Quality of finish?

[Bonez]

Is it better now than it was 20-25 years ago. Had a look at a V-Rod and a new Triumph twin and to be quite honest QOF wasn't as good as I would have expected for the price you pay for them.

[geoffm]

Is it better now than it was 20-25 years ago. Had a look at a V-Rod and a new Triumph twin and to be quite honest QOF wasn't as good as I would have expected for the price you pay for them.

The yamahas of 20 years ago were decidedly dodgy in the fit and finish department. Wafer thin paint didn't do much to protect the ali bits or steel brackets. Headlight bracketry always rusted at the welds, etc.
It has been a long standing complaint of mine that the Jap car makers can make car wheels that look good for 100,000km, yet bike wheels always chip and look tatty very quickly.
Overall, I would say that the QoF is better now. Things like screws and bolts - eg the famous cheddar cheese screws for clutch covers that strip as soon as you look at them. All my Yams I have had, I had to drill th eheads off and replace them with decent allen head screws.
Geoff

[scumdog]

Totally happy with the finish on my Sporty (and my mates call me 'mr fussy' at times) for example the two pinstripes on the tank look like machine made stick-on stripes but are hand painted to perfection, no rust on chrome yet and wheeels still look sharp.
My only grouch is the bundle of wires attached to the handle-bars, - now if the indimicators went and I moved the start button and took off the kill switch and shifted the horn button........

[What?]

Overall, quality of finish has definitely improved, but most brands also have their ups and downs. There can also be variation within a make - for example, Suzuki GSXR's seem to be of a much higher finish quality than the GSF's. This is not to say the GSF is necessarily a pile of crud, just that the same manufacturer has different standards for different models.

[DEATH_INC.]

I wasn't at all happy with the ZX12,for what was(is) considered their 'flagship', it was shocking.Bolts fell out,things were loose from new,the panels warped quickly,it had heaps of crappy plastic fasteners everywhere that fell apart,the paint chipped if you looked at it too hard,and I even had a peice break out of the lower inner fairing panel(below the radiator).....
Even the gixx panels have warped a little,and lost a couple of the push in clips.....