whitesands26
Mod Ban
- Nov 17, 2002
- 220
- 0
Hello everyone....First off let me say that I'm not brand loyal and I like all bikes but I would much rather have the best one for me...I'm thinking of getting a new motocross bike and I wanted to get an UNbiased opinions on quality and reliability from those of you that have experience with these bikes...What kind of problems have you experienced (other than flat tires, bent handlebars, ect...)
I'm thinking about getting back into the sport but it's been 10 years, I was a 125/250 intermediate here in TX and since I've raced last and I'm wondering if anything has changed in quality rankings....I used to race kawasaki's and while the motor ran good nothing seemd to hold up well...Bolts would constantly snap on their own, bolts constantly loosening, leaky fork seals, and lots of other things...The soft rubber transmission oil cap would twist off leaving the body of the cap in the hole...This happened on every kx and my last kx was in 1988....I take meticulous care of my bikes but a lot of little things went wrong with the kx's I've owned...I went to the Honda/kawasaki shop the other day to look at the 03' kx's and noticed that they still uses soft rubber for the Transmission oil cap...It's 2003....They used the same soft rubber in the 1980's?
I switched to Honda's for the next four years and not one problem..I practiced hard 3 days a week and raced two or three different classes every sunday(4 to 6 motos) and after a full year of hard racing they still felt tight and fresh(with meticulous manteniance).Although the motor was great the handling left a lot to be desired, especially my last bikes 92 cr125 and cr250(massive headshake)...
Well, what's the consensus these days? KTM? Back then in reliablity seemed to be 1. Honda, 2. Yamaha, 3.Kawasaki, 4. Suzuki
Is it still this way? I have to admit that the Honda's do have a visible quality look to them (ktm's look nice too) but I know this doesn't always mean everything...It just seems that everyone I've talked to seems to say these things, especially those with a lot of experience...A guy I've known for 15 years that works at the same Honda/kawasaki dealership said "if you don't get a honda I can't feel confident selling you a kawasaki...You'd be better off getting a Yamaha..." He said that and he works at a kawasaki dealership...I thought he was kidding and for sure the quality would have improved over that much time...He said "I see the bikes that come in for repairs and I know what they have done to them...Stay away from Kawasaki and Suzuki"...
What's your take? Unbiased opinions please...I'm not flaming here...I just don't want to end up spending a lot of money on a bike only to have problems...I know something can always go wrong with any bike but I want to go with a brand that has better odds for reliability...
I'm thinking about getting back into the sport but it's been 10 years, I was a 125/250 intermediate here in TX and since I've raced last and I'm wondering if anything has changed in quality rankings....I used to race kawasaki's and while the motor ran good nothing seemd to hold up well...Bolts would constantly snap on their own, bolts constantly loosening, leaky fork seals, and lots of other things...The soft rubber transmission oil cap would twist off leaving the body of the cap in the hole...This happened on every kx and my last kx was in 1988....I take meticulous care of my bikes but a lot of little things went wrong with the kx's I've owned...I went to the Honda/kawasaki shop the other day to look at the 03' kx's and noticed that they still uses soft rubber for the Transmission oil cap...It's 2003....They used the same soft rubber in the 1980's?
I switched to Honda's for the next four years and not one problem..I practiced hard 3 days a week and raced two or three different classes every sunday(4 to 6 motos) and after a full year of hard racing they still felt tight and fresh(with meticulous manteniance).Although the motor was great the handling left a lot to be desired, especially my last bikes 92 cr125 and cr250(massive headshake)...
Well, what's the consensus these days? KTM? Back then in reliablity seemed to be 1. Honda, 2. Yamaha, 3.Kawasaki, 4. Suzuki
Is it still this way? I have to admit that the Honda's do have a visible quality look to them (ktm's look nice too) but I know this doesn't always mean everything...It just seems that everyone I've talked to seems to say these things, especially those with a lot of experience...A guy I've known for 15 years that works at the same Honda/kawasaki dealership said "if you don't get a honda I can't feel confident selling you a kawasaki...You'd be better off getting a Yamaha..." He said that and he works at a kawasaki dealership...I thought he was kidding and for sure the quality would have improved over that much time...He said "I see the bikes that come in for repairs and I know what they have done to them...Stay away from Kawasaki and Suzuki"...
What's your take? Unbiased opinions please...I'm not flaming here...I just don't want to end up spending a lot of money on a bike only to have problems...I know something can always go wrong with any bike but I want to go with a brand that has better odds for reliability...