks down all the time but has cheap parts and is easy to repair, could be the same quality as an expensive, fiddly machine that doesn't break down very often, but costs a fortune when it does. However, this IS definately a personal preference, because some people enjoy messing around with machines and other don't. As such, how you interface with the bike is very significant. Is it comfortable, do you like the colour, does it's performance meet your expectations. Does it give you shivvers when you open the garage door. Do you have any desire to work on it, or do you just want to ride it? Once you have decided what your preferences are, and what a quality bike means to YOU, do your research, look at magazines and ask people how their machines work. Go for lots of test rides (the fun part). Fall in love with a machine and buy it. :love:

[wkid_one]

Personal preference IS the key.  Everyone, like mechanics, has horror stories about bikes.  You are best to go with the bike you like - quality is much of a muchness.

Everyone has opinions about the quality, performance etc of a bike - all new bikes come out with Warranties - what is the drama - choose one you want?  Buying solely on quality is ridiculous - coz the bike least likely to shit itself is not a hypersports bike as these HS bikes are under the most stress in any given situation.  They are not designed for high mileage type work - so again are more likely to run in to higher wear and tear issues - eg clutch etc.

Also, all HS bikes are generally more complex and mechanically cutting edge - meaning more things to potentially go wrong.  If you want quality go the VTR - simple design, little fairing for damage, carbs not EFI etc - however you will lack  in certain performance area.

HS bikes - all much of muchness, quality is all good in general as they are the Flagship bike of the brand - so tend to be higher speced and higher quality.

As for holding together under all conditions - I wouldn't say a HS is going to be a reliable commuter etc - not what it is designed for.

Quality is in the eye of the beholder, as it performance.

[What?]

750Y, I think it really is a moot point as to which brand is the highest quality. All the manufacturers around now make some bloody good bikes, and they have all also made some shockers. For instance, overall Honda have a huge reputation for building solid, reliable machinery. This reputation dates back to 1969 with the 750/4. Honda have motorcycling's largest R&D department. They also gave us the MVX250, the NV400, the VF750 (first model - ugly as). None of these were even worthy of landfill space. Suzuki gave us the GS1000 / 750, then countered with the GS400 / 425. And on it goes...

In short, if you are buying the latest, you pays your money and takes your chances. :confused:

[Hoon]

I would go for the big 4, mainly because of more available/cheaper parts, expertise, larger local userbase and info on the net.

[750Y]

Thanks Ho-hoon & What, You sorta gave me the kind of answer I was looking for. I was sorta hoping for a rating of the big 4. Thanks for the replies others. I guess I was just very disappointed with the QUALITY of componentry on 1 bike I’ve had and the decision to buy that bike which was made for what I thought & still think were the right reasons was a mistake that cost me thousands of dollars/hassles/disappointment.(I have gotten over it). I was just hoping to avoid that next time round and so thought I’d ask peoples advice. I thought people would see they may have helped me make a better decision next time. Never mind… forget I asked.

[duckman]

Am I mis-reading this thread - Talk about attitude!!

(ah maybe I'm wrong), anyway
If all your concerned about is quality of build then go for the Manufacturers which use the best individual components.
Components like, brembo brakes, braided lines, e.t.c.

Try Ducati, Aprillia, Cagiva, BMW, e.t.c. - And yes I'm expecting to hear from all the Jap bikers about the build quality of their machines. (and defend they should).

I personally think your going about this the wrong way. Just because a bike is made up of high quality parts doesn't mean it's going to be a bike that you enjoy riding. It may just be a piece of shit with some expensive components on it.

I am sorry to hear that you've gone through such a bad exprience with previous bikes and their build quality. Good luck with your next choice.

:rolleyes:

[What?]

Originally posted by 750Y
Never mind… forget I asked.

Why? You raised a very valid point, and I think you got some good replies, even if you did not get what you thought you might.

I suppose the next question is, are we talking quality of engineering, or quality of build / finish? Either way, it is easy to get a good low-down on any bikes bar this year's model. It is a shame you had expensive problems with a previous bike, but you need to keep it in perspective: most manufacturers have lifted their game engineering wise in a big way in the last few years. Some have slipped a little in the finish department (Suzuki springs to mind, but not on all models, either).

Personally, I would not plump for the latest bike on the market, but rather a refined version of a proven model. But then again, I did but my F650 when it was still a new machine:o

Hope you have a good run with your next bike. It is odds-on that you will.:done:

[Lou Girardin]

A lot of quality and durability issues also relate to maintenance or lack of it.
If you weren't purely sportsbike focussed, there's always the old bulletproof bandit, cheap and easily serviced.
Lou

[duckman]

Geesss ask a simple question and get a load of crap!


Aww nice, and your reply was an absolute gem - Thanks for that.

[aff-man]

Allthough i am not the most experienced rider around i do love looking up specs and have found a few sites that list a model of bike from 198-whatever through to today . It gives the problems experienced (mechanically) with the bike and as the model gets newer how they were  fixed. This would be an excellent time to give you the sites address but unfortunatley i forgot/didn't write it down, but with a bit of searching it could be found. happy hunting :niceone:

[bluninja]

My experience for what it's worth...

Best quality machine I've had for me was a ZX9R C1. I rode the bike for my daily commute, scratched on it and did trackdays and long tours. It was ridden in sun, rain, snow, ice, freezing fog. No mechanical breakdowns, despite some poor maintenance by official garages (ram air disconected and airbox full of crap from the open hole), which I found when I serviced it myself at the end of 3 years. Found the paint on the tank was wearing through after 4 years where my gut leant against it all the time. The only problem I had was carb icing in very cold weather. It was pretty simple to work on and maintain. Bike was retired late 2001 after cosmetic damage ruled it an insurance writeoff.

I also have had a ZZR600, and a ZL600 and the engines all seemed bulletproof.

The SV650 has been reliable so far despite 3 slides, and is simple to work on apart from getting to the front carb. It handles well, and parts are cheap. Can't commetn on the finish as it's a bit scratched and dented.

The RSVR I have at the moment is only 21 months old, and has not seen much action, so can't comment, but I've had no breakdowns or gremlins yet.

TTFN

[750Y]

well thanks a lot guys & sorry if my original question wasn't well crafted or thought out but these answers are the stuff i'm really interested in. I'd have made up one of those voting tickboxes things but i'm not too fancy on the net stuff. bottom line is i want a superbike and i want to ride it everywhere all the time & i want it to go the distance without major quality related failure. I don't mind spending the money up front but i want to at least have some confidence in my decision.

[Sharkey]

Fair call on getting a bit pissed at the (my) smart alecy comment. I gues I was coming from the approach that most of the top marques are the tops for good reasons - price, build, servicability etc. As such, I do think how the bike feels is very significant. As an example, when I was buying my ZXR250, I was also looking at a CBR250 and the guy sellng it was saying that they do tend to be shorter (no problem for a person of my stature) than the ZXR's. Now given that these bikes are much of a muchness (no arguements please) the issue of length would become a serious problem of quality for a taller rider.

As such, whilst I appreciate that some of the comments might have been more what you were looking for, don't write off the others.

Most of all, have fun looking!

[SPman]

Originally posted by aff-man
Allthough i am not the most experienced rider around i do love looking up specs and have found a few sites that list a model of bike from 198-whatever through to today . It gives the problems experienced (mechanically) with the bike and as the model gets newer how they were  fixed. This would be an excellent time to give you the sites address but unfortunatley i forgot/didn't write it down, but with a bit of searching it could be found. happy hunting :niceone:

Is this the link. Look under Bikes - individual makers - a breif resume of most models from 1970-late 90's with general comments on faults etc.

http://www.custombike.org/main.htm

[MikeL]

That custombike site has lots of information but it deals mainly with the U.K scene so there are some omissions. It's also not clear what data the opinions are based on.