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Consumer Reports tests Motorcycles

Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2013 8:13 am
by timl
I just got my May issue in which they report on reliability. BMW didn't fare well as a brand - came out last in the survey -but it's nice to see MCs getting some attention.

Re: Consumer Reports tests Motorcycles

Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2013 11:34 am
by DanH
I'm not a subscriber. Can you give us a few details? Specific models fare better/worse?

Re: Consumer Reports tests Motorcycles

Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2013 12:37 pm
by challey
From the May magazine
Yes, the artfully sculpted lines of a BMW motorcycle and the throaty rumble of a Harley-Davidson V-twin motor can stir your senses. But they’re often accompanied by more problems than Japanese motorcycles from Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha. Those are the findings from our first motorcycle reliability survey, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, in which we asked subscribers to tell us about any serious problems or repairs they had experienced with their bikes in the previous four years . . .
The CR survey covered about 4,700 bikes. In descending order of reliability, the marques were: Yamaha, Kawasaki, Honda (all within a point or two of each other), followed by HD with BMW dead last by a good margin (roughly 3 times more owners reporting "more repairs" than for Yamaha). Despite that however, BMW (and Harley owners) "were among the most satisfied with their bikes."

Re: Consumer Reports tests Motorcycles

Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2013 1:07 pm
by Oilhead
CR "surveys" are so flawed and sample size so small that it is statistically "invalid". I personally would not put any validity to anything they say. They have been sued so many times and have been able to weasel and slilther out of it because "freedom of the press" is such a strong defense in our court of law; one would have to prove irrefutably that there was malicious intent which is pretty much impossible. They have even manipulated photo sessions to produce the misleading "result" they want in order to sell magazines. The way they present themselves as "consumer's" union is absolutely despicable IMO.

Re: Consumer Reports tests Motorcycles

Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2013 1:45 pm
by NoRRmad
Hm. 4,700 bikes is statistically significant.

Consumers' Union trash something dear to you? (Besides BMW, I assume.)

Re: Consumer Reports tests Motorcycles

Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2013 2:03 pm
by Oilhead
NoRRmad wrote:Hm. 4,700 bikes is statistically significant.
Let's see...
How many brands of bikes are there?
How many models do each brand have?
How many of each model were sold?

4700 is not even close to being a significant sample size.

Furthermore how many of each bikes were surveyed? How many of the smaller manufacturer's owners were represented?
NoRRmad wrote: Consumers' Union trash something dear to you? (Besides BMW, I assume.)
I don't have any allegiance to any particular bike manufacturer.

Re: Consumer Reports tests Motorcycles

Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2013 3:10 pm
by NoRRmad
4,700 is a significant sample of the bikes tested -- which isn't all of them. Anyway, the question had to do with manufacturers, not models, and the article is a report on what owners had to say.

Re: Consumer Reports tests Motorcycles

Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2013 3:16 pm
by DanH
Thanks for the reply. Having owned and ridden Beemers for two decades (except for the short hiatus that is about to end :D ) this doesn't surprise me. Beemers do require more maintenance although I can't recall ever being left along the side of the road like some Harley riders I knew. Earlier, I had a Honda CB900 and it was as reliable and easy to own as a car.

More maintenance? It's worth it to me. =D>