Adventure Bike Rider Forum

Interesting one this Al, I had Ducatis for years, done WDW and visited the factory and museum, local owners club leader, lived the red brand. Then had six years riding Buells but wanted some that didn't vibrate itself to bits so bought a GS, never had an issue with them, now on my fourth and put major miles on them, but now looking to jump ship again, probably husqvarna.

Interesting Topic.

I ended up buying Kawasaki's for many years. Mainly because Scotbike were not too far to walk in a lunchtime and they were doing a good deal when I wanted a Learner legal 125 back in the 80's.

Basically they would buy back the bike at purchase cost after a year or so if you traded up, so I did. When I wanted a second bike I ended up with a GPZ1000rx as I could get parts.

My last Kawasaki was a ZX6r (J1), which I had for 10 years. I ended up doing little mileage on it in the last few years as I would always end up flying and I was becoming aware of my own mortality.

So, decision made to change, looking around, Kawasaki didn't have anything I liked, however BMW had launched the G650GS (single), nice and simple biking and cheap as chips. So I got one.

Lasted three months of hot starting issues and then ended up getting an F650GS. Meanwhile the dealer had retracted to Edinburgh and a 150 mile round trip for a service was a pain. Lovely bike though.

While working away I bought a Triumph Daytona 955i as a doer-upper over the winter and ended up with a cracking fast bike again (all things are relative), however sore knees and neck and a flashing blue light in my mirrors (can't of been after me as he never caught up, despite trying) led me to look for a replacement. Thought about the Bonnie, but a bit too small and vibey. Ended up getting a pre-reg Transalp 700, which I still have.

Now of course I had two similar bikes.

So, when the new VFR 800 came out I got offered an afternoon to play around on it. SOLD, BMW traded in.

So started on Kawasaki's flirted with BMW and Triumph, but ended up with couple of Hondas. (not including the odd GP125, 350lc, z200, tzr250 etc.thrown in, but these were second hand cash in hand private sales). None of the Brand choices down to bad experiences, I think I have had recalls or warranty claims with most new bikes, but all sorted to my satisfaction. Some service departments are crap, but you go to another one, if they are close enough.

I don't expect to be changing bikes again for a few years, however I will look around all the manufacturers when the time comes.

My point , for asking , the standards and the of quaintly of motorcycles have dropped ,over the last few years . Nowadays everything is manufactured in China, their economy is now on the decline . So Which brands will improve? Or decline . And why? ... If my question is pointless . Please enlighten me. Al (thumbs)

GB wrote:Interesting one this Al, I had Ducatis for years, done WDW and visited the factory and museum, local owners club leader, lived the red brand. Then had six years riding Buells but wanted some that didn't vibrate itself to bits so bought a GS, never had an issue with them, now on my fourth and put major miles on them, but now looking to jump ship again, probably husqvarna.

hi re Ducati , now owned by VW ,Audi, they are in meltdown . And are ready for an Indian company too buy them out.very sad

IMHO Ducati lost the plot in the early 2000 when they started making cheaper "dark" models, devalued the brand, then everyone started bringing the grey imports in.

Never had any particular brand loyalty.

I've had 1 Kawasaki, 2 Suzuki's, 2 BMW's, 1 KTM and 1 Yamaha.

Currently a Suzuki GSXR600 K1 (in bits), a KTM Superduke and a Yamaha XT660Z tenere.

I love the variety in the bikes I've had. I loved the BMW's and nearly bought another instead of the tenere, but in the end I'm glad I didn't. From my current experience of the tenere (about a month) I'd have another, I'm going to try the knobbly tyres on the bike and try a few lanes next.

I lost faith in Honda in the late '70s through the early '80s when they decided to bring out a procession of bikes with untested technology that cost a lot of owners a lot of money. Not just one rogue model but about 5-6 years worth so they don't get my cash again.

I know I should just let it go and forgive them but I can't :pinch:

As a kid, I was a Yamaha man - in the 1970 & 80's they made simply the best - sub 500cc bikes

RD400's and RD350LC's, XT500 and DT175MX's and on the competition YZ/IT's, plus TY Trials bikes

No other manufacturer could touch them, for sub 500cc bikes.........period

Then I moved to Honda in the 1990's on VFR's, @T (dull) and Fireblades,XR's for trails - they were all the best, in their day

Then I found BMW in 1996, with a new 1100GS and have stuck with them for the last 20 years

The GS has no equal, no other Adv bike does it all, in quite the same way a GS does - if they did, they'd outsell the GS and they don't, so they can't be better............period

For trail and trials, I use Honda as they are a joy to ride

Not something I had really thought about to be honest but looking back I always come back to Jap after a foray into the unknown. Generally they start and stop when supposed to in my experience. That said apart from one Honda I always raced KTM but that was mainly due to parts availability and ease of repair. My bikes never see a dealer though and if I think its a keeper gets stripped and future proofed as much as my ability allows. It only takes a bad experience to make you loathe a brand that the next guy loves.

I like & own Yamahas & BMW's - several of each
Also have a Triumph, a Kawasaki & a Suzuki - so it's hard to change brands

I love 'em all, plus the old Aprilia Falco I never should have got rid of.

Only thing I'll never own again is a Honda - after that festering pile of shite of a CBF125 I bought brand new for my son - if that is 'Honda Quality' , they can ram it !!