Recalls Top ten manufacturers

[lucian]

Don't quite know what to think of this one. Kind of a double edged sword. Interesting none the less.


http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-top-10s/top-10-recalls-manufacturer

[oldbike54]

 Probably a bit misleading , a more accurate measure of quality and reliability is shop time VS miles ridden . Honda , Yamaha , and Triumph have good numbers in that regard .

 Dusty

[ITSec]

Certainly interesting. A few thoughts:

As Dusty mentioned, recalls vs miles ridden is a good point of analysis.

The article mentions, but does not break down, recalls for functional reasons (bad starter or fuel injection, etc) versus recalls for safety (brakes, suspension, failure while operating).

While raw numbers are provided for the recalls mentioned, they don't say what the proportion is of bikes built or sold versus bikes recalled for a given period. Since both recall rules and sales numbers vary by market, this might be helpful.

[charlie b]

Numbers were interesting.

"Yamaha has often recalls very small numbers of bikes.......resulte d in 14,384 being brought in for checks and replacement where necessary."

Isn't that like the entire production for Guzzi for a year?  :)

[sturgeon]

Recalls are an interesting thing. Some are just plain obvious no-brainers, but others make you scratch your head.

I owned a 2009 F800GS before trading it in this year. Mine ran perfectly, but lots of people had issues with the stators in early models. They just burned up and had to be replaced. BMW admitted zero responsibility, despite a re-design to fix the problem a couple of years ago. I bought a spare stator, RR and gasket, 'just in case', but never installed them. Several of my pals replaced theirs before complete failure, but the old ones were pretty fried. Lots of reports from around the world of similar failures, but nary a word from the Mothership.

On the other hand, I received a recall notice for my WR250R for the same issue. The service tech showed me the one he took out, which looked like new, and said he'd never seen or heard of a bad one. Yet Yamaha replaced them all, several years worth.

Same problem, opposite responses from the manufacturers. Yamaha even termed it a safety issue.

PS BMW recalled the F800GS early on to replace the drive chains. Very few had any issues whatsoever before reaching normal end-of-life. The original chains on those things were 'endless' and required removal of the swingarm to replace. The stator was an easier fix in terms of labour. Go figger.

[kevdog3019]

They ought to make this list seem like a positive thing so that manufacturers are less likely to bury issues than admit to them.  I don't see this as a negative tbh.  Mistakes happen and known issues should be dealt with.  Has Guzzi yet admitted a recall for their 8-valve tappet issue?

[LaMojo]

I would prefer a manufacturer to have history of recalls rather than one like General motors that tend to hide from their mistakes.

[lucian]

I read somewhere not too long ago that Yamaha was the most reliable brand out there. Could that be because they are proactive in fixing problems before they tip the scale? Part of me wishes Moto Guzzi made the list. However, so far mine have been dead reliable,other than the 8v roller thing. ( fingers crossed) Was surprised at the number of Harley call backs for such a long standing design.

[dibble]

My 2008 Vauxhall Insignia (Buick Regal) broke down with a split EGR coolant  jacket , as did those of about 10 colleagues.

Dealers told us all it was a known fault and it was cheapest for them to wait until they broke rather than issue a recall.

Something to ponder as you are sitting by the road waiting to be recovered.

[wymple]

I would prefer a manufacturer to have history of recalls rather than one like General motors that tend to hide from their mistakes.

Stop picking on the big guy, they most all have done it plenty. GM has issued plenty of recalls that I consider overkill. I got one that said a steering wheel fastener could fail in a major frontal crash. No kidding?

[O]

Numbers were interesting.

"Yamaha has often recalls very small numbers of bikes.......resulte d in 14,384 being brought in for checks and replacement where necessary."

Isn't that like the entire production for Guzzi for a year?  :)

Nope, it's like the entire production for Guzzi in TWO years!