What Makes a Motorcycle Reliable?
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- What makes a motorcycle reliable? This is a good question, isn't it? In this video, I will share my opinion on this topic.
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One that is made by companies located in Japan.
Good!
Good one😂!
I tried to find a flaw in the statement, but I couldn t, jaja.
@@majormassenspektrometer I'm going to state the obvious. That Japanese are very efficient machinists. European manufacturers say that they copied & improved,which is true. But,they did a great job of it.
I thought all motorcycles brake! I mean how else you gonna stop it?
Many years ago I set out on a long ride from Canada through US. This was before cell phones, internet. My bike was a 1982 Yamaha Seca 650, a very reliable machine. Somewhere on a freeway in the middle of nowhere at night my headlight burned out. I pulled into a truck stop and under a street light replaced the bulb in a few minutes by undoing one or two screws. Few days later on the same trip i could not start the bike due to a dead battery. It failed completely with zero charge, internal short or something like it, could not even push start it. There was no hope for a motorcycle dealership in the area but after walking around I found a lawn and garden dealership that had a battery I needed. I got very lucky that day. Recently I was replacing the same on my 2009 Kawasaki klr650 and I was happy to be doing it in daylight in my garage with a service manual in hand and not at night on the side of the road.
Simplicity, availability of parts grows proportionally in importance with the scarcity of time and money.
Thanks for your educational/inspirational videos.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
listen to Pavlin and you can never go wrong!.....from the heart, thank you very much Pavlin!👍👍✌✌🤩🤩
My pleasure!!
Similar to what you're saying about lower power versions are generally more reliable, engines that come in two sizes, the smaller is often more reliable.
The engine in the 67hp, 650 V-Strom started life as the 180hp TL1000R Superbike engine. Detuned to 135hp for the road version, it's a very strong if heavy engine. Detuned again for the 650 it lasts forever! Although it does have some problems as an adventure bike engine, such as the delicate oil filter in the perfect spot for a Superbike, but a crazy place for a bike ridden over rocks.
Thanks for adding!
The DL650 is the bike I want to get after I take the A, I knew it was reliable, but didn't know the engine's history and that it's so heavily detuned. Thanks!
Hi Pavlin, with all my years of driving cars and bikes, the best way to keep your vehicle in good condition is don’t speed, or thrash your engine, look far into the distance for any up coming trouble or potential problems, use the engine to slow down before braking. And most importantly keep your vehicle serviced regularly
Absolutely agree!
I agree, but kilometers are kilometers, and some bikes will go farther than others.
@@alberguti3937 because some vehicles have wealthier owners, who don't skimp on maintenance;
"cheap speed" is the worst: high power & low price - the owners will be abusive, neglectful & dishonest
You gave me something to think about. Simplicity is wonderful and reliable.
I took a Harley Davison pan America for a test, straight out the bat, the switch gear was worse than my Chinese 125, then it broke down electronics and switch problems! I walked away... not the bike for me. My suzuki bandit I paid £ 600 for feels far better. Plus it has no electronics, well has abs and fuel injection... although it's well proven, so for now I will be using that!
Thanks for sharing!
@@motorcycleadventures Pavlin, great common sense advice but you wouldn't make it in sales at a Harley Davidson dealer. For bells and whistles, take a look at a HD Pan America CVO, yeah, and they call this an adventure motorcycle, maybe to ride to a coffee shop.
@@geneclarke2205 Yup & now HD is woke.
Harley's = Super-heavy, slow, do not lean, do not brake, absurd ergonomics, agricultural technology, ridiculously loud, considerably unreliable, expensive to buy and maintain, "American Iron" BUT the brakes and clutch are imported from Italy, the engine pistons are made in Austria, the bike suspension comes from Japan, and other electronic components originate in Mexico and China. And also, known but many, H&D proud owners are the most unskilled riders among all. After all this.....I really do not understand where is all that pride coming from. (Oh, sorry...but you guys look very cool wearing all these chaps and fringes...)
@geneclarke2205 yeah, totally agree here
Love ur show you are a straight shooter and right to the point no dancing around . Good luck on ur trip and be safe !!!
Thanks, man!
A logical and sensible approach.
I agree, and experience has taught most people this.
Ride safe 👍
Yes, the life is a good teacher!
Always keep bike as stock as possible. You are super correct.
That's why I love my 2018 Kawasaki KLR 650 - it's a AK47, to hell and back reliability and easy to fix with 30 years of parts out there. Another great video Pavlin!
Thanks for sharing!
В точку друг. Like
@@GrizzlyValleyBear The klr has the lowest price in its class so it is a good choice for those of us on limited budget.
Maintenance is the key.
Valuable wisdom. Thanks.
Thank you, Pavlin. I appreciate your advice and admire your expertise. Great video, as usual.
My riding consists of surface streets and local (100 mile radius) day trips with a few longer distance road trips here and there.
I’ve ridden new Honda Goldwings for decades and recently (in 2019) bought a new Harley-Davidson Road Glide Limited which have all been very reliable.
I trust the dealerships with my maintenance needs and follow the owners manual to the tee regarding maintenance. Yes, this approach is expensive but these are expensive bikes so I’ve just come to accept that.
So far, this has worked out well. I’m retired now and, at 70 years old, I don’t know if I’ll be purchasing any more motorcycles but if I do, they’ll be smaller, simpler and easier to me to maintain myself.
Thanks for sharing!
The information was useful i cut down on modifying my bike.
Good!
Hello Pavlin!
I really agree with you that really simple motorcycle will survive any conditions, but there is some things that may be opponent to your opinion.
First of all, is the destination and the way. I mean, that if you ride on roads through cities, you can always find service for your motorcycle, so you can use modern motorcycle with all features your needs.
Second: Some features are really useful, and you can have them only on modern complicated motorcycles. For example, I like to go on sport touring rides, I really enjoy my sports bike, but it is really difficult to control 200 bhp without traction control on slick road.
And the third, and maybe the most important reason, is the will. You may be sure that DR 650 will survive world war III, but if you really like some new cool bike, that perfectly fits your needs, you will enjoy your trip much more.
Besides that, there is some way that can be useful for some riders:
Maybe it's better to buy newer and chipper motorcycle, but to change it more often, than to use some big and expensive, but old motorcycle. I myself buy a brand new motorcycle every one-two years, and I don't wait for the problems. Just don't jump higher than you can. Buy a model that you can afford yourself.
And to the end some tip: Be ready to the expenses, and learn how to divide your expenses before buying a motorcycle.
Thank you.
Right on the nail. Totally agree! The Kalashnikov with two wheels attached sounds very appealing!
Good!
Pavlin you are right!
L1A1 SLR 7.62 .
Good video Pavlin i have changed to Benelli TRK502X it is not the proven brand model.
But if no one try,s it no one will find out if the bike is any good.
Good luck on your trips!
You have made a mistake. CFmoto 450 mt is what you need.
My old Yamaha T66 is quite fun, cheap and reliable.
Cheers from Brazil.
Great to hear!
Good video. I like both the Tenere 660 and the 700: great bikes. As a road rider doing mainly day rides in the Welsh hills and also occasional UK tours, I have mostly gone for older Hondas due to their relative simplicity. I have also bought new bikes too. A number of the Honda variants can suffer Regulator rectifier problems though. My Honda Blackbird which I owned for about 9 years did not and was very reliable. My current Honda CBF1000 has needed a replacement reg/rectifier but is still a great bike for me. Yws. I agree entirely. Keep it simple. Thanks.
Thanks for sharing!
Много се радвам, че мога да науча много неща от теб! Говориш разбираемо😅 Карам CBR500 16"
Радвам се!
thank you for the precious tips and advises.
Any time!
an other video excelent. Agree 100 procent
Thank, man!
I know that we can’t really avoid water-cooled engines these days, for many good reasons. However, is water-cooling an unnecessary complication that you would be better off without, on a long tour or when going off-road?
I would be happy with every motorcycle being water cooled. I have a water cooled Suzuki 800 Intruder and an air cooled 883 Sportster, riding the Suzuki in traffic is much more comfortable for me and the motorcycle, while riding on aircooled machines, they get too hot in traffic.
Saggi consigli e informazioni 😊
Thanks, man!
friend rode an aprilia strada from Canada to the UK only fuel pump fail he still uses it, so I bought one 👍
Only fuel pump...
On the Aprilia Strada they use the same Minarelli Engine that's used for all the Yamaha XT 660 versions since 2004 but they use their own CDI System.
And fuel Pumps can fail on every bike. Especially when it's use only on few occasions with long times of standing still in between.
The Strada is a nice, relatively simple an easy to ride motorcyle. Not a bad choice.
I appreciate your point of view, however you support some misconceptions, that due to modern technology are no longer applicable.
1. You do not need time to realise how reliable a motorcycle is - Engineers nowadays can stress test parts and know exactly when they will break before the part is even produced. This is possible due to modern computing power, which can simulate the properties of elements and parts pretty precisely. In other words the engineers have a pretty good grasp on how long this machine will last under what type of conditions, before the bike even reaches production. This is why modern bikes are extremely reliable, even thought they are pushing more power than ever and have extremely good emissions.
2. All brands can make good bikes, its a matter of funds. The Japanese yen was extremely strong during the 80s and early 90s, this gave Japanese motorcycle companies the funds to hire a lot of capable engineers and using high quality ( for the time ) expensive materials was not an issue. They would often just use the strongest material they can get their hands on. On the other hand the European economies were not doing so well, so the European brands struggled with funding. This however is not the case nowadays, the trend is actually reversing quite steadily.
3. Producing more power per cc does not lead to less reliability - modern alloys + modern engineering means that the engineer can test the engine before that engine is even produced, if something experiences too much stress and might break they can always choose an alloy with higher carbon content - a stronger alloy. This misconception used to be true, because material science was really bad in the 80s and 90s compared to today. In my opinion material science and metallurgy has advanced more in the past 30 years than computers.
Why do modern motorcycles break then if engineering is so advanced? Well companies have one goal and this is to make money. They make more money selling parts, than selling bikes.
Here is a translation in Bulgarian
Оценявам гледна ти точка, но поддържаш някои погрешни схващания, които поради съвременната технология вече не са приложими.
1. В наши дни инженерите могат да провеждат стрес тестове на части и да знаят точно кога ще се счупят, преди дори да бъдат произведени. Това е възможно благодарение на съвременните компютри, които могат доста точно да симулират свойствата на елементите и частите. С други думи, инженерите имат доста добра представа колко дълго ще издържи тази машина при определени условия, още преди мотоциклетът да стигне до производство. Ето защо съвременните мотоциклети са изключително надеждни, дори и да генерират повече мощност от всякога и имат изключително добри емисии.
2. Всички марки могат да правят добри мотоциклети, въпросът е в средствата. Японската йена беше изключително силна през 80-те и началото на 90-те години, което даде на японските мотоциклетни компании средствата да наемат много способни инженери и използването на висококачествени (за времето) скъпи материали не беше проблем. Често те просто използваха най-силния материал, до който можеха да се доберат. От друга страна, европейските икономики не се справяха толкова добре, така че европейските марки се бореха с финансирането. Това обаче вече не е така, тенденцията всъщност се обръща доста стабилно.
3. Производството на повече мощност на кубичен сантиметър не води до по-малка надеждност - съвременните сплави и съвременното инженерство означават, че инженерът може да тества двигателя, преди този двигател дори да бъде произведен. Ако някоя част изпитва твърде голямо напрежение и може да се счупи, те винаги могат да изберат сплав с по-високо съдържание на въглерод - по-силна сплав. Тази мисконцепция беше вярна, защото материалознанието беше много лошо през 80-те и 90-те години в сравнение с днес. Според мен материалознанието и металургията са напреднали повече през последните 30 години от компютрите.
Защо тогава съвременните мотоциклети се чупят, ако инженерството е толкова напреднало? Компаниите имат една цел и тя е да печелят пари. Те печелят повече пари, като продават части, отколкото като продават мотоциклети.
@@niks2017 You make valid positive points. However on the negative side there is the pressure on those same often brilliant engineers from management and sales to cut costs, speed up development, share parts between models and finally the big one comply with ever changing emissions regulations. My gut tells me many of your valid positive points will be compromised because management is accountable to shareholders with a vision going not much further than the next quarter.
@@piotrmajerski1110 this is a valid take, but engineers abilities are not compromised. They still can point out flaws in the models that those budgets can build, this way they can communicate with the sales team what exactly can be achieved with what amount of money.
I think that you blindly believe in the power of engineering, but I have been in a few motorcycle companies and saw a lot of nonsense there. I also spend a lot of time in a motorcycle garage and have a pretty good understanding of the whole modern situation. Most of these so-called professionals are not even riders and cannot really predict what a real rider needs or what they might do. Anyway, thank you for your opinion!
I guess all the vehicle recalls that are happening is for fun.
Tell that ti KTM, and their camshafts.
Sorry to be smart Pavlin.but a reliable bike is one that starts immediately everytime. haha. But of course there's more than that.
I will add: one that starts immediately everytime... for many years.
I did 150,000km on a honda dominator between uk and Cambodia from 2000 to 2003, nothing broke bit I did get over 100 punctures. Unfortunately no modern bikes are really better for a RTW, best to get a old XT, XR or KLR, they are pretty much unbreakable.
It is what it is!
Hi Pavlin ,i have been touring on a pan european for the last 20 years ,they are bullet proof in my opinion ,obviously not for off road ,but not bad in the pyranees ,and a great sports tourer ,i like your technique of relaying information ,and i am still learni g loads from you regarding all aspects of travel ,and after watching your videos to date ,you are fullfilling your dreams,you are so lucky .good luck and thank you so much .take care ,
Dr650 plain straight forward
Hi Pavlin, does it make sense to buy a 10 year old Tenere 660 and the engine still be reliable?
If it is in good condition, yes!
Hey, thank you for your inspirational videos. Did you ever make a video about fitness, what you eat etc? You seem way to well trained for a guy that just sits on his bike all day long :) Anyway, i would find it interesting to hear your take on those things also
An old video, but it might help: ruclips.net/video/JSd6KA8-nQA/видео.html
Спасибо за информацию. Like
Пожалйста!
Excelent, thank you
Any time!
Hi Pavlin !
Can you make a review for Husqvarna Norden 901 ? Is it worth it to have this motorcycle and so on :) or if it’s not possible review at least video with your opinion. Cheers from Varna 😁
My Honda Tornado 250 have never broken down, 42 thousand KM with long trips carrying me and my girl with a backpack and it runs like day 1. If I ever change my bike it would be for a Honda CRF 300 Rally. Nothing more nothing less.
All things eventually break.
But, the Japanese have a very different approach. The same goes with cars. Going back to when the Honda Cub was introduced in the 50s and still in production today. They stick with it, and improve them over time. Unlike manufactures like Harley Davidson, Triumph Ducati and so on. That only look 5 years ahead.. Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki look 20 years ahead. I have a Honda Cub that I bought new in 1989, which I just use for making the rounds to the shops. It has over 100,000km. Still does not leak or burn oil. Only thing that has ever been done to it were tyre changes, oil changes, and brake pad changes.
But, having lived in Asia (Taiwan & Japan) for nearly 30 years now. I find most western manufactures sloppy with their approach. Yes, the Japanese have made some duds. But, the overall picture is they are much better than the West for this.
I don't know if you know the Honda CB400A Hondamatic. Just a few days ago I watched a review of one of these bikes from a guy in the UK.He called it the worst motorcycle ever built as it was too slow and only had two speeds. He was a bit ignorant and before he did his video should have found out why this bike was developed. Across Southeast Asia. Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka and so on. The Honda CB400A was designed not for traveling or speed. It was designed for purpose, and that purpose being deliveries. A working motorcycle to move goods and people on congested roads where speed is not important. Here in Taiwan you can still see thousands of them being used in agriculture and delivering gas bottles. Most of them are 40 years old and still going. Taiwan Post only replaced them for mail deliveries in the mountains only 10 years ago and sold them off.
It's like the Yamaha version the SR400. Those also just keep going and going and going. The SR400 Yamaha, which was in production from 1978 to 2021 still didn't have electric start. Funny this is the bike returned in 2023 but for only a small handful of markets. Yamaha didn't change anything. I've ridden one before. I would never want to ride one on a trip. But, if I was doing deliveries. It's perfect for that. I've seen these bike knocked to the ground, watched up to the handle bars with typhoon flood waters, sometimes the guys that use them almost never change oil. And the dam things just keep going.
Let me translate something we say here.
Japanese bikes - reliable, easy to get parts and service
German bikes - over engineered and expensive to repair.
Italian bikes - good new, age bad and terrible electrics
American bikes - fat, loud annoying
Indian bikes - mis and hit, but more misses
Very well said!
❤
I get your point on rifles, so I pick a sniper C14 Timberwolf. It is bolt action and can be used for civilian use and mount a civilian scope. I think it has some old Winchester influence and is made locally. Defense weapons are probably more rife with politics than consumer products.
In actuality, I've only shot Ball Bearing rifles. As a novice, I would really have to research, ask and try some out before comitting.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for another good video. Would you take Africa Twin on your trips?
I have what I need!
The Thumb up was earned after the first 1,2 Minutes for sure......
Thank you!
Yes its totaly true. I do think that the driver is the most importend part in reliability and endurance. Drive with love and care and your bike will last longer. My GS an 2008 version is now at 82K kilometers and still going strong.
Common sense is always good.
I have an xt600e 2002 for the last 10 years due to family obligations could affort something better.bought it used with 25k.now i have 67k.the only problem i had once,was burned generator coils,fixed with 150 euros.of course the maintence always on time.in a few months i ll have the money for a new bike.tenere or transalp,i havent decide.maybe ill wait to see the 2025 tenere.
Thanks for sharing!
I hope my triumph scrambler will get ne trough my backyard-adventures troublefree.
Complexity is the enemy of reliability.
On the other hand, modern electronic airplanes are orders of magnitude more reliable than the previous generations ever were based on crash statistics 🤷♂️
So there is no simple answer. Fuel injected bikes are more reliable than carbureted according to engineering statistics
True facts!
A good motorcycle, known for its reliability, can became unreliable if it's in the wrong hands. Vice versa, a crappy machine can still be quite reliable if it's in the right hands. My wisdom pearl for today.
Very realistic as usual! New bikes come with all sorts of gizmos and make us dream about them but the more electronic conveniences we get the more expensive failure points we can expect as well. For new top of the line bikes, it seems there are no running away from it. The Japanese top brands seem to be holding well every year on reliability studies. The dreams about Ducati and BMW will have to remain as that: A dream... 🙂
Very true!
Very good summary. Wouldn't have bet a penny that my KTM 690 SMC will run 100.000 km without a break down. But it did. I had to replace the rocker arms twice, but I always noticed while "at home". Self maintenance is a dream. One of the main reasons I love this bike.
Thanks for sharing!
Real true
Good!
The answer is a Japanese brand and avoid of Triumph, BMW, Royal Enfield and funny Chinese brands.
100% agree!
Good!
You forgot to specially avoid Harley&CRAPidson!
Good video Palvin but I prefer to be alive with unreliable Ducati with lots of electronics instead of very reliable Tenere without TCS
Fair enough!
What do you think about crf1100l 🤔 is it reliable
I will remind silent!
@@motorcycleadventures I would like to know too.
I like the crf 1100, but i think V-Strom 1050 it is more reliable.
@@MattPerrysadly there is no suzuki big bike dealer in my country, they only sell scouter and underbone here 😢
Back in the 70'S and earlier when bikes weren't as reliable and complicated Most Riders did there own maintenance and could do repairs at the road side as they carried mainly tools and parts for everyday riding
The best adventure bike I still own was the origanal. BMW R80G/S introduced in 1980. It shared many parts with other BMW models . I crashed mine in Pakistan and got the forks frame and other parts fixed in a back street workshop. And would run fine on 80 octane gasoline
I love my T700. But it hasnt the sole of my old BMW
Thanks for sharing!
The BMW has no soul but plenty of sole?
what you think about VOGE ? they are sellling good in europe now!
Never seen it! Cannot talk.
Hey Pavlin! What is your smartphone support?
GYB
@@motorcycleadventures thank you! Do you also have a link where I can buy It?
It's a crowded market now. Motorcycles made everywhere with global parts. Very little commonality or availability. Yrs a lot of good designs but untested judt like the cams in the KTM 790 series engines where the factory ssys there is no issue but we are fixing them under warranty because they are failing. Typical double speak for an f up. Anyway that is whst travelers will have to look forward to here on out. The smart companies are making five models around one engine and chassis design. Yamaha with the CP2 and 3. Honda with the Transalp models and now Suzuki with the 800 series. Take a hint. You may be able to get parts for these for several years to come. Popularity as well. Aftermarket covers common designs that sell. Pavlin will testify there are places it does not matter how much money you have you will not revieve parts shipped to you no matter how long you wait. And you won't be able to change this fact. Even simple things are impossible. We know this from experience. Go out and get you some
Exactly!
My old 1999 Honda XR650L with over 65,000 miles on it. Just a few upgrades ad farkles like a cush hub, uncorked etc... Uncomplicated and easy to repair and find parts anywhere. It has been to 65 countries mostly 3rd world and I can always find parts and get repaired.
Thanks for sharing!
Never buy the A-model of anything.
Good!
Definitely not a motorcycle built in the USA.
Agree!
Simple is best🛠️😀🫡💪
Always!
65,000 miles on my T7. I still haven't had a mechanical failure.
Great!
In war?? If I could only have one motorcycle it would be a Honda ruckus.
Good!
rifel fn fal the best
Good!
So what you're saying is: If you want a reliable roadbike, just buy a Suzuki 1200 Bandit or a Yamaha Diversion XJ900.
If they suit you...
It looks to me that this is mostly about what bike is better to have with you on a long trip. Ease of repairs is not reliability. Reliability is when it doesn't break. Errors of maintenance/human errors do not count as reliability problems, in my opinion. Also, I don't find it true that lower power means better reliability. If compression ratio would be an indication of reliability, Diesel engines would fail all the time...
Feel free to like or dislike this video and do whatever you like!
@@motorcycleadventures Well, I gave it a like, because I appreciate the effort and I like your content. But you're using the term reliability a bit too loosely, in my opinion.
Maybe we should have a definition for reliability...
"Reliability refers to a vehicle’s ability to function as intended without unexpected failures or breakdowns, provided it is properly maintained according to the manufacturer’s recommended schedule."
😊@@johnnyblue4799
Anything more than basic tech on an ADV seems ridiculous.
If you are having fun, learning, challenging your skills you are going to drop that delicate tech many times.
Seems like a potential liability to me.
No thanks.
I would rather learn skills than rely on expensive tech that could leave you stranded
Good!
revit
Definitely!
AK47
Good!
What makes a motorcycle reliable?
NUMBER 1: *AVOID INDIAN AND CHINESE BIKES*
NUMBER 2: *BMW - BURNS MY WALLET*
NUMBER 3: *MAINTAIN AND USE IT WELL*
Agree!
And Avoid Harley&CRAPidson at all cost!😅
👍👍👍👍
Thanks for watching!