Changing brands, and why?

[ZX Raziel]

SO the conclusion is that all manufacturers have made a bike with some sort of fault :whistle:

My list goes -
Yamaha , Jawa , KTM ,Yamaha, Kawasaki (Kvikasfuki) , Honda , and now waiting for a new Honda .
Loved them all but the only one that never give me any headaches was the little yamaha scooter

[cozi70]

I've mainly owned Honda in the last 15 years of riding blade,vfrs,transalp,varaderos,yamahas in my late teen days,but ran an aprilia rsv for 5 years also,Kwak 10r and w650,but this year have a Bmw 12gs. Previously owned by my father for 6 trouble free years I borrowed it occasionally,but only recently rode it extensively in Donegal back to back against my previous dero fi and tiger 1050, which confirmed my suspicions about it good points out weighing it bad points.
Still like Honda though with msx125,z50 and montessa 4rt but another yamaha has sneeked into my garage this winter. It's low and slow but 40bhp is enough with that things seat pad!

[CRAIGREVO]

Out of interest , and a friendly debate, why have you supported a brand for years and then jumped ship. ?????. For myself I always bought BMW,S ,for 25 years + Now I ride a Honda. Al. Now please over to you chaps Al (thumbs)

You've asked for peoples views on why they jumped ship so to speak, but you didn't give your reasons. (thumbs)

I had a brand loyalty to Repsol graphics until that little knob Marquez ruined last years championship. :laugh: :laugh:

[Tinytots]

I've never owned a BMW, KTM or Triumph. In the early days I couldn't afford a BMW, KTM warn't in the frame and Triumph were a dose.
I had Honda, Suzuki and Kwak's then. Today when funds are a bit more accessible, I still can't justify £16k for a BMW or KTM, and Triumph have just recently started to cut the mustard. :S
I've had loads of bikes and the best touring bikes I've owned have been my 3 Varadero's and they never let me down. My mates and I done 3500 miles round Europe in 2 weeks, 1 BMW GS 1150 Adventurer, 1 BMW GS 850, 2 1000 Varaderos and 1 1200 Bandit. The GS 850 destroyed it's shaft and ended up on a lorry, the GS 1150 was 6 months old and the shaft was weeping oil. The other 3 bikes never missed a beat. One of my other friends has a KTM 990 and it looks and sounds awesome, however he told me it kills his ass!!!

All I want is a strong comfortable bike with plenty of power, that doesn't weight the same as a small planet, also doesn't flake paint or rust at the first sign of rain or snow. I would also like it not, to cost more than my first property, why is this so difficult?

I've no interest in fancy electronics, self leveling suspension or a computer that tells me how much weight I put on my right peg on the last corner or some other useless crap. Cruise control is for my 2.5 tonne Range Rover, not a bloody bike.

My mate bought a new 1200 adventurer with traction control, I asked why, he said he can put full power on going up his lose stone lane to his house, his bloody lane is only 50m long, great use of an expensive gadget :huh:
I'd rather the wheel sliding and spinning under me, with the throttle pinned :woohoo:

[Oop North John]

Came back to motorbikes on a Honda CB500 great little bike and the new ones seem to have some of the spirit of the 90's ones. Moved up to a CBR600, but wrote that off and the insurance paid for a Honda Firestorm. Since then never had a bike with more than two cylinders as it's power delivery suited me. Lack of tank range and wrist pain got me looking at the R1100GS, which started almost 15 years with the brand.

Tried and loved the 1150GS and tried the 1150R / 1200GS / 1200GSA before getting tired of the technology / expense race and brought a R100GS. That had to go when the job went, and came back to a 1100GS which didn't light the soul like the first. So hoped across to a Suzuki 650 V-Strom which seemed to have almost as much power as the 1100, and half the price of the 1200GS. Had a couple of Suzuki's since then as the BM's and most other manufacturers seem to me to be overly complicated / expensive, and the Kawasaki Versys which seemed to be an alternative was hideous looking (though now better, but still has 4 cylinders).

[Africa John]

No brand loyalty on bikes - I buy what I want

But I'm on my second Skoda Octavia as I was awed by the reliability of my first one

In fact other than that I can't think of anything where I don't end up buying what my research tells me is best for my needs and wallet irrespective of the brand

[Alan29]

Not been riding that long - passed test aged 60. though I had a c90 and a CG125 30 years ago to commute to work.
First big bike was a 2005 Bonnie. Lovely looking bike, but terrible and costly electrics and just too small for my/our needs.
Traded that for a 650 V-Strom. Put 30,000 miles on it in 3 years. Faultless, comfortable, ridiculously cheap to run and fun on real-life roads, and it took the two of us to the South of France and Pyrenees twice. Decided I wanted a bit more power for the long trips.
Really didn't want to join the BMW/Triumph thing. Didn't want power modes and complex electronics at all. Found a late Honda Varadero with only 1500 miles on the clock. Ideal. Its a bit heavier than the Strom, but its a big comfortable bugger with enough of a power difference.
Now busy planning next years trip to Austria. (thumbs)

[Scott_rider]

I've had 2 Kawasaki's, 2 Honda's, 2 Suzuki's, 3 KTM's, 1 Triumph, and 3 Yamaha's.

I regard myself as a KTM man for off-road bikes because they are generally the best bikes for the job, in my opinion (and I'm not being controversial). Out of the Japanese manufaturers they all have something different to offer so to me it depends on the actual model however I've always found Yamaha's to be consistently 'good' (although I never had Yamsha's when I was younger) (thumbs).

[garyboy]

I started with British bikes but found them unreliable, leaky, and cumbersome, tho great to ride.
When the Japanese two-strokes came in they were so fast and exciting and so so reliable. But even then they had their characteristics and reputations.

Suzuki had my brand loyalty as they were fast and colourful, though I never liked their handling.
Honda was bland and boring (until the CB 750) with a clunky gearbox.
Kawasakis had strong engines but suspension issues.
Yamaha was insane or pathetic.

Euro bikes never really appealed to me ..
BMW were ugly and weird (till I tried one).
Ducati had elec probs but looked and sounded superb.
Others were just plain weird looking, and brands came and went.

Now I perceive the more recent brand of KTM as needing an engine rebuild every two months?
I see most new bikes now as fugly .. I mean really fuck ugly .. and prefer the simple air-cooled look.

Now I have just one bike, TTR600, supposedly a `do-it-all` bike .. but the vibration off a big single is sometimes hard to live with, as well as the constant need for attention (no, I am not selling it).

Recently I got a small cheap fiesta. OMG … its quiet, smooth, fast, fun, economical, handy for the shops, warm, has music, freedom from cumbersome bike gear, .. and doesn’t give me pains in the joints or vibrated brain syndrome, or fear of imminent certain death feelings.

So at the mo … to Al’s question // .. why have you supported a brand for years and then jumped ship.?//
.. its more a case of changing MODE than BRAND
.. but I am sure it will clear up soon :laugh:

[Spike941]

I owned and drove only Fords for 34 years, all models from a KA to a Granada. Relatively cheap to buy, insure, service and maintain. Always reliable and easy to sell (in my experience) . Last year I changed brands and brought a Mercedes. Not a smart move when it came to reliability, insurance and service costs. I guessing I'll be switching back to Ford before too long. Over the same period I only rode cruisers, mainly Kawasakis and a Harley, until I discovered Dual Sports bikes 3 years ago. Now call me Mr Triumph.