[amos]

I know it's just opinions, but I'd put Hondas and Yamahas on top. Especially from @ 2000 up. To be fair, I had a '69 panhead for years that constantly needed wrenching of some type, but the later Evo's and the Revolutions seem to be holding their own reliability wise. What do y'all think?

 

[skullcap]

If you believe what's on the Internet, Yamaha, Kawasaki, then Honda...

http://cdn.rideapart.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/consumer-reports.jpg

https://nwhog.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/percentage-of-bikes-with-problems_large.jpg

I will say that I've ridden my Honda to the Yamaha dealer for repair parts, once. I've never purchased Honda repair parts.

 

[Scuba77]

Most of the engines are more reliable now than years ago or at least need less scheduled maintenance, that being said you buy the bike/car/... and you take your chances it wasn't a Monday or Friday engine...

 

[Mark-B]

MMMmmm At risk of starting a war.. I think Yamaha is being written up more often as the top-dog in reliability.. Just wish they would add some tech - cruise control etc., to some of their current bigger "touring" rigs..

The Victories and the new Project Rushmore bikes are looking good, the HD's had a few minor problems, but after the initial growing pains on a brand new line - they seem to be holding up well..

 

[John Hopkins]

I've had problems with every make of bike, some were so badly made that I would never buy them again and others have never let me down.. I think the real question should be which bike can you keep on the road with the least amount of work..

Just take a look at the technical threads on this forum to find hundreds of shadows that need work to either get running or to keep running..

All the dedicated bike forums are the same, some offer help more freely than others but they all have problems..

Reliability often depends on how you use your bike and how well you maintain it..I don't have many years left so I probably ride further and sometimes faster than many other riders so my bikes have to put up with a lot more riding than cleaning.

Some Harley Davidsons are still running after many more years on the road than some Japanese bikes but this is mainly down to the care their owners give them, Royal Enfield bikes made in India seem to wear out faster than they should and Chinese bikes just seem to fall to pieces if you try to use them much more than 20,000 miles a year.

John.

 

[2500hdon37s]

The good 'ole GM 350 has got to be one of the most reliable, next the 5.9L 12 valve cummins (but everything else will fall apart around it).

As for motorcycles go I think the Honda 750's are about as reliable as they come. 20k miles never had to touch a thing inside of mine, never left me stranded, never once had a spit or sputter (once warmed up), and has only ever needed routine maintenance.

 

[2500hdon37s]

MMMmmm At risk of starting a war.. I think Yamaha is being written up more often as the top-dog in reliability.. Just wish they would add some tech - cruise control etc., to some of their current bigger "touring" rigs..

The Victories and the new Project Rushmore bikes are looking good, the HD's had a few minor problems, but after the initial growing pains on a brand new line - they seem to be holding up well..

I have my 103ci but not a luquid cooled head like the rushmore, so far reliable and wicked power to boot. Really with most any of the 07+ twin cam Harley engines they've figured out the old problems. No more oil leaks, MUCH better cam chain tensioners, and overall they're still quite simple. I know of a few guys who have put 100k miles on twin cams and not had a lick of trouble.

 

[Mark-B]

I have my 103ci but not a luquid cooled head like the rushmore, so far reliable and wicked power to boot. Really with most any of the 07+ twin cam Harley engines they've figured out the old problems. No more oil leaks, MUCH better cam chain tensioners, and overall they're still quite simple. I know of a few guys who have put 100k miles on twin cams and not had a lick of trouble.

Yeah.. I have been keeping those guys in my periphery, they are really looking to compete.. The new Rushmore bikes are shaping up to be real works of art..

 

[Ramie]

The biggest problem with any bike is inactivity. You'll notice many of the problems here and in other forums are with bikes that sat for a few years. Not sure why this happens, if people don't want to ride them then sell them or give them to me, i'll ride them or find someone who will.
Moral of the story, if you what to keep your bike in good running condition then ride it.

 

[gregtheginn]

Good ole American made Sabre 1100 http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Shadow_Sabre

 

[DaWadd]

Probably Honda motors in general but I'll go out on a limb and vote the Honda GL1800 engine. Bullet proof.

 

[h13man]

Probably Honda motors in general but I'll go out on a limb and vote the Honda GL1800 engine. Bullet proof.

So how many miles have you put on her? I do agree the flat six are superior but maintenance is still needed and @ what cost? Ease and frequency of doing maintenance is the real determining factor of the best motor criteria IMO but you still have to be "wrench saavy".

In the good ole days HD's were always needing attention thus not to many "saavy" folk owning a HD thus alot a bad rap they recieved. Enter Honda and HD had to step up their game or risk being no longer. Now the tables have reversed and Honda and other metric companys are slowly being a non threat in the cruiser market.

 

[DaWadd]

Only have 6500 km on the F6B. As far as maintenance on the 1800 oil changes are easy and the maintenance schedule is not as bad as some of the other Hondas I've owned. Some Goldwing owners have 200,000 plus miles on their engines.