staff@slashgear.com (Cody D. Campbell)
2024-04-22 15:15:11
www.slashgear.com
It’s challenging to measure reliability on newer models, but both Yamaha and Suzuki have sterling reputations for building bikes that can really rack up miles, so long as they receive proper care and maintenance. In fact, Consumer Reports published a study on the most reliable motorcycles in the world back in 2015. It found that Yamaha and Suzuki were actually the two most reliable brands on the market.
Consumer Reports gathered this information by taking a survey of 12,300 of its subscribers and asking them about the failure rates of four-year-old motorcycles, adjusting for mileage and estimated repair rates. This constituted a reasonable timeline where they could see the results of natural wear and tear, without having to factor in the innumerable variables that would come into play if they had to account for long-term maintenance levels. Yamaha took the number one spot with an 11% failure rate and Suzuki was right behind it at 12%, tying with Honda and edging out Kawasaki which sat at 15%. Of course, all of these scored significantly higher than European brands like Triumph, Ducati, and BMW which sat at 29%, 33%, and 40% respectively.
This seems to illustrate a slight advantage toward Yamaha, but really, they are neck-and-neck. Suzuki is close enough on its heels that one could easily attribute the difference to a margin of error in this sample size.