I wasn't trying to throw shade on the Euro stuff. They are a premium product, but that comes along with a premium price, both at purchase AND during service.drumboy said:Japanese bikes are cheaper but BMWs are on a different level for ride & build quality. I've had 4 or so KLR650s and a DRZ400 (and countless 2 stroke Honda/Yamaha mx bikes) and the GSPD and & 1200GSA felt night & day in every aspect. I'll be riding a GSA to Alaska at some point in my life after the first go round on a KLR.Tim Weaver said:
Royal Enfield seems to be pretty legit. They are working hard to make the company relevant again.
I'll say this: They seem to make a good product, but they aren't exactly caught up to 21st century standards. It's still a relatively low powered, simple machine. If long distance touring is in your future you would be best served by one of the middle-weight Japanese bikes. The big Japanese manufacturers have this segment on lockdown. They are efficient, trouble-free, and make decent power. Can cruise at 70+ for hours on end with no worries. This is something that even the expensive Euro brands can't really do.
The Euro bikes are good, but super expensive, require more frequent and more difficult maintenance.
The Chinese bikes (CF Moto, etc) are on the come-up, but it remains to be seen if they'll be succesful and how does the parts supply look in ten years?
Royal Enfield has made an impressive mark on the industry, but innovation is understandably slow. They don't have the same performance of the big guys. They look incredible though if vintage is your thing.
The Japanese make boring appliances that just work. That however is a benefit if you are riding around the world. You want something with no drama and parts availability even in Mongolia.
My Son had an Aprilia Shiver for a while and blew the motor on it. We swapped in a motor from ebay and cslling it "difficult" is quite an understatement. I've done car motors and transmissions a lot, but this bike was worse than any of them. The Euro stuff is just so dang complicated and difficult to work on. He has a Husky 701SM now and its much the same.
I like my "simple" Jap bikes.
