Consumer Reports did a study on bikes built between 2009 and 2012. BMW reliability was dead last. Yes, below Harley.
There’s an amazing figure out there that shows that 70% of all Harley’s built since their debut in 1903 are still in running condition. 70 f’n percent!
Remarkable reliability and ease of maintenance considering I’d say quite a bit of those bikes not on the road were taken out in wrecks.
As for seeing HD’s on the side of the road: Do you you stop to see why each and every bike is pulled over? All of them were for repairs right? Or was it just this one guy with a shift rod problem?
The legit broken down ones on the side of the road... Ever stop to consider that no one really leaves their Harley’s stock? How do you know it was a failure from the factory or some weekend warrior who incorrectly installed a non-stock item?
Did you also consider that you see more Harley’s on the side of the road than say Honda or BMW because in the US Harley outsells Honda 2 to 1 and BMW must be somewhere in the 10 to 1 area. (And how much are Honda’s and BMW’s customized? I know there was virtually no aftermarket customization options for my Suzuki.)
As for BMW automobiles, the reliability ratings are simply average for the newest cars. From 2012 to a few years ago, the 3-series was in the bottom five and the 5-series was in the bottom three. (Maybe they should reverse their series numbers to reflect their poor quality?)
As for the China/Mexico Harley comments... pure speculation of where parts are sourced as this info is not actually reported. On Free Republic, I noticed people like to show a HD part with a “made in Japan” label, but I also noticed that it was a carburetor. Name one auto/mc manufacturer that also made carburetors. Duh, the best mc carburetors are made in Japan.
Moot point since all Harley’s have fuel injection now. But hey, thanks for correctly pointing out that Harley’s are made in the USA by American workers. Where was BMW or Honda bikes made again?
Oh, and lets just go back to this: 70% of Harley’s built since 1903 are still in running condition. Clearly they are unreliable and of poor quality.
Great post supported by facts.